[Lnc-business] Marketing Masterpiece Johnson2016

Sun Jul 3 03:40:58 EDT 2016

Hi Connor,

	Thank you for your support of Gary Johnson's campaign and rejection of the candidates of the establishment two-party cartel. I'm heartened by the support for libertarian ideas among young people, and agree with you that the Libertarian Party needs to do more to appeal to younger members of society who are the future. Many people naturally see this in terms of "marketing", but I prefer to instead think and talk in terms of sharing knowledge, spreading ideas, helping people fight back against aggression in general and legal (government) aggression in particular, in the spirit of the slogan, "Freedom is not for sale." My sense is that people in general, and young people in particular, do not necessarily want yet another group "marketing to" them, and that suspicion of and resistance to organized attempts to manipulate them and sell them things are actually healthy reactions to the advertising- and information-saturated climate in which we all find ourselves.

	I do want to see the Libertarian Party spend more of its resources on things like yard signs, and fewer of its resources on things like staff salaries or nice hotel rooms in which to hold Libertarian National Committee meetings, however. I also want to expand the pool of LP decision-makers, so that more grassroots Libertarian members who've signed the Non-Aggression Pledge are involved in our party's leadership and empowered to have their voices heard on questions such as which memes to promote. I'd like to see the LP host a crowd-funding page where proposed projects like yours which are compatible with our message could be presented and compete for the donations of our supporters. But organizations aren't always very good at this kind of institutional change. Achieving a party culture and governance structures in which power is more decentralized and leaders more transparent and accountable, so that the Libertarian Party better reflects the kind of bottom-up society of empowered individuals that we as libertarians want to see in order for freedom to not just exist but be sustainable over time in the face of the corrupting influence of power, depends on LP members being vigilant, engaged, and willing to speak out and demand a say.

	While I don't personally find the meteorite idea comical, and question the assumption that this specific design, as opposed to many others that you can find in our party's social media outreach on Facebook, Twitter, LP.org, and via any web search for Libertarian or libertarian memes, is the one "magic bullet" that will get Gary and Bill in the debates and bring the media attention our cause needs, I appreciate your initiative in designing a yard sign and reaching out to us. If you are passionate about your design, and will spend time and effort spreading and sharing it, then it is a better design for you than some other design which would not inspire you to do as much, and if you find other people who share your passion for it and feel the same, so much the better! The good news is that you, or your local Libertarian group, don't have to wait for some approval from on high to create and promote your designs. My feeling, which I hope is shared by the Johnson campaign, is that everyone is welcome to come up with stuff, and see what catches on and proves popular – let a thousand flowers bloom! That's how the "Ron Paul r3VOLution" meme caught on. However if you want the LNC to allocate funding to implement your idea, much more needs to be done to show and persuade us that this particular design would be more effective than all the other designs out there on which we could similarly choose to spend LP members' money. You might check with LP vice-chair Arvin Vohra to learn more about our social media efforts and take a look at all the meme and outreach possibilities out there. And you may also have to convince some of my fellow LNC members that yard signs are more important than catered food at meetings or other priorities on which they might, if left to their own devices, prefer to spend party funds.

Love & Liberty,
                                                 ((( starchild )))
At-Large Representative, Libertarian National Committee (2016-2018)
                                      RealReform at earthlink.net
                                               (415) 625-FREE

“If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning… This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

– Frederick Douglass , 1857 speech at Canandaigua, New York ( http://www.blackpast.org/1857-frederick-douglass-if-there-no-struggle-there-no-progress )

On Jul 2, 2016, at 7:47 PM, Connor Coole wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ
> 
> My name is Connor Coole and I have the marketing plan that will win Johnson the presidency.  I once was an American who was very proud of his country.  But it is hard for me to say that right now as I look at our “likely” next president: Trump or Clinton.  It is safe to say that if Hillary or Trump are elected this country is done.  Our time as leaders of the world will come to an end.  But we do have hope, and that is with your candidate.  This election has been the most insane in our history, and it gives you guys a chance to change the United States of America.  You have a small opening if the campaign plays its cards right.  Now I have studied politics and the complexities of marketing for a long time now and I believe I know what the campaign needs.  You’re sitting at about 8-10% of polls that come out that include Johnson.  I would say only 15-20% of Americans know that Gary Johnson is running for president.  You need to get yourself out that, spread the word, get on all the news channels and let Americans know who you are.  And I’ve seen you do a good job of that.  Appearances on HBO, CNN, Fox and many other channels gives me hope but it’s not enough.  Much of the support I see is from young people so you need to stir that crowd.  That crowd includes myself and we have the most riding on this election.  Now Gary needs at least 15% to get into the debates so he needs a strategy to get him there.  My idea delivers that strategy:  the campaign needs to go viral.  Spread it like wildfire, and that happens best on social media.  So the strategy needs to be bold, catch the attention of people, and really it needs to be comical.  My idea is to promote the election of “Meteorite 2016.”  Look at the attachment at the bottom of this email.  You guys need to make thousands and thousands of this design in the form of yard signs.  And then you need to let them lose.  You will see that the sign shows a website so you will also have to set up the website so it links to the campaign’s website.  Now once you make these yard signs you’ll need to be smart in placing them.  Find 5-6 middle sized town in different areas.  Start with one and place 1000 of these babies just everywhere.  There will be media attention.  Then go to a different town.  Spread them again.  Once you hit town 5 or 6 the attention will have spread and their will be national media coverage.  This is what you need to spread your campaign.  A one hit wonder as strange as this election cycle.  I guarantee that if you do this in the next month you will get at least the 15% you need to get into the debates and then its up to Gary and Bill.   PLEASE take this into consideration.  It will be expensive (15-25 grand).  But it is worth the money.  The name and the logo on the sign will catch peoples attention and make them chuckle.   It will bring media.  The campaign just simply needs ATTENTION and you will win.  Look how well trump has done with attention.  Time to steal some.  I very much hope you read this,  and hope you will consider it.  Please feel free to respond or ask for help,  I am completely willing.  
> 
> Thank you and God Bless,
> 
> Connor Coole
> 
> 
> 
> <Screen Shot 2016-07-02 at 10.07.34 PM.png>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://hq.lp.org/pipermail/lnc-business/attachments/20160703/344d82ac/attachment-0001.html>