ALL MY BOOK - IS A COUNTERSTROKE UPON THE "DIRTY" ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
(from the interview with Sergey Faer for the Magazine "YES!" http://www.dux.ru/yes!)
COMMODITY AND POLITICAL ADVERTISING
- How to distinguish political advertising from commodity advertising?
�����-In commodity advertising there is no direct struggle even at the moment of a fierce competition between different trade marks. Despite of it, the strong methodology of commodity marketing has penetrated into politics and killed there those important things, which are possible only in the personal struggle.
- Where it's possible to use the methods described in your book "Strategic and tactical methods of an election campaign"?
�����- Everywhere, where the competitive struggle is: intraparty strife, struggle for the good position, for the large salary, for management posts and so on. The artist and proofreader of my book have told me, that if they could have read this book earlier, it would help them to carve out a career for themselves.
- As I have seen, commodity and political advertising are differently developing in time. What is an election? The achievement of the fixed result in some period. In commodity advertising the victory is unstable condition. As soon as you have stopped - you have lost. Your book is divided into two parts - tactical and strategic. How to proceed from the knowledge of separate methods to the strategic intellection?
�����- The strategy is emerging itself, when you are immersing in information. At some moment the information will " spill over ", and the picture of strategy will develop itself. Looking from higher system level, you can see all problems in their interrelation, and can find the necessary actions, when one problem will solve another.
" POLITICAL TRICKSTERS " IN RUSSIA
- How long were you writing the book?
�����- Two years. I have elaborated 140 stratagems. There are 73 in the book, I have not found of vivid examples for others. When I began to write the book, I had only 20 stratagems from my elective experience. Since I have described them, I understood that it is only beginning and it is necessary to search further.
- Which statesman has given the greater amount of examples?
�����- Mostly those who on hearing - Luzhkov, Nemtsov, Zhirinovskiy, Lebed. Some time back, when Nemtsov was the governor of the Nizhniy Novgorod area, he has got popularity all over the country due to inventive, not demanding expenses occasions. And how Zhirinovskiy is working? The essence of his main stratagem is (on my classification): " All should be concordant, consonant, co-coloured. The falseness is beaten out from chorus ". If all people "yes", he is alone - "against", and always wins on it.
- Which stratagems are most popular among Russian statesmans?
�����- Most simple stratagem- from the hyping category "Attraction and retention of attention". It works with culture and sports, they are often near to politics. It is not expensive to statesmans and the effect is good. The most widespread pre-election policy - is a chain of creation of information occasions "out of thin air". For example, scene-stealer Zhirinovskiy perfectly wields this method, but it is impossible for someone else to repeat it: which is possible for "hooligan" - is inadmissible for the hero with positive image, for which to work on public as effectively, but " in an atmosphere of plus " - a task more difficult. Luzhkov tries to do the same, but he works with big spending, all his information occasions cost dearly.
- And Lebed works inventively? This history with the invitation of Alen Delon in Krasnoyarsk during pre-election campaign �
�����- Lebed is brave, he has learned to adhere to that image which has resulted him in success, but he has lost the ingenuity when has come out from a disfavour. And earlier there were interesting ploys one behind another. Remember a case, when he has arrived on inauguration of Bill Clinton, ostensibly invited by one of the Congressmans? Clinton, knowing that Lebed is in disfavour, did not want to look poorly before Yeltsyn, and apologetically said, "we did not invite Lebed". What a boom was worked up! The artful trick, and I'm familiar with its author - (he reviewed my book), former scout, he helped Lebed in that difficult period. And now, when his hand on a pulse of the whole region, it is difficult for him to be inventive.
�����After a statesman has achieved something, then the real businesses, instead of virtual occasions, are required from him. Now, for example, Yavlinsky - "in white clothes ", in not responsible post, he has the large field for an ingenuity, for treatment of events. As soon as he will receive authority - he will turn in Lebed which, being a man set in authority and therefore responsibility, now can only to adhere to the image. To be the inventor in authority - it is a talent of a high order, and a few people are able to do it.
- In Russia "inventors" in authority frequently solve a tasks of personal enrichment, the experience of last years shows also, that some innovations have resulted in fall of a living standard of the population and in economic crisis �
�����- I shall bring an example of the strong positive decision from experience of the United States. Some tens years back there were imposed a new tax on the vacuum contained in closed vessels. The formulation sounds very modestly, but in consequence of this well elaborated invention of " those who in authority " was the breaktrough in the field of new technologies of microminiaturization! The vacuum lamps then became simple not profitably for making. A society in an advantage: the applied and fundamental science develops, the new workplaces are created.
ELECTIONS IN KARELIYA AS A MIRROR OF THE RUSSIAN POLITICAL
ADVERTISING
- I know, that you are an empiric, and make pre-election campaigns. For example, this spring you worked on election of the Head of Government of the Karelian Republic (it's a part of Russia). Please tell about this case.
�����- It is a theme for separate clause, and here we can tell only a little... It was the election of the chairman of Government of the Karelian Republic. We were running short of time - there was a month before election, our candidate - the known man, mayor of Petrozavodsk (capital city of Karelian Republic), Katanandov. Our competitor on these elections was the previous Head of Republic, communist Stepanov. Within eight years people loved Katanandov as Luzhkov in Moskow, for eight years he was the mayor, remarkable mayor.
�����Four months prior to our arrival one of the Moscow consulting teams with the help of unfair methods of antiadvertising has reduced his image almost to zero. This is the style of their work on all Russia - "destruction" of the competitor. On all Kareliya tens circulations of two free-of-charge newspapers with defaming of our candidate were distributed. Through the newspapers and through the special people the hearings were started - we counted them approximately 150. The hearings were stratified: for the soldier - one, for the grandmothers - others, for the Byelorussians - third, for the students - fourth. That during authority he will expel the Byelorussians and Ukrainians from republic, that will disperse military formations, that rural population shouldn't enter the city Colleges and Universities - they should plant a field, milk the cows� These hearings, we are sure, were already fulfilled in other regions of Russia. They were spoken that he is bootlegger, gangster, defiler of minds� all was listed - even that he is a "gay". And the people believed. Eight years loved, and now within four months the man has turned to nothing �
- It is classics. Slander is the strong weapon. The people usually consider that " there is no smoke without fire ", something can correspond to the reality � Moreover, the more successful hearing is more interesting for retelling, if it's about all the favourite man.
�����- And how to struggle against these hearings? It is senseless to show any informations and references that he is not a "gangster", "defiler" and not a "gay". Competitor used a "Turned mirror", favourite stratagem among many politicians- to accuse the competitor of what you doing youself. In mass media Stepanov's team declared: Katanandov is bad, he foul Stepanov's name. The Karelians - the quiet people of sluggish disposition, they love the nature of their native land � And suddenly - five months of such a dirt are dumped on them! They were tired of it all, they already feel no difference - whether Katanandov is rights or not: " all candidates are bad " � Katanandov campaigned honourly and never " has stepped on a leg " of the competitor, but people say: " they all pour a dirt against each other ".
�����We have made such a strategic conclusion for ourselves: it is meaningless "to scrub " through logic, we will not "wash" each concrete hearing - we will burst toward the heart. There already were 150 hearings about - well, let it ride. It is necessary to make people believe by heart, that all these hearings are nonsense �
�����Our first television roller turned on local TV only one day - opponents quickly have taken it off the air. Because it has worked! On all Kareliya they searched for those who has made a roller, a copy even have taken in Moscow on examination - on hundreds pages of the report professors proved that it is necessary to take this roller off because it's a psychotropic weapon. At that moment it have been removed for a long time, and by then we already have made ten other rollers.
�����How was it looked? Under a penetrating into the soul music from one French movie, where a long beginning on one note, - the absolute white screen, and from above is lowered slowly the utter darkness - the dark screen. The narrator's voice-over: " The Authority is all-powerful. The flows of a dirt will fall upon the one who is worthy of replace it. Think, listen and look, - upon whom it has fallen now "� All screen is dark �
�����There were other rollers, where we have kept white - dark scale: " From love up to hatred � Stop, think, make a step � " - and screen again is white.
�����Ours Katanandov has won this election.
- You have refused antiadvertising?
�����- I did not carry on any elective campaign with antiadvertising. Counterpropaganda is acceptable, but as a protection. I admit antiadvertising only when the competitor antiadvertise himself. On any election competitor is compromised enough, gives enough resources to transform it into antiadvertising. So it's not necessary to search for any damning evidence. All my book - is a counterstroke upon those "advisers", which are engaged in "dark" election campaigns. In my book I told how it's possible to be "rationally" protected from antiadvertising, "to reduce" the competitors and not to dirty the hands. Do you know the whence of all dirt in our political marketing? Somewhere at the beginning of "Perestroika" (reorganization) have appeared the first election teams with ideas: "the elections - is war", and "all is fair in war". The psychology of such adviser is simple: I'm a good man home, but elections is a job and I'm different there - it's necessary to be cold, pragmatic�
�����The slander is the strong weapon, but there is other powerful means - of humour, against which is hard to resist to anybody. I have told a history about the "Apple" posters in any city, there was an inscription: "Young generation chooses an Apple ". The opponent used labels of a small format, which were glued to the posters: "� and drinks Pepsi-Cola".
- Whether it was possible to use humour in such, on a side, situation, what was in Kareliya?
�����- At that moment, when there was a dirt in Kareliya, our hands did not rise to write send-up songs, gags - it was not that the situation demanded. It is my belief that the adviser should be as a tuning fork. When I work, I "become" the voter myself. I use the environment and, as a tuning fork, I begin to sound according to it. Projecting the advertising action, I listen to myself - whether it resonating with me or disharmonizing � Only in the second round we launched humour, when have felt that is possible - because have already answered to aggression. By well-known voices of Lebed, Yeltsin, Zhirinovskiy we talked to all Kareliya and its government. There were made approximately 50 radio-rollers. The competitor declared, that ours Katanandov fills in all TV-channels, and on TV they do not show him, Stepanov. This method, already familiar to us, was the "Turned mirror", because the situation was opposite - on TV was Stepanov. The advertising of him was sustained in socialist spirit. Imagine on the Soviet motive "a song to build and to live helps to us", "Stepanov Victor is simple and reliable! ", "Stability", "Stability", and once again "Stability"! The main slogan of Stepanov was "Stability".
�����And - our roller on radio: Telephone ringing, and voice of Gorbatchev with characteristic soft intonation: "Call The Main, please. We looked your telecast. You are for stability � But I know, that the most stable position of a ball - when it is in "at pit"... So how comes it? It's a complete Stabilitism turns out?!" � (in original - here is also the rhyme with one Russian funny word)
�����We worked on radio, on discos. The youth needed to be bringing on elections - they were brought.
- What else methods were used in Kareliya?
�����- We used the method "An absurdity carried to its ultimate" - Get the advertising of the competitor up to the point of irrationality by its amplification. In the first day, when we have arrived, - the Election Staff was idle, nobody knows what to do with those flows of a dirt against our client - we have offered the most simple, that it was possible to make. We have taken all newspapers that have been letting out by competitors, and have collected them on one sheet of paper: in one column - the laudatory excerptions about Stepanov, and in another column - the excerptions from the same newspapers about our Katanandov. All excerptions have been done with the references to real numbers of the newspapers. The man reads - and thinks: "O! My God!". It was not necessary to think too much, - we simply have reduced on one sheet everything, that was scattered on circulations of the newspapers - the led up to the point of irrationality positive and lead up to the point of irrationality negative. We did not begin even to bring in the estimation - everyone will understand. Instantly it went to the newspapers with heading: " Only facts ".
PROSPECTS OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING
- Is the election advertising in Russia varies?
�����- It progresses, all becomes more complex. Already it is impossible to compare two years - old election campaigns with that occurs now. The creativity has changed very strongly, the analytics. The advisers become smarter.
- How to build a campaign during crisis?
�����- To work not dividing voters - for all people at once, standing on universal positions. Using the thesis of the " political consent ", which now becomes fashionable.
- That is, to use a need of the population for rest, just as it working in commodity advertising? All are speaking about the special mentality of the Russians. How do you think, it is necessary to address to feelings or reason in Russia?
�����- It is necessary to ring the all bells, using both logic and feelings! And the specific decision will be prompted by a situation.
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