Rich media is the term generally used to describe interactive digital video and audio streaming and it is becoming more and more a part of Americans' daily lives as we continue to rely on the internet for business and personal uses.
Political candidates, for example, increasingly are turning to rich media as a trusted medium to reach voters and to strategically enhance their political campaigns. One case in point is the gubernatorial race for the Massachusetts state house. The traditional communication channels (i.e. television commercials and radio ads) are still going full force, but candidates Kerry Healey (R), Deval Patrick (D) and Christy Mihos (I) are also utilizing rich media to connect with voters and further communicate their campaign platforms.
Local news organizations such as New England Cable News (NECN) and Boston.com, the website of the Boston Globe, are utilizing rich media to report on the campaigns of Massachusetts' political candidates. NECN has a political page that includes links to the candidates' websites, which include candidate profiles, voting records, backgrounds and stances on political issues, as well the schedules for each campaign as the election draws near.
The 2000 presidential election sowed the seeds for the use of rich media in campaigns. Both George W. Bush and Albert Gore Jr. used the internet to attract voters. In fact, one of those campaigns leveraged a content delivery network (CDN) as the back-end delivery engine, to ensure that the campaign website performed optimally as more and more voters visited the site for information, donations and campaign schedules.
Fast forward to 2006: In the Massachusetts governor's race, candidates' websites are now relying on rich, streaming media rather than just static images and content to appeal to constituents and voters. On Deval Patrick's Web TV site, visitors can view his popular video commercials on the homepage, which streams his campaign commercials on demand. Patrick's speeches, testimonials, TV spots and personal messages are only a click away for his supporters.
On Kerry Healey's website, visitors are greeted with a collection of featured videos on her home page. She also invites visitors to listen to her recent appearances on local talk radio shows and invites her supporters to "keep on top of the latest campaign news" by viewing new political TV commercials.
Independent candidate Christy Mihos' website has an animated video on the homepage titled, "The Big Dig Explained." With Boston's Big Dig -- over budget by $12 billion -- a hot button for Massachusetts residents, Mihos is able to leverage the animated video to drive home this issue with the Massachusetts constituency. He further invites his web visitors to view a live stream of the Massachusetts State House in his "Christyvision," a play off the pledge to "open the gates of the people's building" on his first day in office.
We won't know until after the election exactly what the influence of this rich media is, but one thing is certain: in today's interactive world, political candidates need to rely on rich media in their campaigns and websites to communicate their message and platforms and rally voters. In fact, if a candidate were to choose not to use rich media in campaign communications, they would be ignoring a crucial medium to reach today's voters. No matter how the elections in Massachusetts and other states nationwide turn out, it's almost a guarantee that rich media, and video specifically, will continue to take a prominent place on every candidate's website in future elections.
And that should be a lesson for marketers from all industries-- online video can no longer be ignored.
Jim Hart is vice president, sales and marketing for Mirror Image Internet. Read full bio.
