Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton have all released caucus training videos for the Iowa Caucuses. Obama has also released a Nevada Caucus training video. Each video has its strengths and weaknesses, and here I’m going to use my subjective rating system and rate each of the three videos in four catagories, Creativity, New Media Savvy, Effectiveness and how informative is it. One video, in my opinion, stood out as being the most effective by far – read below to see which one it was.
More below the fold. All the videos can be watched at the here.
John Edwards
+’s
- Succinct, easy to understand slide by slide steps about how to win the caucus for John Edwards.
- Superb productions – graphics, music, voice-overs all have a professional quality, and its obvious that a lot of input went into the making of this video.
- Language – Simple, clear, and direct. Few wasted words, and really give the viewer the impression that the caucus is a simple and fun event.
- Fantastic ending – a parody of other documentaries, it reminds everyone why they are supporting John Edwards and what he’ll accomplish in four years.
-’s
- The short section about taking food to and high fiving your local Edwards office workers. Doesn’t add to the video.
- The slide by slide graphics get a little tedious after a while (alright, I’m nitpicking)
- Orange Bowl reminder – I doubt too many Iowans care about Kansas versus Virginia Tech. Iowa is Big 10 country. Nevertheless…
This video was made with YouTube in mind, and was meant for a savvy web audience, but its simple to understand frame by frame message makes it ideal for all age groups, regardless of technological literacy. At 6:46, its not too long nor too short. However, its only weakness is also these strengths, and it leaves some questions unanswered.
Creativity: 9
New Media Savvy: 9
Effectiveness: 7
Informative: 5
Barack Obama
+’s
- Barack speaking to the camera. He is the candidate, and having him lead the intro is powerful.
- Question and answers with Gordon Fischer are clear, concise, and give viewer a lot of a information.
- Long: almost 8 minutes.
-’s
- Intro. Reminds me of a late night, 80′s era infomercial.
- Doesn’t grab your attention, nor does it provide any incentive to continue watching to the end.
- Looks amateurish at times. The voice (a young midwestern) doesn’t provide any authority not does he sound authentic. Feels like it was made by volunteers.
- Doesn’t provide viewer with any a sence of urgency.
Creativity: 3
New Media Savvy: 4
Effectiveness: 6
Informative: 8
Though informative, that’s really it. It doesn’t give viewers any sense of empowerment, and doesn’t look all that well made. Doesn’t have much of a YouTube feel to it, and at 8 minutes, is a little long. I was tempted to stop watching it in the middle. No creativity in how the story is told, a straightforward, textbook style training video with a few cool Final Cut Pro graphics thrown in.
Hillary Clinton
+’s
- Well made. Audio, video quality, and the narrator all are professional.
- Good use of Bill Clinton and humor, though a little too much hamburger (I almost stopped watching to go eat)
- Makes a caucus look incredibly simple, like voting except you get counted. Showing up = Hillary wins!
- Short – about four minutes, and keeps the viewers attention throughout.
-’s
- Feels too much like a TV commercial, especially the introduction.
- Not very informative. Nothing about caucus math, viability, undecided voters, delegates or the second round.
- Difficult to find. Go ahead. Go to Hillary’s website and try to find this video, or any information about the Iowa caucus process. Good luck.
The shortest of the three videos, and the least informative, Hillary’s video has one goal – get the voters out to the caucus. It keeps things simple and doesn’t get into very many details, and the video makes it sound like the precinct captains at every precinct will have everything taken care of.
Creativity: 4
New Media Savvy: 3
Effectiveness: 7
Informative: 3
In conclusion, John Edwards wins three of the four catagories and in my opinion has by far the best caucus training video. It has the right balance of information, motivation, and creativity. It gives viewers something to fight for on January 3rd and reminds them of why they support Edwards. Obama and Clinton both showed a lack of new media savvy with two traditional training videos, while Edwards used new media effectively without losing an old media audience. For your enjoyment, you can see all three of the videos here.
