I’m still not sure what “branding” is, but I do know that it matters. According to The Oregonian, my campaign for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Oregon—although ultimately unsuccessful—was good at it. In its profile piece on me, the paper said:

“Win or lose, Novick has created a political brand for himself. His political ads have gone viral on the Internet and you can’t go to a Democratic event without seeing people wearing ‘votehook.com’ buttons.”

Now, again, we lost, so apparently branding isn’t everything. But I think it’s fair to say that we did better than expected. As a first-time candidate running against the speaker of the State House, I was outspent by roughly 2-to-1, and lost 45 percent to 42 percent. Compared to other recent “progressive underdog vs. moneyed establishment candidate” Northwest races, that’s not bad. In 2000, Maria Cantwell outspent progressive underdog Deborah Senn in Washington’s Senate primary by about 2-to-1—and won the race by an even larger margin.

What kind of brand did we create, and how did it relate to my substantive positions? Well, like thousands of other candidates before me, I ran as a “different kind of politician” who wasn’t going to play “politics as usual.” My version of being “different” and “unusual” consisted of being a plainspoken, truth-telling progressive sort who wasn’t going to pretend we can have everything for nothing.

We also had four ads—“To tell the truth,” “Beer with Steve,” “Pull the plug” and an endorsement ad—the first two emphasizing the “different” angle by playing on my physical uniqueness: I’m 4 feet 9 inches tall with a left hand made of stainless steel.

“To tell the truth” followed the form of an old TV show, with three guys reciting biographical details (Steve fighting polluters, etc.) and pretending to be me, followed by me in person (in a shot that emphasized my shortness) saying, “I don’t look like a typical politician, but I won’t act like one either. I will fight for the little guy.”

We ran $60,000 worth of that ad—a pittance in a statewide race—in January, four months before the vote (way before most campaigns would start advertising). It served our purpose of jump-starting the campaign, generating a pile of earned media coverage (including a front-page story in The Oregonian) and establishing the brand. And it won us the early lead in the polls—although, with both candidates largely unknown, the vast majority was still undecided.

These ads emphasized my “brand” as a different kind of politician. And on the campaign trail, I talked about the rich people I’d met who were willing to pay Social Security taxes on all their income, the doctors who were willing to make less money. I talked about the power company that successfully encouraged conservation by putting smiley faces on the electric bills of households that used less electricity than average.

We have good reason to think that we did best among the people who paid the closest attention to the race. For example, we won most of the newspaper endorsements—unusual for the nonestablishment candidate against a legislative leader.

But of course, a large number of voters don’t obsessively read or watch political news: They learn about candidates through advertising. So we had to convey the guts of what I was saying in 30-second ads.

So, in the end, what worked and what didn’t? Well, we won in Portland. We won in Benton County, which is largely Corvallis, a relatively affluent college town. We won a notably liberal coastal county. We lost everywhere else.

Clearly a huge financial advantage is hard to overcome. We had to focus most of our resources on the Portland market, which is the biggest and most expensive. We didn’t have much left over for the Eugene market—and we got killed there, even though Eugene’s a liberal place and I grew up in that county. Nor did we put much into the Medford/Ashland market. As a result, we lost Ashland, even though ideologically and temperamentally that liberal enclave should have been ours.

But we successfully identified me as a “different” candidate. I wasn’t just a generic Democrat against another generic Democrat. I was the little guy with a left hook who promised to be different. We did better than you’d normally expect if you were outspent 2-to-1. Normally, if you’re drowned in money, you’re drowned in votes, too.

We ran a campaign that did about as well as it could among newspaper readers and people who were just really ready for something different. What we failed to do was let issue-oriented (rather than personality-oriented) voters who DON’T read the paper all the time know how much I cared about the issues that matter to them.
So the bottom line is: Branding matters. Humor helps. Not every consumer responds to the same message.

And money matters too.

Gathering people together to make change happen is what Pyramid events are all about. Helping to throw a huge bash to raise funds for the Pacific Science Center, producing a concert to celebrate the Pike Place Market’s centennial or coordinating SAM Olympic Sculpture Park’s Grand Opening—all these projects have two things in common: a great audience and a great cause.

There is no one secret to creating a successful event. The truth of the matter is that event work is all about the details, and details take time! These simple steps can help you navigate the daunting process of creating a memorable event—and then getting people in the door.

Step 1: Decide what you want
First and foremost, exactly what do you want to get out of your event? Are you raising money? Generating awareness of an issue? Motivating people to do something? Once you’re sure of your goals, you’ll be able to create a streamlined vision for all that follows. From this preliminary work, you can turn that vision into reality—all the way from messaging and materials to style and content.

Step 2: Do your homework
Next comes development of your event framework. Research the best possible partners, speakers, presenters, entertainers and emcees for your event. Talk to others about what’s worked for them. This step can also include the creative development of your event brand: Start gathering imaginative ideas for your event’s look and feel while staying focused on your key messages.

Step 3: Location, location, location
Explore different venue options! Hold your auction on stage in a theater, have your reception in an urban park, host your cocktail party on the roof of a fantastic building. There are plenty of venues off the beaten path that can add charm and energy to what could be an otherwise run-of-the-mill event.

Step 4: Create something unique
The program you develop for your event should be in line with your goals (see step 1!)—but it should also be interesting, motivating and should drive your audience to action. For example, to celebrate the Pike Place Market centennial, Pyramid produced Market Party, a concert at the Market attended by over 10,000 Seattleites. Alongside a unique roster of amazing Seattle talent, we assembled a headliner band, The Iconics, made up of Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Chris Ballew (Presidents), John Roderick (The Long Winters) and many more. We asked these artists to play only Seattle-centered songs and to include various Seattle personalities as special guests. The result was a once-in-a-lifetime concert that Seattle won’t soon forget. Creating unique and thoughtful programs like this can take time and energy, but they are worth it.

Step 5: Get your people there!
You can have a great program in a spectacular venue with the best of everything, but your audience will not attend on its own. Your audience outreach begins with your planning process—this should never be a last- minute thought. And there‘s no secret formula to filling the room other than good, old-fashioned human communication.

The key to generating a buzz? Get out there and talk up what you’re doing! If you’re not excited, why should anyone else be? Remind your board members to do their outreach. Create a host committee and stay connected to them so they stay motivated. Connect online by creating a MySpace page for your event. Reach out to community leaders and key contacts to get them on board. Don’t stop talking up your event!

While consultants and event coordinators can help your organization develop a clear event vision, an effective event brand, a great program and rock-solid logistics, there is one thing that only you can do successfully. Only your team can get your network to attend.

So, what’s the long and short of a successful event? Be creative, think big—and get on the phone!

Dealing with reporters can be a little intimidating. O.k. — it can be REALLY intimidating if you don’t do it often. Some quick tips.

First, KNOW YOUR STUFF. And if you don’t, get a reporter to someone who does. It’s o.k. to not know the info; it’s not o.k. to fake it. Reporters want subject-matter experts (SMEs). Be an SME or get out of the way!!!!!!!!!!!!! In the end, reporters will trust you to get them to the right information and you will become - TA DA!! — a source.

(more…)

Newsflash: In the rapidly changing world of the media, there are more ways for news consumers to get less.

A new report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism takes a look at how media outlets are covering our world: The State of the News Media 2006: An Annual Report on American Journalism. This is the project’s third report, but unlike previous reports which looked at news coverage over multiple days, this year’s report studied how media outlets covered a single day: May 11, 2005.

(more…)