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“I Lost My Best Friend Too.” A Speech Lesson From an Unlikely Source—Gov. Mark Dayton

25 May

 

    Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton put down the script this week.  The words that escaped the bondage of talking points prove the power of discourse that comes not from a page, but from one’s soul.

      On the political stage, even the corporate stage where every word spoken is weighed and measured, parsed and dissected, the governor displayed a moment of rhetorical brilliance—a teaching moment for leaders of all stripes. 

Peter Hobart Elementary School 4th graders Mohammed Fofana and Haysem Sani. Both boys were killed in a land slide at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul, MN on May 23rd, 2013.

Peter Hobart Elementary School 4th graders Mohammed Fofana and Haysem Sani. Both boys were killed in a land slide at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul, MN on May 22nd, 2013.

      This was no ordinary audience.  No ordinary setting.   The gilded comforts of the governor’s capitol conference room were gone.   The clicking keyboards of reporters and the silent streaming of Tweets for a headline snacking world living in the moment were all as devoid as the hundreds of eyes staring back at him.

      Those eyes belonged to the classmates of two young boys who just lost their lives.  Mohammed Fofana and Haysem Sani were fourth graders at Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park.  Their simple field trip to Lilydale Regional Park in search of fossils ended with a rock slide.  The tragedy didn’t just suffocate two fourth grade boys, if left their entire school gasping for answers. 

       The governor didn’t have any. 

Gov. Mark Dayton talking to students at Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park, MN on May 24th, 2013

Gov. Mark Dayton talking to students at Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park, MN on May 24th, 2013

       Therein lies part of the simplistic strength of a message that was so powerful.  Before an entire school sitting cross-legged on the playground, the governor, like the school teacher he once was, bent down to talk to some of the kids at eye level.  Then getting up to the podium he did something nearly every executive of his stature never does—he stepped away.   Looking directly at the children he said these words:

       “At a terrible time like this, there’s nothing I can say.  There are no words that can make you feel better.  I know that because I lost my very best friend in an accident not unlike the one that took Mohammed and Haysem away from you.  He was hiking in a canyon in California and a rock slide came tumbling down.  It was raining a couple of days before and he was killed.

        I remember the horror I felt, I remember the shock, the disbelief.  And I remember greeting his wife and his daughter who is my God daughter, who was eleven years old.  And I said why, you know, why?  Why did this happen?  Why did not just a bad thing happen to a good person, but why did a terrible thing happen to a terrific person?  And in your school a terrible thing happened to a few young boys and two more who were injured.  And we pray for their recovery.”          - Mark Dayton

     For exactly three minutes and ten seconds Mark Dayton wasn’t a chief executive, he was a chief grandfather.   His own story of personal loss transcended the moment for those children and their parents.  Like a warm blanket, he covered their frailties by exposing his own.    He didn’t have an answer.  But he had a connection.  He had a narrative.

     What makes this moment especially remarkable is that Dayton, like many executives, is a leader who often struggles to find the right words.  Lofty oratory is not among his chief gifts.  But his brief moment with those Peter Hobart students this week was a masterful example of the power of speech when one searches for a connection and a story to tell. 

     The teaching moment for communicators and leaders alike is the essential need to always consider one’s audience.   In this case they didn’t need words on a page; they needed words from the heart.   Dayton put down the script and let his soul fly free.   

      Speech class is dismissed.

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Obama on Gun Control — A Message Management Case Study

30 Mar
President Obama's gun safety push presented as the lede story on the NBC Nightly News on March 28, 2013

President Obama’s gun safety push presented as the lede story on the NBC Nightly News on March 28, 2013

              President Obama’s latest push on gun safety was hardly a shot in the dark.   His call for universal background checks on March 28th was a highly coordinated, multi-event, multi-channel message that offers a strategic communication model on a dynamic public policy issue.

                 With the raw emotions subsiding over the tragic Sandy Hook school shootings and the success of gun rights advocates at thwarting new legislative bans on military-style semiautomatic rifles, the Obama administration clearly needed to re-engage public opinion and build groundswell.    With little political support for banning military-style assault rifles, his new objective is keeping alive the proposal of universal background checks for all gun purchases.  The new strategy involves putting public pressure on congress.  The new tactics involved a national day of action with a highly coordinated series of events and social media engagements that would swamp news coverage and buzz in a 24-hour cycle. 

Figure 1 - Barak Obama Tweet on March 28, 2013

Figure 1 – Barak Obama Tweet on March 28, 2013

                 At the core of the new strategy was a White House press event featuring the victims and survivors of gun violence.  

               “Tears are not enough,” said the President. 

               He urged activists and citizens alike to “turn that heartbreak into something real” by urging their congressmen to pass meaningful gun control legislation.  By using the bully pulpit of the presidency, Obama was able to command the necessary national news coverage and earn the A-1 lede slot on the network evening news. 

Accent Signage shooting survivor John Souter speaking at a Minneapolis news conference.

Accent Signage shooting survivor John Souter speaking at a Minneapolis news conference.

                But just as important to the strategy was sending the same message to communities across the country, especially in blue states such as Minnesota and communities where gun violence is a salient issue.  In that effort the White House coordinated with gun safety organizations to hold more than 100 media events across the country that day featuring local gun violence victims pleading for action.                         

               In Minneapolis, the event featured John Souter, a survivor of the tragic workplace shooting at Accent Signage on September 27th.  Six of his co-workers died.  Souter was shot twice.   It was his first time speaking about the unspeakable.                 

                “How has it changed me?” contemplated Souter.   “I’m not the same person that’s for sure.  I don’t laugh like I used to.  These things are with you every day.”

                He commanded the attention of every news camera, every reporter’s notebook in town.  The local news conferences served as a force multiplier to the president by ensuring that local gun violence victims would be seen and positioned next to the president’s remarks in the evening news coverage.

 

Barak Obama Facebook post on March 28th, 2013

Figure 2 –  Barak Obama Facebook post on March 28, 2013

                It was also no accident that in the middle of Souter’s emotional testimony, the Barack Obama Twitter page posted a simple message:  “Fact:  Since 1968, 1.3 million Americans have died from gun violence.” (Figure 1)                                

               The more than a half a dozen tweets were joined by Obama’s Facebook posting of an infographic showing support for universal background checks seemingly as popular at apple pie. (Figure 2)  The posting received 64,000 likes and more than 10,000 shares. 

               Likewise, the video of the president’s White House speech immediately uploaded to YouTube recieved nearly 13,000 views. (See video below)              

                By the metrics of social media engagements, earned media, and buzz, the strategy was superbly executed.    It shows that strategic engagement is no accident and it offers a modern model in multi-channel communication.   But real success in this case is whether the strategy activates votes in congress.  For the moment that is a much harder task.  The whip counts are still out.

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When Holy Smokes Meet Holy Tweets

17 Mar

 

White smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013 signifying cardinals have elected a new pope.

White smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel on March 13, 2013 signifying cardinals have elected a new pope.

        In a world that communicates at the speed of light, the most important message in the universe wafted at the speed of smoke. 

         So much for the age of sophistication.

        But in that most ancient of means of communication, the smoke signals drifting from the roof of the Sistine Chapel collided with the ones and zeros that were beamed, typed, and shared around the world.   The strategic message immediately posted on the pontiff’s Twitter account @pontifex simply read, “HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM.”   The translation:  “We have a Pope Francis.” 

Figure 1

Figure 1

       In an instant, two memes went viral—the smoke and the Tweet.  

      Score one for the Vatican and its integrated cross-platform communications campaign.

      We now know what followed wasn’t just religious history, but also a significant milestone in social media.  Twitter analytics tracked the number of tweets about the new pope running at a frenetic pace of 130,000 a minute.  It now ranks as one of the mot shared moments in the world, second only to this year’s Super Bowl at 150,000, and nearly doubles that of the Oscars at 70,000. (Figure 1)

Figure 2

Figure 2

       As people watched and waited for Pope Francis to appear on the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, they also retweeted  the message from @pontifex to the tune of more than 54,000 times.  That’s an impressive rate of sharing, although it stands in the shadows of President Obama’s election night tweet that was shared  by more than a half a million people. (Figure 2)

       Together they show how an institution steeped in tradition, deftly and strategically used two very divergent platforms to communicate to the world one of its most important messages of the new millennium.   

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Minnesota Crime Data Reveals High Handgun Homicides

21 Feb

  

Figure 1 - MN BCA Uniform Crime Data on Homicides between 2001 - 2011

Figure 1 – MN BCA Uniform Crime Data on Homicides between 2001 – 2011

              In recent weeks and months several high profile mass shootings have focused the spotlight on firearms, mental illness and have brought calls for more restrictive gun laws.  Tragic events such as the shooting in Sandy Hook, Aurora, and even Minneapolis have fostered a broad discussion on the merits and need for safety balanced against the constitutional right of gun ownership.

                 During the past few weeks those discussions have taken center stage in committee rooms of the Minnesota state capitol.   Between the House and Senate, there are no less than 36 bills dealing with firearms. 

Figrue 2 - MN BCA Uniform Crime Data

Figrue 2 – MN BCA Uniform Crime Data

                 While there are strong emotions on all sides, sometimes there is value to stand back and look at data.  The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) gives us such a data set in its annual uniform crime reports. (Figure 1)

                 When one looks at the data sets from 2001 to 2011 we find that Minnesota suffered 1154 homicides.  Handguns caused more than half of those homicides, 54%.  Rifles and shotguns account for 7% of those homicides. (Figure 2)  The uniform crime data does not separate homicides by semi-automatic military style rifles. 

Figure 3 - MN BCA Homicides by Firearms 2001-2011

Figure 3 – MN BCA Homicides by Firearms 2001-2011

                 But when the data is focused on just the homicides caused by firearms during the this eleven year period there is an interesting pattern.  Fully 88% of the homicides by firearms are caused by handguns.  The remainder, 12% are caused by rifle and shotgun. (Figure 3)  The data set reveals what many prosecutors and those in law enforcement have advocated for years, that handguns and perhaps the unlawful access to handguns are the driving force of homicides in Minnesota.

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The Strategy Behind Coca-Cola’s Offense on Obesity and Attitudes

15 Jan

 

               The branding factory that is Coca-Cola has popped the cap off a pair of highly strategic campaigns this week aimed at two different audiences but with one over-arching goal—changing attitudes.

                 First, there is the very bold and highly focused commercial taking on the weighty issue of obesity.  The 2-minute spot is an expensive piece of real estate on U.S. television, but in it Coke confronts head-on the growing conversation about the role sugary soft drinks may or may not play in the nation’s obesity epidemic.

                 Like any smart and engaging company, Coca-Cola has done its environmental scanning and clearly sees the risks evolving in the marketplace.  New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s assault on large serving size beverages is just the beginning of what could possibly be a disruptive series of regulations and consumer backlash.

                 Coke’s new ad called “Coming Together” has a simple message:  Obesity comes from too many calories and not enough exercise.  While Coke admits it is part of the problem, it also holds that it’s part of the solution.  The message put’s them clearly in the middle of the national conversation.  

Figure 1 - Google Trends data for Coca-Cola and Obesity

Figure 1 – Google Trends data for Coca-Cola and Obesity

                The campaign is strategic not just in its message but its placement.  The ad aired on the evening cable news networks of MSNBC, Fox, and CNN.  Not only would the ad likely be seen by government decision makers and regulators, it knew the networks would also view it as a news story thereby exponentially extending the message’s reach.  The resulting attention created instant growth in internet searches for both Coke and obesity (Figure 1), and according to Alexa visits to Coke’s website grew 40-percent. 

 

                 In its second campaign this week, Coke takes an equally strategic tract but with a different goal.   This time coke gets back to its by roots and core brand promise of sharing happiness.   But in this whimsical spot by Oglivy Brazil, the sharing is of random acts of kindness.  Strategically targeted toward ethnic urban dwellers, Coke extends its already powerful brand by encouraging people to share something other than a Coke. 

                 Two examples of how strong brands can use their equity and loyalty to not only create conversations, but to affect attitudes and behaviors that reinforce the brand’s core values.

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90,000 Stars — Reflections on a Fallen Marine.

1 Dec

      

             The tears that dropped like rain on a Minnesota prairie didn’t come from the cool air blowing on tired eyes.  They came from the heart.  Many more came from the soul.

             “Tim, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said the prideful farmer looking across the prairie from the base of St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Catholic Church. 

St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Catholic Church. The final resting place of Lance Cpl Dale Means.

St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Catholic Church. The final resting place of Lance Cpl Dale Means.

               “I can’t tell you how proud I am of this town.”  He didn’t have to say anymore.  The tears rolling off his cheeks filled the empty space where words disappear with the emotion of what only the eyes can see, what one’s soul can feel.                

             In this part of Scott County all roads lead to St. Patrick’s.  But on this day people only needed one, the one where 1,800 American flags pointed the way.

             When word spread days earlier that a certain son was coming home, it was hardly the celebration anyone wanted.  Dale Means, was the kind of man a small town takes pride in.  He was a son, a husband, and a United States Marine.  On November 18th, what pride couldn’t promise a road side bomb took away.  What Minnesota gave, Afghanistan claimed. 

Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Means.

Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Means.

             Tragically, no news travels faster than that of a fallen service member.  When Larry Eckhardt heard, he knew what he had to do.  He packed up his trailer full of 2,000 American flags and set out from his home in Little York, Illinois.

             “Well, I went to a soldiers funeral and there was probably pretty close to about two-thousand people there and only about 50 to a hundred flags,” Eckhardt said.  “I didn’t think that was right.”

             More than 400 miles later Eckhardt pulled into New Prague with a full trailer, a near empty gas tank, and a plea for help.  Bonnie Valek was among those who heard the call.    

Larry "The Flagman" Eckhardt

Larry “The Flagman” Eckhardt

             “Yesterday they had on the radio station, if they could get fifty volunteers, and I volunteered and they had well over a hundred on the snap of a finger,” Valek said.             

            In a little more than an hour, this community known for planting crops was planting flags.  By the time they were done, the sons and daughters of New Prague with the help of Larry the Flagman built a tri-colored wall of patriotism that stood 1,800 strong.  The flags didn’t just bring volunteers, they brought pride.  Pride brought everyone else.

             Among the people lining Main Street was a man in a leather jacket with a face sculpted by the cold fall wind.  Upon recognizing a familiar face from television he reached out his hand with a tight grip and said, “Thank you, Tim.  I’m so glad you’re here, people need to see this.”  He introduced himself only as Scotty, but like so many here the only name that mattered was that of the Marine they claimed as their own.

             “It’s amazing,” he said.  ”When I heard about the funeral procession I had to come out.  At first I was one.  Then five minutes later I was ten.  Then I was 50.  Then 100.”    He paused and looked up and down the street.  “Now, I must be a thousand.”

             As the hearse carrying Lance Corporal Means’ body slowly crept past the gauntlet of people, pride, and flags, there was hardly a dry eye.  Jen Ophus was among those fighting off the tears.  

Flags lining the funeral procession route for Lance Cpl. Dale Means to St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Catholic Church.

Flags lining the funeral procession route for Lance Cpl. Dale Means to St. Patrick of Cedar Lake Catholic Church.

             “I think it’s… really impressive,” Ophus said.  “I think it’s something that we should all do and show our respect.  I don’t think it’s seen enough.”

             Further down the street, Ron Dols called it an awakening experience.  “Unfortunately this country doesn’t show its patriotism enough.  And I think this is a good example of it.”

             Lance Corporal Means may have given his life along a lonely trail a half a world away, but at this critical moment he and his family were hardly alone.  His last trip to the church on the hill would be protected by 23,000 stripes and 90,000 stars.  Larry Eckhardt made sure of it.

             “I call it his last gift to the community,”  Eckhardt said.  “Because, it does bring the community together and as long as they remember the flags, they’re going to remember him.”

 *            *            *

          Lance Corporal Mean’s funeral was #97 for Larry Eckhardt and his flags.  He was leaving the next day to drive his trailer to Iowa for the funeral of another fallen soldier.  To learn more about Larry Eckhardt and his flags, you can follow him on Facebook. 

Flags along Main Street in downtown New Prague, Minnesota for the funeral procession of Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Means on November 28, 2012.

Flags along Main Street in downtown New Prague, Minnesota for the funeral procession of Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Means on November 28, 2012.

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How Social Media is Driving Political Engagement — What TV News Can Learn

22 Oct

 

Illustration courtesy of Social Media Daily

           The social media forces that have changed and influenced television viewing habits, are now changing political engagement too.  Political communication that was once dominated by television commercials and yard signs has gone digital—and personal. 

            New research from Pew Internet reveals a significant number of Americans using social media—66%–are using social networking sites (SNS) to both follow politics and candidates and share their own political views.  

            Here are some of the top lines:

  • 38% of those who use SNS & Twitter use social media to “Like” or promote material related to politics or social issues.
  • 34% of social media users have used tools to post their own thoughts or comments on political or social issues.
  • 33% have reposted political or social issues content that originally posted by someone else.
  • 31% have encouraged others to take action on a political or social issue.

             The Pew research also indicates that the power users skew heavily young and somewhat liberal. (Figure 1)  That finding would support the explosive social media usage among viewers of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. 

Figure 1 – Pew Internet

             For television programmers, especially TV newsrooms, this latest set of data points is a gift for building strategies to engage younger viewers in way that is native and natural to them.  As television entertainment producers have built social media engagement into live viewing of comedies, drama, and reality episodes, TV news operations have the same opportunity especially when it comes to live political events such as debates, forums, and rallies.

             Some of the tactical engagement methods should include:

  • Create branded discussion forums by hashtagging events for people to follow.  Example: #Fox9debates.
  • Use the hashtagged comments to drive on-air discussion and talk back with guests and experts.
  • Establish website chat rooms during major events that are moderated by newsroom talent. 
  • On-air talent should direct viewers to specific content on the web or Facebook and encourage them to share it.

             The reality of today’s connected world is that viewers are constantly screen-splitting, meaning they’re watching TV and interacting with a mobile device at the same time.  By encouraging viewers to engage with your brand on another channel only builds the brand and helps them achieve the information and entertainment gratifications that they are seeking.  Television programmers who don’t do this risk losing their viewers to someone else who will.

             Here’s a few more important facts on the Pew Internet study. (Figure 2)  The Pew research team lead by Lee Raine interviewed 2253 adults between July 16 and August 2, 2012.   They found that 60% of American adults use either SNS or Twitter.  Of the American adults who are online, 69% use SNS such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+, and 16% use Twitter. 

Figure 2 – Pew Internet Survey Democraphics

 

 

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Presidential Debate Lesson — It’s the Metaphors, Stupid!

6 Oct

 

Sesame Street’s Big Bird

           Two men approached the presidential stage in Denver, but only one commanded it and walked off with a memorable message for the American voter to consider.  

             One of these men had a focused, clear message with passion and purpose.  The other appeared rhetorically disheveled.  If Aristotle were measuring the persuasive outcomes based upon authority, emotion and logic (ethos, pathos, logos) then Mitt Romney would have gone to the head of the class.

             One of the key takeaways from the first presidential debate is not necessarily how poorly President Obama may have performed, but why Mitt Romney was more effective and memorable in framing one of his key messages: government is too big. 

Presient Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney at the presidential debates, October 3, 2012.

             He did it with two metaphors.  The most powerful stands seven feet fall and eats bird seed.  The second, recast Washington as voodoo government.             When moderator Jim Lehrer tried to elicit a response from Romney on the size of government, here was his response:

 “I’m sorry Jim, I’m gonna stop the subsidy to PBS.  I love Big Bird.  I actually like you, too.  But I’m not gonna keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.”

             His second most powerful message took a long-time democratic boogeyman—trickle-down economics—and turned in on its head.

 “And what we’re seeing right now is, in my view is a trickle-down government approach which has government thinking it can do a better job than free people pursuing their dreams. And it’s not working.”

        Psychological researchers have long established that people process and remember what they already know.   Ralph E. Reynolds of Iowa State University writing in the Journal of Educational Psychology strongly established how metaphorical writing vastly improved recall and understanding.  Likewise, Thomas J. Reynolds has published extensive works in the Journal of Advertising Research on how metaphorical references build stronger advertising messages.  The theory extends to political communication as well.  Eugene Miller of the University of Georgia notes that political rhetoric has always relied heavily on metaphors whether it’s assigning players to the president’s “team,” to creating programs such as the “New Deal,” “New Frontier,” or “War on Poverty.”  One of the most effective uses in a campaign came from Walter Mondale in 1984 when he blatantly stole a line from a Wendy’s hamburger commercial to describe rival Gary Hart’s domestic policies: “Where’s the beef?”  The metaphor was devastatingly effective.  Within weeks Hart’s campaign ended and Mondale won the democratic nomination. 

         In this new era of explosive mediated social dialog, the Big Bird metaphor has become an instant internet meme.  Within minutes of Romney’s reference, satirical Big Bird pages surfaced on Twitter and t-shirt designers went to their screen printers.  Internet searches for both Romney and Big Bird skyrocketed. (Figure 1)  By week’s end, the Big Bird reference even became material for Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update.  

Figure 1: Google Trends web search volumes. RED-Mitt Romney, BLUE-Big Bird

           Mitt Romney’s chief goal in the coming weeks is to change the attitudes of the extremely narrow percentage of voters who have yet to make up their minds.  In the first debate, he’s given them two symbolic images to consider.  Wouldn’t it be ironic if come election day the chief lesson of the fall campaign didn’t come from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but instead from an address on Sesame Street.

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An Emmy Award Salute to a Vietnam Veteran’s Legacy

3 Oct

             On a windswept Minnesota prairie where the trees whisper the memories of Vietnam, the quiet chorus is now joined by golden girl with a ringing voice.

            The trees that stand tall and grow on forty acres of rolling hills were all planted by Vietnam veteran Geoff Steiner.  Each one has a name, each has a memory.  Nearly every tree is planted in honor of a soldier who never came home.  Steiner did.  But he still lives with the horrors of a war that both took lives and changed lives—forever.

            Last Veterans Day, I traveled to Steiner’s tree memorial with fellow producers Mark Anderson and Rod Rassman.  Together with editor Sam Scaman we produced a segment on Steiner for a documentary film called Veterans Day 11-11-11. 

           Our profile of Steiner has just won the Emmy Award for best single military story.  We humbly accept the award in honor of Geoff Steiner and all of the Vietnam veterans who now live in eternal peace.   May God’s blessings be with them.     

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