Canadian Marketing Blog

Who Needs Oprah?

After Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mentioned the Noam Chomsky book "Hegemony of Survival" during his address to the United Nations last week, it shot up to the Top 10 best-seller lists of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com respectively.

President Chavez later told reporters "The people of the United States should read this...instead of watching Superman movies." It appears the people listened.

According to the LA Times, Amazon said the book zoomed from No. 20,664 on its bestseller list all they way up to the No. 4 spot. Metropolitan Books, an imprint of Heny Holt, has ordered an additional paperback of 25,000 copies.

Given these post speech results, have we just witnessed the podium at the U.N. General Assembly become a marketing vehicle? What next? French President Jacques Chirac promoting his favorite Bordeaux wine?

It certainly puts celebrity endorsements in a whole different perspective. Who needs Oprah's Book Club when you can advertise to the globe?

I'm no media buyer but the exposure Mr. Chomsky got in prime-time television and front-page news coverage around the world must have been worth mucho dinero.

Whatever your feelings about Signor Chavez, maybe P.T. Barnum was on to something when he said there is no such thing as bad publicity.

As marketers, I feel we often under estimate the value of word of mouth marketing. Many marketers are trying to embrace WOM but are doing it in an obvious way. Consumers are smart and they know when they are being marketed to. Brands need to deliver on their promises and let the consumers become the leaders. By the way, speaking of Chomsky, if you're a fan of his you must rent or buy "Rebel Without a Pause" by Canadian Director, Will Pascoe. Now, was that too obvious?