So
we've talked quite a bit about health care in this class, I know, but
this stuck out to me from our typical political news redundancy. The article focuses on Obama's new technique to reaching out to
the public: pop culture appearances. Most specifically, the president
is aiming to motivate young people to sign up for health insurance
before the March 31 deadline. Some are skeptical of this method, but
no matter what your opinion is, we can generally agree with the
article that there is “no
place that Mr. Obama is unwilling to go in his search for young
people.” As
the article pointed out, Obama's strategy isn't unprecedented, but it
certainly is an interesting approach. So although this plan isn't
revolutionary, how effective do you guys think it will be in
motivating the American people?
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
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It seems like this strategy will continue to benefit the president as long as he and his team make smart decisions as to which programs to appear on. Obviously this has worked in the past with prior presidents, but if Obama makes a poor decision it could cause people to not take him seriously. He can show his personality, but he can't afford to embarrass himself. I do understand this strategy though. Obama needs to reach to as many people as he possibly can in order to get people to buy health insurance. The success or lack thereof of Obama care will pretty much define his presidency.
ReplyDeleteAs our culture continues to change, presidents need to find new ways to connect with young people which President Obama certainly is doing. Young people need to become more motivated to take part in politics and things such as registering for healthcare. If Obama making appearances on these shows is what it takes to make this happen I think it is a good idea as long as it is gone about in the right way. There certainly is a line of respect for the presidency that should not be crossed, but so far Obama seems to be doing a good job of promoting his message without crossing that line.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a great idea to me. It reminds me of the Bro-surance initiative. I think that Obama should do what he has to do in order to reach the young Americans that he wants to sign up for Obamacare. If this means that he has to go on comedy shows, I say "comedy away." Obama is not a stupid guy, so I don't think we have to worry about him tarnishing his reputation. I think that this will be good for Obamacare.
ReplyDeleteLike my classmates, I think that this could be a good idea and a good way for president Obama to connect with young people. But like Mike McCurry said, the president and his staff need to make sure that they don't cross a line. It's kind of weird to see the President in a more casual position like with an interview, or in this case a comedy show. However I think it could work for President Obama. Maybe if people see that he is more normal than they thought, he may connect with younger people and possibly get more people signed up for Obamacare.
ReplyDeleteObama has always been known as the type of president to connect to young people, so I think this was a good idea on his part. He's using the show as a final push before the March 31st deadline for 2014, so the fact that it's getting a lot of attention as the date approaches shows that the risk was seemingly worth it. A lot of people have already seen it, and will continue to see it, and there really is a lot of information about healthcare throughout the comedy. Overall, I think it was a good decision that hopefully increases the numbers for Obamacare.
ReplyDeleteObama's way of reaching new supports in different ways is certainly interesting. Trying to use unorthodox and unlikely and bizarre ways to reach people is a good way to expand his fan base and expose himself and his ideas to others. We've seen it before with the other presidents mentioned in the article, but it seems like he is willing to go virtually anywhere to reach out to people. This is a good way to reach out to people, and with the way technology is developing in so many ways nowadays, I would not be the least bit surprised if we start to see other candidates and politicians reaching out in more and more unorthodox ways.
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ReplyDeleteJust a double-entry.
DeleteI think that Obama's marketing tactics are a great idea to reach his March 31st deadline. The target market, the youth, is what energized his initial presidential campaign in the first place. We've talked about how important a president's agenda is in shaping his legacy. As his second term ticks on, Obama is well aware that he has not accomplished nearly as much as he had originally wanted due to bipartisan gridlock. With this in mind, Obama is intelligently calling on the youth to help kickstart what is considered (by a majority of people) to be the single biggest program in shaping his legacy.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching this when it first came out. Being a fan of Between Two Ferns, this is a very interesting switch from what Zach usually does. It was good that the president did this. It is a smart way to reach to an audience that otherwise most likely wouldn't watch a video about Obama's policies. The actual video is very funny, but it is also very informative. It will make you laugh less than the normal videos, but it will make you think oh so much more.
ReplyDeleteThis idea sounds great. It reminds me of the project we did earlier in the year to come up with progressive and interactive ways to excite young people to vote. Obama's marketing plan to register for the March 31st deadline resonates to the young public, which are the people who may need a healthcare plan the most. This plan is progressive and 21st century, and I believe it will definitely benefit Obamacare and the Obama administration as a whole. It's early to tell, but perhaps this approach could be used in the future for promoting more than just healthcare.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very appropriate that Obama is using different marketing strategies considering he is targeting an audience that is not typically the targeted group. I think it is promising to see how hard Obama is willing to work for something he believes in; because of his persistence and motivation I am confident that Obama will find a way to gain enough youth support for the new healthcare system.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea. Of course our culture changes constantly and to be an in-touch representative politicians, including the president, should be welcome to chances to change with the times as opposed to stagnating and losing touch with citizens.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great idea for Obama to add more support to the healthcare rollout that has started off very rough for the administration ever since the failed website. He went onto this online comedic talk show to appeal more to the younger uninsured Americans who are mostly fresh out of the college scene. Although he got a lot of strife from many Republicans for wasting time on this for a program that they have tried to block since its proposal in his first term.
ReplyDeleteI think that because there were problems in the beginning of the roll out of Obamacare, Obama should use marketing tactics that he thinks will work. Young people pay attention to pop culture and celebrities, so I think this is a great way for him to reach his target audience.
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