There is widespread concern that the recent 5-4 Supreme Court Decision to roll back restrictions on corporate spending in federal campaigns could unleash a torrent of corporate-funded attack ads in upcoming elections.

On behalf of the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote: “Because speech is an essential mechanism of democracy—it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people—political speech must prevail against laws that would suppress it by design or inadvertence.”

In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens accused the majority of judicial activism and attacked the use of corporate personhood in the case: “The conceit that corporations must be treated identically to natural persons in the political sphere is not only inaccurate but also inadequate to justify the Court’s disposition of this case.”

Good arguments can be made on both sides of this issue in regard to whether it captures the spirit of the constitutional mandate to protect political speech. But personally, I don’t think advertising is the problem. A strong case can be made that there is not enough spent on political advertising in relation to how important these election results are and how almost completely inept our political leaders have been at responsibly managing the approximately $3 trillion federal budget. Larger communication budgets to promote campaigns should help us hold political officials more accountable for what they promise during their campaigns and for their actual behavior in office.

Much has been made about the rising cost of campaigning to become President. According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a total of 148 candidates for all parties and candidates who ran for President in 2008 raised a collective total of $1,644,712,232 and spent $1,601,104,696 for the primary and general campaigns through the 2008 election. The amounts raised and spent by the two major candidates, according to the same source, was:

Candidate (Party)   $ Raised               $ Spent                  Votes              $ per vote

Barack Obama (D) $ 532,946,511    $ 513,557,218      69,498,215           $ 7.39

John McCain (R)     $ 379,006,485    $ 346,666,422      59,948,240           $ 5.78

These expenditures, in part, led to the highest turnout of voters (63%) since 1960. Not a bad result. Including all the candidates’ expenditures, around $20 per vote was spent on the 2008 Presidential campaign. By commercial standards, and given the importance of the purchase decision, that doesn’t seem unduly high, especially when compared with the amount we each spend to fund the government.

Political marketing suffers some structural disadvantages that the commercial world does not. First, in general elections, voters usually see only a pair of realistically viable candidates to choose between. That’s a key reason turnout is low. In just about any other product category, there are many more choices. As a result, consumer interest—and consumption—is higher than political interest and consumption.

Second, the voter’s enthusiasm is episodically crushed by having to accept what the majority decides, no matter how far out of alignment that candidate’s values are from the voter’s.

Additionally, in the U.S. we can only cast a vote on a specified date once every two, four or six years, except by absentee ballot. Given the vagaries of voting, there might be a line to wait in, foul weather, a sudden crazy schedule to deal with or even a level of mistrust over whether an outdated voting machine will actually work. The commercial marketplace is vastly more efficient and convenient. Consumers cast their votes in millions of purchase decisions every day, increasingly online. We still operate under voting laws that existed when you might have had to ride a horse two days to get to the polls.

Finally, many politicians understand that they need to develop a personal brand with a distinctive, appealing message, delivered consistently over time. But it is often difficult to be this consistent and actually win. Politicians have to win a majority on Election Day, and doing so often makes them believe they need to parse words, trying to have it both ways, and thus become perceived as flip-flopping on issues. In addition, our win-lose system often forces candidates to undertake destructive tactics such as negative advertising to tear down their opponents rather than promoting their own virtues. When both candidates participate in this approach, both brands suffer, as does the entire political category.

What’s needed in politics is not less advertising but better marketing and branding: focusing on current and emerging “customer” needs, developing “product” and credible service solutions, informing interested citizens about them and making themselves easily accessible in person and through social media and other communication channels. But the real key is for politicians to understand that making unkept promises, while common, is what is hurting them most.

Perhaps a good starting point would be for politicians to view citizens not as occasional voters, donors and taxpayers but as their “customers” who are much, much more intelligent than most politicians seem to think. Voters remember what you say and if you keep your promises, especially if you are running for President.

President Obama won the past election, in part, with much better marketing than his opponent. But his brand strength and place in history will ultimately be defined by how well he delivers on his campaign promises. The brand promises are half the brand, keeping them is the other half. If politicians want to know why they are held in such low regard, they need look no further than their trail of broken promises. That is the problem, not advertising.

-Patrick Strother

The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible in space.

Astronauts have reported many objects are visible at a low level orbit, but once in outer space, no man-made objects can be seen.

Yesterday, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his hole to foreshadow six more weeks of winter. A few years ago, my reaction would have been “hrrrrumph!” The older I got, the more I grew to dislike winter. The cold, the snow, the mess and the long days—when will it ever end! I found myself wishing the winter months away dreaming of the coming of spring.

 However, now I have started to view winter through the eyes of my young daughter. Her enthusiasm for snowfalls bring me back to my childhood and get me thinking about how I use to love winter just as my daughter does. Instead of complaining when I wake up to a new blanket of snow, I see the excitement in my daughter’s eyes and it spreads to me. I now look forward to weekends spent outside enjoying the snow. As an adult I forgot just how much fun snow can be. We can go sledding on the local hill, maybe try our luck skating or just go out and make a snowman in the yard. There are limitless options for fun!

My daughter’s excitement for life (even during long, cold winter Minnesota days) made me realize there is a certain magic that we lose as we grow older. We look at everything differently and tend to see things only for what they actually are and not what they could be. We don’t take the time to stop and enjoy what is around us anymore. We move through life at extraordinary speed sometimes missing all the little, special things.  Maybe we should all try to bring some of that childhood magic back into our lives to lighten our hearts and brighten our smiles!

-Jane Tomasetti

Keeping customers satisfied is a top priority for any successful company.  But during the economic storm that struck most recently, many companies have battened the hatches and done their best just to hang on.  Indeed, doing more with less has often meant simply maintaining current accounts and focusing on prospecting to grow revenue.  However, if you’re a company looking to increase sales, have you considered conducting a customer satisfaction survey?

Admittedly, the purpose of customer satisfaction research is not to sell.  However, it is well known that whatever you measure tends to increase (the Hawthorne Effect) and increased satisfaction may lead to more use of your product or service.  In fact, during a recent survey project, we noticed an exciting trend.  After reviewing what’s most important to the respondents and allowing respondents to voice any praise or concerns, we asked if they anticipated needing additional work from the client’s other divisions during the upcoming year.  This led to a number of leads, which wouldn’t have been uncovered without taking the time to check-in with these loyal customers and ask if they have unspoken needs. 

Even if a survey doesn’t uncover new sales revenues, it’s always a good idea to make sure your current customers are happy.  So, is customer satisfaction research in your 2010 marketing plans?

-Jeron Udean

If you are allergic to seafood, avoid CT scans.

The contrasting agents used in CT scans are made from shellfishes’ iodine, not protein which is the cause of most shellfish allergies.

<3… B4…LYLAS…TKU4UK

Translation: heart, before, love you like a sister, and thank you for your kindness, respectively. Would you have guessed that these seemingly random combinations of numbers and letters are just a few among hundreds of acronyms of text message lingo? I pulled these from Netlingo.com, which boasts the most extensive list of text message lingo, 95 percent of which I am completely unfamiliar. When I receive text messages from friends or younger family members comprised mostly of acronyms, I scratch my head, puzzled at what the message is supposed to say.    

For a long time, I was resistant to text messaging. I thought it was a waste of time. A simple phone call would take half the time to get to the point than a text messaging conversation. In fact, I was so resistant that until a few years ago, I didn’t even have a cell phone that enabled text messaging! And now, I find that I text more than I talk on the phone simply because people are more responsive to a text message.

However, my text messages are not cryptic codes of letters and numbers. Instead, they are grammatically correct and complete sentences. I have yet to give in to the LOL, BRB, TTYL and other acronyms. As a spelling and grammar nerd, seeing these acronyms and period-less sentences make me cringe.

What sparked this evaluation of my text messaging habits was an article I found while perusing through the day’s news online that took text messaging to a new level. The headline read “South Korea team wins text messaging world cup.” The LG Mobile World Cup Championships pitted 24 participants from 12 countries against each other in an intense competition of who could type phrases projected on plasma screens the fastest with no typos or abbreviations. The winning team from South Korea took home the championship title and $100,000. A new record was set by a 27-year-old from Portugal who typed a 264-character text in 1 minute and 59 seconds. I’m fairly certain I could only type a 100-character text in the same amount of time with several typos.

Fifteen years ago, I never would have guessed a phenomenon like text messaging would ever come to pass. Now, people are competing to be the most accurate and fastest of all the avid text messagers in the world. OMG!

 -Mary Nhotsavang

Think nothing good can come out of having your credit card number stolen? I would have thought the same before having my Wells Fargo Visa Check Card number swiped just before the New Year. Sitting here at my desk going about the daily flurry of work, the phone ran and my caller ID revealed it was Wells Fargo. “Uh oh,” my gut muttered. I picked up quickly and discovered, much to my surprise, that Wells Fargo had detected “unusual activity” with my card number. Within a few minutes, the diligent Wells Fargo representative and I came to the conclusion that my card number had been stolen (given that my day’s activities hadn’t included making multiple unsuccessful attempts to set up Yahoo! Personals accounts and I hadn’t charged $1.62 to an attorney in Portland, Oregon.) Within seconds, my card number was deactivated and the thief’s buying power was disabled.

While this experience temporarily rattled me (since my physical card was securely in my wallet), it enhanced my faith in banking with Wells Fargo. Sure, I’ve read their marketing materials for the WellsProtect^® program that claims I’m automatically covered at no extra cost and not responsible for unauthorized charges if reported promptly. But this comfort-instilling marketing message was really brought to life by experiencing this service in action. And let’s not forget, it was the Wells Fargo representative who alerted me to potential trouble, ensuring that prompt action was indeed taken.

Last week, Pat Henning blogged about the benefits of having a shared values culture for achieving business results. One of Wells Fargo’s internal brand promises is that they will “wow” customers to retain their existing base and grow, at least in part, by word of mouth. While I’m not privy to precisely how Wells Fargo has informed, involved and inspired its employees (the Inside-Out Model SCG uses for  internal communications programs) to be their ambassadors of this brand promise, one word most aptly describes my recent experience with Wells Fargo—Wow!

-Steph Haugan

Staying out in the cold and wind will give you a cold.

Colds are caused by viruses, not from cold air, slush, wind or other wintery conditions.  Cold viruses are more active in the winter and that’s why people get more colds this time of year.

In addition to the countless hours of football I watched last weekend (Go Vikings!) I was lucky enough to catch the Men’s figure skating competition at US Nationals. And what a duel it was as reigning champion Jeremy Abbott prepared to defend his title from longtime rivals Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir. But Jeremy was up to the challenge, and delivered two spectacular programs to land him in the top spot (in fact he led the entire competition). His final score of 263.66 points was 25 more than that of world champion Evan Lysacek — a landslide for those of you (myself included) still confused by skating’s new judging system.

Some questioned Jeremy’s coaching change last May and relocation to the Detroit Figure Skating Club, but all doubts were soon dispelled after this competition.

I especially enjoyed Abbott’s smooth confidence and exuberant attitude—both missing from many skaters I watched. I also appreciated his costume choices—understated and modern yet reminiscent of greats like Paul Wylie and Brian Boitano. Abbott didn’t need glitz or glam to succeed—his cool confidence was gold medal worthy. With this win, he also clinched his berth to the Winter Olympics. Both Evan and Johnny will join him this February. Go Team USA!

How did Jeremy first get interested in skating? Check out his story on iSkateRiedell.com! And be sure to catch the Ice Dance Free Skate this Saturday at 2 p.m. central, and then the Ladies Free Skate at 8 p.m. all on NBC. The perfect pre-cursor to a football-filled Sunday!

-Jenny Silgen

 NBC’s plans to return late night host Jay Leno to the 10:35 pm CST spot while pushing co-worker Conan O’Brien back a half hour to 11:05 pm has caused quite a ruckus – creating good entertainment all in its own right. In fact, who needs to tune into the Tonight Show for a laugh when Conan issues a statement addressed to “People of Earth.” His statement continued, “In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me.” Blah, blah, blah.

 Well, I don’t feel sorry for Conan. NBC owns the Tonight Show property and they can pretty much do with it want they want. However, I do feel sorry for the other employees that must work in this mess.

 It’s no laughing matter when an employee airs grievances publicly. Sure, most companies don’t deal with mega stars like Conan and Leno, but most companies do have a couple of super-talented, overly confident employees. You know who they are. While stars like Conan have instant access to the national media, your employees now can make a similar impact through Facebook, blogs, Twitter and the like. Without defined expectations and an established culture, these folks’ energy can migrate to advancing themselves rather than working for the common good of the enterprise. The results can be devastating both financially and culturally. The financial element for NBC could likely run into tens of millions but what of the untold cost to the culture or its brand?

 Again most companies’ playing field is much different than this situation at NBC, but the network’s plight is still instructive. Does your company have guidance in place to filter out the Conans before they begin destructive behavior. Do you rally the troops around the common cause with their every action every day? Establishing a shared values culture provides just that. While morally neutral, these values define expected behavior and enhance each individual action. The shared values provide customers with a consistent experience from shipping to sales, and allows a company to more readily achieve it goals. Investing in internal communications and the culture is often a tough sell, but take note; it ALWAYS provides a positive financial return.

 We know NBC has worked hard in developing its cast of employees over the years and maybe its culture. In entertainment, a guy like Conan probably seemed liked a great talent who could connect with audiences and advertisers. But I’m not sure the People of Earth (including those who watch late-night television) hold Conan in higher regard now that they know of his grievance with his employer (a clever ploy to distribute his resume broadly) or how he feels about his hair.

 -Pat Henning