Potomac Flacks: Is Edwards' Announcement Timing "Perplexing" or Smart?

December 19, 2006

Is Edwards' Announcement Timing "Perplexing" or Smart?

Johnedwards_2 NYT's Nagourney looks at John Edwards' plans to formally announce his 2008 campaign in New Orleans between Christmas and New Year's. But is the timing smart or misguided from a PR standpoint?

More perplexing, at least from a conventional point of view, is why Mr. Edwards would announce his candidacy in the last week of the year, a dead time for news, when it can be hard to win voters’ attention.

Democrats said his campaign was gambling that the television networks and cable news programs would find New Orleans a compelling setting in a week when they were desperate for news and when many Americans would be in front of their television sets, albeit looking for football more than politics.

Put us in the "smart" camp. It's a dead period for news, so Edwards is guaranteed more coverage than he'd get on say, a weekday in January. And while voters might not be focused on politics during the holidays, the purpose of the announcement isn't to close a final sale with a voter but merely to introduce one's candidacy.

Posted by Matt Mackowiak on December 19, 2006 in 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Matt Mackowiak is a Washington, D.C. and Austin,TX-based Republican strategist and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. In his career he has managed a winning Congressional campaign and worked in the U.S. Senate, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at a leading international PR firm, on a presidential campaign in Iowa and in White House presidential advance. Follow him on Twitter - @MattMackowiak

Laura Gross - Contributor
Laura Gross is currently president of Scott Circle Communications. She has served as deputy director of communications at the DNC, was Gov. Howard Dean's Communications Director and she worked in the press office at USAID during the Clinton administration. Her experience also includes time in the PR department of National Public Radio and she was part of Vice President Gore's advance team when he was in The White House.
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Blain K. Rethmeier - Contributor
Blain K. Rethmeier is currently the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Insurance Association (AIA). Rethmeier joined AIA from the White House where he served as Special Assistant to the President for Communications and directed communications for the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Council. Prior to joining the White House, Rethmeier served as Press Secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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