John Ensign could have used the words from Radiohead’s “Creep” during his press conference yesterday announcing his resignation, “I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here?” Even so, Capitol Momentum Blog gives a more appropriate and thought-provoking use for Radiohead in political campaigns. In a recent post, Capitol Momentum outlined four ways that advocacy organizations could learn from Radiohead.
1. Reach supporters in the way that they want to be reached. Radiohead released their most recent album, The King of Limbs, by making it available for download (or just a one-time listen) on Slate.com, RollingStone.com, and YouTube. If someone bought it in-stores, they also received a newspaper about the band. Everything from Radiohead’s website, Facebook and Twitter account to their email and in-store promotions was up-to-date and fresh. Radiohead integrated (remember that word?) their offline and online promotions in a way that many advocacy organizations could model a campaign off of.
2. Don’t empower, enable! We learned about the importance of translating online support into offline action by making your audience your messenger. Radiohead encouraged their fans to film concerts and then used the footage, edited it and redistributed it. Radiohead fans were the ones that encouraged other fans to listen and participate.
3. Content is key. For Radiohead, disseminating quality content means making quality music. Not everyone loves Radiohead’s music just like not everyone will support your advocacy campaign. Providing supporters with updated and engaging content will keep people coming back for more if they can rely on your organization to provide them with reliable information in a timely and innovative manner.
4. Earn media. When Radiohead made their 2007 album, In Rainbows, available for download at any “you-name-it” price, 1.2 million people downloaded it in the first day. That summer, all proceeds from their one-time concert went to the Haiti earthquake relief effort. Capitol Momentum notes that their recent multi-media push is unlike any in history. Radiohead’s promotional efforts have garnered a significant amount of mainstream media coverage. The best thing about earned-media is that it’s free. For advocacy organizations, following steps 1-3 (integrate, enable, quality content) gets them to step 4 (earned-media).
Capitol Momentum’s full article can be seen here.
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