Information * Action * Community
Blurring the Line
Between GR and PR
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
Internet Advocacy Center
December 15, 2005
202.223.1333
[email protected]
Information * Action * Community
Sherrington’s Law
• In 1904, Lord Sherrington conducted
experiments on dog reflexes.
• He identified pressure points at various
locations on a dog’s body where, if you
applied sufficient stimulation, the dog
would respond by reflexively scratching
its haunches.
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Sherrington’s Law (continued)
• Sherrington observed that stimulation
must exceed a threshold to produce the
reflex.
• He also found that simultaneous, subthreshold stimulation to multiple pressure
points would also produce the reflex,
where none alone would have.
• He called this phenomenon “additive
summation.”
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Sherrington’s Law Applied
Paid Media
Earned Media
Direct Lobbying
Grassroots Advocacy
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Reinforcing Tactics
• Always link or refer to
your website.
• Make opportunity to
act prominent and
easy on website.
• Carefully choose
action and targets to
meet your campaign’s
needs.
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Advertising Activates
• A gift idea from
Defenders of Wildlife.
• Raises issue
awareness and
money.
• Additional action
options
– Tell-a-Friend
– Donate
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Clever Ads on Blogs
• Ads on Blogs reach Blog readers
and the Blog’s author.
• An ad that creates newsworthy
action can increase effectiveness
(think Daisy Commercial with
action opportunities).
• BetOnIraq.com sells Iraqi Dinars
to investors and promotes
support for the war.
• What was once $82,500 worth of
Dinars now costs <$50.
• Will it come back?
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Earned Media for BetOnIraq.com
• BetOnIraq.com has
been interviewed or
written about in:
–
–
–
–
–
Baltimore Sun
Seattle Times
Irish Independent
Stars and Stripes
Times of London
• TV and radio coverage
– Money Matters
– Radio Europe
Mediterraneo network
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Case Study: Ashdown for Senate
• Q. How do you defeat
a well-funded, sixterm, Senator if you
don’t have much
money?
• A. Using the tools of
cyberspace
(www.pashdown.org)?
• Pete Ashdown vs.
Orrin Hatch
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Websites Can Still be the Story
• Collaboration Wiki for
developing policy
platform
• Wiki is a group of Web
pages that allows users
to add content, as on an
Internet forum, but also
permits others (often
completely unrestricted)
to edit the content.
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Ashdown’s Opening
• For each issue, Ashdown
presents his core position.
• www.pashdown.org/wiki
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Voters Discuss
• Voters are free to discuss,
comment, suggest.
• Ashdown participates in
discussion and modifies
and expands his position
based on discussions.
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Blurring the Line
Between GR and PR
Thank You
Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D.
Internet Advocacy Center
December 15, 2005
202.223.1333
[email protected]