Team Romney Scores PR Points with Kickoff

Mitt Romney's '08 campaign pulled off a nice feat with yesterday's dial-a-thon kickoff fundraiser.  Apart from the obvious benefit of raising $6.5 million for their campaign, Team Romney scored some nice PR points.  Here's how:

• Team Romney managed the press coverage of this event perfectly.  They decked out the Boston convention center with presidential-quality production values; they played an inspirational bio video; made sure the room was filled with 400 people, including some "celebs" like the MO Governor; and they kept reporters behind a velvet rope so they could capture the flavor of the event without listening in on any phone calls or interviewing any of Romney's well-heeled supporters.
• They fed the process beast.  While John Edwards' campaign kickoff two weeks ago was all about substance and issues, Romney's was all about the mechanics of running for president.  As Hotline noted, it's rare for campaigns to open up a fundraising event to press, but it was an effective way to show off.  The event played into political reporters' obsession with process and the numbers game, and didn't bore them with any new policy proposals; not surprisingly, political reporters swooned.  There will be plenty of time for substance nine months for now, when actual primary voters are paying attention.  For now, Team Romney knows they have to show they deserve to be a front-runner, and they also know that strong early fundraising is the best way to prove that.
• They managed expectations throughout the day, by saying they expected to raise only $1 million, then announcing the $6.5 million figure at the end of the day.  Regardless of the likely fact that some of that money was pre-committed before Monday -- and that some of it came in the form of future pledges -- the Romney campaign now has a rep for "beating expectations."
  
• Unlike Democrats, Republicans tend to coalesce around their presidential nominees early in the process.  With John McCain the acknowledged front-runner, Team Romney can't afford to wait until the end of the first quarter to show their strength.  And of course, early money begets more money, because donors want to give to someone with the whiff of a winner.