The Persuaders

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: November 21, 2004 10:35:23 AM EST
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: The Persuaders

FRONTLINE - The Persuaders
November 9, 2004

Excerpt from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/etc/ 
synopsis.html

In "The Persuaders," FRONTLINE explores how the cultures of marketing
and advertising have come to influence not only what Americans buy,
but also how they view themselves and the world around them. The
90-minute documentary draws on a range of experts and observers of
the advertising/marketing world, to examine how, in the words of one
on-camera commentator, "the principal of democracy yields to the
practice of demography," as highly customized messages are delivered
to a smaller segment of the market.

Take the 2004 presidential sweepstakes for example. Both the
Republicans and the Democrats were prepared to go to extraordinary
lengths to custom craft their messages. "What politicians do is
tailor their message to each demographic group," says Peter Swire,
professor of law at Ohio State University and an expert on Internet
policy. "That meansAmericans will live in different virtual
universes. What's wrong with living in different universes? You never
confront the other side. You don't have to deal with the
uncomfortable facts that go against your worldview.It hardens the
partisanship that's been such a feature of recent American politics."

FRONTLINE analyzes the 2004 campaign where, for the first time, the
latest techniques in narrowcasting were put into effect. The
antithesis of traditional broadcasting, narrowcasting involves
crafting and delivering tailored messages to individual voters based
on their demographic profiles.

Political marketers are just now discovering new ways to use the
techniques that have long been employed by the private sector.
FRONTLINE visits Acxiom, the largest data mining company in the
world, where vast farms of computers hold detailed information about
nearly every adult in America. Data mining, a practice that predicts
likely behavior based on factors such as age, income, and shopping
habits, has been the gold standard of commercial advertisers. Acxiom
promises its clients a better way to target their messages to
individual consumers.

...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/etc/ 
synopsis.html



http://www.pbs.org/frontline/shows/persuaders/


Watch online
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/


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