11/30/2012

How to Market a Disaster for Profit and Ratings

Today Glenn Reynolds asks:  
Why weren’t hurricane warnings issued for Sandy? 
Because, silly...it wasn't a Hurricane, it was a Superstorm!

You know, that class of storm that did not exist until some aspiring intern at one of the ratings whores media outlets turned to his/her boss and said "Dude, hurricanes are boring. Can't we call it Superstorm Sandy?"  And thus an ironclad, socially-conscious, and fraudulently empathetic marketing ploy was born.

Of course, there is no such thing as a "Superstorm".  Don't believe me, just ask both the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service.  Find me "Superstorm" in their glossaries.

During its existence, Sandy was both a Tropical Storm and a Hurricane.  One thing it never was...was a "Superstorm."

Of course we can't let such a small oversight get in the way of a sure-fire money raising scheme.  Just ask the allegedly straight-laced Red Cross.


There have been, like, a million hurricanes.  Thus that term is so 2005, and it doesn't bring in the cash/ratings like it used to.  Marketing ploys to the rescue.

Frauds and charlatans all.....