![[Matter Header Twitter.png]] ### 1. Botslop Redux. [[On Political Botslop]] is among our most revisited notes. The blurry distinctions between what a viewer's eye sees **and believes** versus the [[Attention Economy]]'s continued exploitation of their limited focus will (in part) define the practice of politics this cycle. Audiences will feel the slop coming out of machines overtaking their senses; as they become more keen to ~~bullshit~~ political advertising unworthy of attention. Living on the grid will feel more like an airport terminal with each passing day: CNN as inescapable background noise. Simultaneously, imitation-level slop will be easier (*cheaper*) to produce than ever. So time-crunched politicos will produce it, to "get the message out." As the guys tasked to leave the luggage cart stuck in reverse, some in our industry will choose to use greater volume, in terms of content and points, to produce [[Botslop Claims a Victim|more slop]]. [[Our Eight Rules of Ad Making|Others will not]] because [[TV is King. What is TV?|not everything is actually changing]]. When you get to a fork in the road, take it. [[First - Get people to watch|Become that Asshole]]. ### 2. "Attention-based campaigning" qua "campaigning" Given the above, [this was interesting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXFyWQ-RhlY) from Jasmine Crockett in Texas. It might not be a good idea. But it isn't slop. She is doing something only she could do. We talk a lot around here about [[Humans Learn Visually|visual brand]]. And about how stale the "campaign launch video" has become: pack as many poll tested talkers into a script that's 3 minutes long. Then wait for it go "go viral." Bad, bad bad. Crockett's is the only launch video this cycle we've actually watched for more than 12 seconds. Now; it's utterly self indulgent and has nothing to do with what swing voters might expect from her. It might goose fundraising; but [we'd much rather be her primary opponent.](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5669726-talarico-crockett-senate-race/) And it's probably more motivating for the right's base than her own. But she understands visual brand. (A lot easier if you're physically attractive.) And her brand is, well, pissing off Republicans. Good luck with that in Texas. ##### Maybe the more interesting thing about Jasmine Crockett is how she got into TX-SEN in the first place. The total free for all that is our epistemic environment means NRSC may have invented a new tactic in campaign praxis. [This is a good read.](https://www.notus.org/senate/jasmine-crockett-nrsc-texas-senate). Now, there's always a little self-puffery in a piece like this. It leaked for a reason. Still - hat tip to NRSC. Damn fine work. The key nugget:` >>Now that Crockett is in the race, the work is not done. There have been conversations with outside groups and conservative figures about the possibility of working to "stand up independent expenditure arms and offshoot brands that aren't necessarily overtly Republican entities, but that would prop her candidacy up to try and give us a better shot at facing her... the recruitment process is as much a recruiting of strong Republicans as it is trying to find ways to prop up, you know, very vulnerable Democrats," the source said. The possibility of astroturfing *recruiting from early in the process* should be a new area of focus for good operatives. If you can focus attention; you can create real-world political power faster than ever. All from a keyboard in DC. [[Institutional weakening is more evident in politics with each passing year|Institutional weakening]] means not much stands in your way. If getting attention is the campaign; not all attention will be good attention anymore. Look for base-motivating negatives to become more sticky as [[Recruiting... or Casting|brands congeal faster in high profile races]]. ### 3. The ~~Death~~ Ritual Burial of the Point Sure, take the pun... political advertising in the [[Attention Economy|attention economy]] *will* grow increasingly pointless, at least as it may address real outcomes of governance; because [[Voters are Functionally Illiterate|stupidity]]. But set that aside. (Congress has!) We mean the death of the gross ratings point (GRP) as an effective advertising metric. Look closely at the chart below. The GRP has been dead for a minute. ![[Nielsen Bar.png]] [Nielsen itself - the progenitor of TV ratings from Day 1 - is hedging on "ratings data" vs delineating impressions when evaluating the value of an audience for advertisers.](https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2022/impressions-2-0-the-great-equalizer/) In commercial advertising, the GRP has been at least incomplete as a standalone metric for years. Only in the political industry is it still widely in use, driven by some mix of a need for confidence and nostalgia. Our industry props it up like [Weekend at Bernies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekend_at_Bernie%27s): >*"We put 800 points in the spreadsheet this week, so we have healthy penetration. Now we can safely allocate budget for other things. Basically everyone will see the ad."* No. No, they won't. But in the late crush of decision making that must happen between August 1 and October 20 every two years, what began as the only shorthand morphed into a deceptively useful one. The GRP should never have been treated as the end itself. It's not the goal, or even the mechanism, for success. Success comes from message penetration (e.g, information recall) against an intended audience. The mechanism is [[Targeting isn't Cool|reach and frequency]]. As noted, streaming TV hours now exceed linear TV viewing by substantial margins - but they are related, not fully interchangeable platforms: ![[Linear v Stream Brand Score.png]] The difference between linear and digital streams is itself deteriorating. If you're watching a linear broadcast of a football game on your Apple TV through the Hulu app, are you watching linear or streaming TV? The proper strategic answer & tactical response: [[Will 'Digital' Ever Die?|Who Cares? Figure it out!]] We must stop reinforcing the distinction in our planning. Which means we as planners will have to hit moving targets. Which is going to make everyone nervous. Worse still with the generic ballot going to shit. Fun times ahead. ![[WeekendatB.jpg]]