WP: Campaigns Turning More to Online Videos

[DeepModem Mom]

Campaigns Turning More to Online Videos
Webcasts Can Make a Greater Impact and Reach a Targeted Group of Voters
By Zachary A. Goldfarb
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, April 3, 2006; Page A05

The day after Lynn Swann (R) launched his bid this year for governor of Pennsylvania, his campaign Web site posted "Lynn Swann's Video Blog." It featured inspirational music and Swann speaking to the camera, along with shots of him on the stump before cheering crowds.

With buttons to send the Web page address to a friend or send the campaign a contribution, Swann's team hoped the Web video, which ran for a little more than two minutes, would catch the attention of voters who are hard to reach with more conventional messages.

"Less people are watching regular TV -- they're watching more channels, they're watching TV in a time-shifted environment," said Justin Germany, 26, a campaign consultant who crafted the video in a few hours. "And yet there is a hunger for this, and that's where Web video comes into play."

Political campaigns have begun to understand what corporate America already knows: Multiple sources of information and entertainment are making it more difficult for advertisers to reach their target audiences through traditional TV spots. Now, consultants say campaigns are turning to online video -- which can have more emotional impact than a TV ad -- as a form of targeted media to reach particular groups.

"The problem is fragmentation. In 1982, a media planner could go out and buy ABC, NBC and CBS, and reach 80 percent of the market," said Bill Caspare, a veteran of political advertising who recently started an online video company. These days, he added, "they have to buy 57 stations and get 57 reporting mechanisms to get 80 percent. All of the sudden, the Internet becomes much more relevant."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/02/AR2006040201219.html?sub=AR