Attention

We "new media" types (myself included) tend to downplay the importance of attention and "eyeballs" when it comes to marketing. "It's all about engagement" we say. "You need a deep, ongoing conversation" we insist.

But sometimes something comes along to show that simply being in the public eye is vitally important to successfully communicating a message or making a point.

Currently, it's the swine flu. Media outlets, governments, bloggers, and everybody else with a voice seem to be falling over themselves to talk about it. In fact, as I was writing this post, a couple of people knocked on my door to tell me all about the "fact" that this epidemic was foretold.

The topic has lots of attention, yet virtually no depth. It's a disease like many others. In the grand scheme of things, it's not much of a danger to the general public (even if and when it gets much much worse) compared to a gazillion other potential hazards that surround us every day. Statistically, even if it's as bad as SARS or the avian flu, the number of deaths it will cause worldwide will be less than a single large plane crash or apartment fire. And I don't mean to be cruel, but it's also worth noting that many of these deaths will occur in places where disease of all kinds is rampant and medical services are lacking.

Disease isn't the only thing that captures our attention like this, of course. There's Missing White Woman Syndrome, for one. For some reason, a big story was shark attacks in Florida a couple of years ago. And of course there's celebrity gossip -- something with absolutely no depth or value whatsoever.

There's no question, though, that the attention that these topics garner is valuable, despite a lack of engagement. Health care facilities are mobilized, search parties organized, Sheriff Brody gets a bigger boat, and People magazine sells millions of copies.

From a marketing perspective, this is old school advertising at its finest. Make a big enough deal about something, spend enough time and effort and money telling everyone you can reach how important it is, and hopefully people actually start to believe it. It doesn't seem to matter how true this importance really is, though.

The down side (besides the expense and the massive potential for failure) is that it's very short term. By this time next year, people will be rolling their eyes at swine flu just like they do at SARS. Actually, this is already happening. There's a nice level of skepticism out there. Maybe some of the masses are finally starting to clue in that every "big story" or "NEW and EXCITING INNOVATION!!!" isn't necessarily any such thing.