blog
Politics, Rock and Roll, and Value Added Programs
by Mike Ma
I am a regular reader of SPIN* magazine. You can make fun of me now.
Now that you stopped laughing, I wanted to draw your attention to "Power Ballots"* in this month's issue. This piece investigates the impact that celebrity artist endorsements and acts really have on a presidential election. Regardless of your politics, I'd like to share with you a few quotes that I think can be directly translated to questions I regularly field about our research in value added programs and how/if they help the business of selling funds or insurance products.
1. What's the point of pursuing these (celebrities / value added programs)?
"I don't think I have ever met a voter who said, 'I'm voting for a candidate because Madonna told me to.' But they may have learned more about the candidate than they would have otherwise. Ultimately, the candidate has to change their minds." -- Lara Berhthold, former national political director for Wes Clark in 2004
Takeaway: Once, an indifferent Vegas blackjack dealer caught me counting cards. I was losing money hand over fist for an hour with horrible shoe after shoe. So the dealer deadpans, "You can't polish a turd." Same rings true here -- the core part of your business needs to be in order before you can expect benefit from value added programs. No amount of practice management or boomer education program will help bad performance, bad wholesaling, or a bad Web site. (This piece is being written on a plane returning from a $100B+ asset manager who is struggling with this question of where to invest first -- core capabilities or value add?)
2. Damn, these (programs/concerts) are expensive. Where is the benefit?
"There's no one measurement you can apply to every event. Attendance may be a core goal, monies raised, press hits. We measure what we call an 'engagement sequence,' where you get someone in the front door, then gauge the drop-off over the next few actions you ask them to do." --Erin Potts, Executive Director of Air Traffic Control, a nonprofit organization that provides resources to bolster their political activism
Takeaway: Exclusively looking at gross sales post-campaign is the wrong metric. Similarly, asking if concert attendees are going to vote for a particular candidate after the show would not be instructive. Each program could have a different, behavior-based metric or objective depending on what you are trying to do.
3. What kind of people will respond to these (concerts / value added programs)?
"One kid sent all our CDs back to us, smashed, cracked, and scratched with a note that said, 'How could you do this?' He felt really betrayed, like it wasn't our place to take any political stance." -- Nick Harmer, bassist for Death Cab for Cutie
Takeaway: One saying we have at kasina is, "If the program is for everyone, chances are, it's not that value-added." While you don't have to illicit such visceral reactions from your clients, there should be a clear idea of which market segment you are targeting. Or try this, look at your programs and ask, *what segment would we never send this to?*
*Note: link unavailable, as SPIN has a 1 month online content embargo