Re: Ad campaign

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Bob:

On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 15:00:24 -0600, you wrote:

>We haven't had the ability to get together with our PR firm due to conflicts 
>and the fact that we have been spread too thin to handle all of this.  We 
>have other commitments (some of us have full time jobs) and we've needed 
>someone to pick up the ball and run with it, but no one has stepped forward.

As is now obvious to nearly everyone: Government flacks get paid to ram this
crap down our throats and we are taxed to let them do this.

The citizenry, on the other hand, has to work to pay the taxes and then has
to take time off to fight this crud.

>
>This is why we've considered paying for a PR firm to do what volunteers 
>either have not been able to do or have stepped in too late to do 
>effectively.  We hope to invite them to a meeting this coming Tuesday 
>evening to strategize and prioritize actions.
>
>We are not married to an ad campaign.  As the PR firm remarked, we ought to 
>be focusing upon what we do on Nov. 3rd after the election, when there will 
>be a need for voices to step forward with statements, solutions, and 
>rallying cries.

Two brownie points for the PR firm!

>
>The 2 things we wanted to advertise was:  how to protect your vote (hand 
>carried paper absentee delivered at the last possible moment) and our 
>hotline for reporting incidents.
>
>If we cannot collect the facts of fraud or malfunction during this election, 
>we will have no standing to sue for change or remediation based upon 
>"suspicion".

Have you not been reading Al's stuff?  There's a gold mine there.

>
>We encourage folks to step forward to help us in strategizing for guerilla 
>style marketing of our message.

God, I feel so damn guilty.  :-(

>
>I will be out of town on business this week and unavailable to monitor 
>events in Colorado.  I encourage folks to contact Laurie Bretz (cc'd on this 
>e-mail) or Carolyn Bininski or Margit Johannsen, also cc'd on this e-mail, 
>with any other thoughts, actions, ideas, or suggestions.

Good luck on your trip, Bob.

As I sometimes tell my wife: I want to go to work so I can get some rest.

Get some rest on your trip.  You deserve it.

>
>Bob

Ralph


>
>>From: Evan Daniel Ravitz <evan@xxxxxxxx>
>>To: Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>
>>CC: cvv-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, TresCeeA@xxxxxxx, davide475@xxxxxxxx,    
>>     summerstorm03@xxxxxxxxxxx, donna@xxxxxxxxxxxx, pklammer@xxxxxxx,       
>>  mlambie@xxxxxxxxxxx, peter.raich@xxxxxxxx, jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx,        
>>bthack@xxxxxxxxxxx, laurieannb@xxxxxxx, dougrcurtis@xxxxxxxxxxx,        
>>SDeLeo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Margitjo@xxxxxxx, myriah@xxxxxxxxx,       
>>  s.sadler@xxxxxxx, taichiproj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,        
>>toso@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, carolyn@xxxxxxxxx,        
>>cary.lacklen@xxxxxxxxxxx
>>Subject: Re: Ad campaign
>>Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 21:58:52 -0600 (MDT)
>>
>>
>>On Fri, 15 Oct 2004, Ralph Shnelvar wrote:
>>
>> > Dear Bob: [McGrath, head of CFVI]
>> >
>> > On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 09:05:37 -0600, you wrote:
>> >
>> > > [snip]
>> >
>> > >> >$1000 helps us fund one week of our PR firm to pitch these stories 
>>to the
>> > >> >press, or to arrange for press conferences and interviews for our 
>>story
>> > >>to
>> > >> >get heard in these remaining days before the election, or to write 
>>and
>> > >> >transmit media advisories and media kits.
>> > >> >
>> >
>> > Bob, let me ask the following question: Has your PR firm given you any
>> > indication of how to do an "event" that will get this issue public 
>>attention
>> > and "cut through the chatter"?
>> >
>> > I repeat, an ad campaign will get completely lost is the noise of all 
>>the
>> > other ads (commercial and political) at this time of year.
>> >
>> > It's easy (and wasteful) to spend money on ads.  It's hard to come up 
>>with a
>> > guerilla campaign that will be successful.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Bob, this movement must last past this election.  Blowing your wad now 
>>will
>> > accomplish nothing.
>> >
>> > Ralph Shnelvar
>>
>>
>>I agree completely. People are tuning out the repetitive campaign
>>commercials and ours wouldn't blip on the radar TV screens.
>>
>>Here's what really has happened: The techie people spent so long
>>getting back to the basics of hand-counted paper ballots (at least
>>in the short run) that lawsuit possibilities disappeared -until
>>AFTER the fact of the election.
>>
>>The election will be another long-playing disaster.
>>
>>Evan Ravitz
>>
>>---------------------------------------------------------
>>Evan Ravitz          303 440 6838           evan@xxxxxxxx
>>Vote to Ratify the National Initiative at http://Vote.org
>>Photo Adventures:                         http://Vote.org/photos
>>
>>
>
>