Public Relations: How to Use Polls and Surveys That Brand You as an Expert
Smart businesses are playing off the presidential election for great publicity. Two examples:
Kelley Blue Book, the company that publishes the book you refer to when buying a car, has been polling visitors to its web site at http://www.kbb.com about who they are voting for, and what kinds of cars they drive. They released results yesterday of their unscientific poll that shows:
--Honda owners support Bush (67.6%) over Gore (32.4%).
--Volkswagen owners favor Gore (52.9%) over Bush (47.1%), with Jetta owners most heavily leaning toward Gore (75%)over Bush (25%).
--Among Toyota owners (all models), it's Bush (53.9%) and Gore (34.7%),
--Among Chevy Malibu owners, Gore is a two-to-one favorite over Bush.
--It's a dead heat among Pontiac Grand Am owners.
Stephen Henson, vice president of marketing and business development, reports: "We've found that owners of pick-ups large enough to support a gun rack are backing Bush by a four-to-one margin. Meanwhile, owners of the AMC Hummer--apparently a good border patrol vehicle--are solidly behind Pat Buchanan, while the unforgiving contingency of old Chevrolet Corvair owners have not registered a single vote for Ralph Nader."
I'll bet Kelley Blue Book has the same kind of success with that story that John Majdoch has had with his. Majdoch, the owner of Buycostumes.com, an Internet costume outlet, has been tracking public preference of the two major presidential candidates through sales of Al Gore and George W. Bush rubber masks. As of today, the "mask meter" shows Bush with 58 percent of the vote and Gore with 42 percent. Majdoch has been interviewed by major media outlets, including USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and numerous radio stations.
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