Al Gore: PR agent for planet earth

Al Gore was on 60 Minutes last night and I was struck with how successful he is in the role of Public Relations.

(Please note: This is not a political blog. I am not commenting on presidential politics or on the politics of global warming. This is commentary on Gore as a communicator.)

PR and marketing professionals should look to Gore as an important case study on how to do things right. Here are my top-of-mind thoughts:

1. Al Gore has successful communicated a powerful idea, that "Global Warming is the greatest challenge facing our time." He doesn't talk about his products -- books and movie -- instead he communicates powerful ideas. He knows exactly what he wants his buyer personas to believe.

2. Gore pays attention to buyer personas and he tailors his presentations accordingly. For example, when he talks to evangelical Christians, he includes passages from the Bible.

3. Gore is persistent, building his ideas over time. When he first started talking about Global Warming years ago, very few people were interested. He kept at it, speaking to hundreds of groups and building the buzz.

4. Gore understands how to use the media to help deliver his information. In practically every interview I've seen with him, Gore talks about climate change. To use an old PR term, he is "on message." Even when reporters draw him into other discussions, like who he supports for President, he brings the conversation back to what is important to him.

5. Gore understands how to use the Web. He has an attractive, content rich Web site and he is a blogger.

6. He is the undisputed thought leader when it comes to climate change and he delivers his ideas through various media including online, print (his book An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We can do about it), and video (the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.)

7. He knows how to deliver compelling live presentations.

8. Gore understands global communications. An Inconvenient Truth been translated into 27 languages, and he delivers speeches all over the planet.

9. Like many successful PR pros, Gore knows that sometimes advertising is important in an overall communications campaign. He is using the profits from his books and documentary as well has his Nobel prize award to kick off a $300 million advertising campaign to raise awareness about climate change. (You should start seeing TV ads soon.)

10. Awards programs, another PR tool, are part of his work. You can't do much better than an Oscar and a Nobel. (An Inconvenient Truth won an Academy Award for best documentary feature in 2006, and Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for the "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." And when he wins an award. Gore talks again about his powerful idea because he know the world's media is paying attention.

Al Gore, PR Agent for Planet Earth.

PR and Marketing pros can learn from his work. I certainly have.

Comments

[B.L Ochman]

You are so right about Gore understanding the Internet and community building. None of the current candidates understand it.
The best videos about Obama are made by The Black Eyed Peas, and Clinton's online effort is very web 1.0 with some new bells and whistles thrown in.

An Independent team, like Bloomberg/Gore, could enter the race, bypassing the primaries and all the delegate brouhaha up to 90 days before the election.

And with the kind of Internet marketing Gore's produced to date, they could win too. That's what gives me hope in this election. I wrote a post about the marketing of the candidates last night http://tinyurl.com/2cvuc8

[Tim Dempsey]

David: I'm not aligned with Gore on many subjects, but I was watching this segment with my much better half and we both had to admit he'd really "parked it" [yes it is baseball season] with this transition from defeated politico (however justly / unjustly) to evangelist. Good catch.

[poetryman69]

energy independence is much more important than global warming. when the US is energy independent there will be no more oil wars and the terrorists will all be poor and unable to reach us. This will save lives AND energy. The global warming crowd can't claim this. They can claim that they will damage and perhaps destroy capitalism which is their true aim. I for one am not done using capitalism. So I want to keep it. True believers in global warm are free to starve and freeze to death next winter. Think of all the energy you will save!

[Pegg M. Jordan]

Excellent analysis, David, and thanks for the cool-headed look at an excellent PR campaign. But, how amazing and disheartening that you needed to put that disclaimer at the beginning of this post. The inexplicably venomous reaction to any mention of Al Gore or global warming is a classic example of the old "kill the messenger" approach. Gore and co. nailed it perfectly in the title: "An Inconvenient Truth."

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Pegg

I learned by experience. This is a marketing and PR blog, but sometimes I comment on the marketing and PR aspects of political campaigns. Inevitably, even when I put the disclaimer, I get really aggressive comments.

Take care,
David

[Phil Myers]

David,

Great analysis! Same political disclaimer to start, now my add-on point. Gore is more than a successful PR agent, he's tuned in. He's found a problem that affects people we care about (future generations), he's quantified the impact and inidirectly, he is beginning to foster new experiences that the green movement is captilizing on. The PR engine on the back completes the picture but without the foundation, it would have been what it was 10 years ago ... Al's nutty ramblings about the environment.

[Paramjit L. Mahli]

Mr. Gore is on message and is successfully leveraging various media to reach different audiences. David,you are absolutely right, this is very good case study for public relations folks.

[Tony Zambito]

David,

It's great that you had the inspiration after watching Al Gore to show how he is effectively following the new rules of marketing. Of particular interest to me was your highlight of how Al Gore really gets and understands his "buyer personas". Having actually met him once in person, I can tell you he knows how to treat each person attentively. I've seen such a transformation in Al Gore as one who has learned to connect emotionally with each community he speaks to. Now, is there anyway we can get him to jump into the Presidential race? Wouldn't that be exciting since he now is more prepared than he ever has been in terms of connecting with voters.

[Donna St. Jean Conti]

David, I agree with your analysis as well. Gore is remarkable in his public relations and marketing communications acumen—someone from whom we can all learn. I have been reading and recommend another, less known book by Gore. It’s called The Assault on Reason, and you need only read his introduction to see how just how completely he understands the impact that media messaging has on what he calls “the public sphere.” Among other points made, Gore makes a case for the Internet being a great hope for saving US democracy as it was intended to be. Check it out.

[John Mallen]

I have to echo the preceding comments. David, this is an inspirational way to approach blogging itself - - in effect, a case study from another's (Gore's) activities. And the analysis is excellent too!

[Lyn Rafe-Lawyer]

For Al Gore

Dear Mr. Gore you have the clout and knowledge to thoroughly investigate the dangerous chemical trails emmitted over our planet's atmosphere by the United States government and military agents. Go to Google where you will fins reams of information about this inisdious matter.

Thank you for your incredible concern for our world.

Sincerely,

Lyn Rafe-Lawyer

[Brian Fick]

June 29, 2008

Brian M. Fick
2050 Summerfield Lane
Bourbonnais, IL. 60914

Hello! My name is Brian Fick. I am writing to you today to inform you of a wonderful new invention that will be a great asset to our nation. It is something that will benefit the whole world. Our nation is in great need of a towable recycling trailer. Our world is over-populated with garbage. We need to conserve our resources and recycle more. Most people don’t have a place that is readily and conveniently available for them to recycle. The Recycling Center is a trailer with several separate bins for depositing our garbage. It compacts, chips, and bundles up to make it less dense and ready to be recycled. This product will benefit all people, communities, cities, and businesses. This product has been designed and is ready for manufacturing. To view this recycling trailer in 3D please visit www.inventionhome.com , click on the Inventor long on link, type in your Guest ID and password which is- User ID A Guest 6546/ Guest Password- B665463.
. This website demonstrates how the Recycling Center works with a narrator explaining the products along with its features and benefits. Feel free to contact me at brian@exteriordesignllc.com if you have any questions.
Thank you for taking the time to research this wonderful product for yourself and for our world. GO GREEN!!!

Sincerely,

Brian M. Fick

[Earth Activist]

As a PR agent for earth Al Gore has indeed been an incredible force but one has to be wary of his message as a form of greenwashing when you consider his weak stance on key issues. I think he talks more than he does but someone has got to say something right?