The Republican National Committee has made a large media buy of radio advertisements on hip-hop stations in Ohio to promote the GOP.
The RNC has branded the effort as an outreach program called “#CommittedToCommunity.” It includes a purchase of radio time on Radio One-owned stations in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
One station included in the RNC ad buy is WENZ – Z 107.9 Cleveland.
The playlist at WENZ demonstrates the RNC is certain to succeed in reaching a new audience. The current WENZ playlist includes “Gin and Juice” by Snoop Dogg, “Watch Me” by Silento and “Hold You Down“ by DJ Kahled. The lyrics for the latter include:
I ain’t with that bulls*** at all (then I laid it down)/ Maybe it’s that Virginia in me (n**** say something)/Have a young n**** go so hard/ . . .
Started from the bed, ended up on the floor/ And now let that ass up off the ground/ I’m a put you on my shoulders, let me give you what’s in store/ Girl, you deserve it, all the time you been servin’/ Away from the realest n**** in it, I’m a take you away/ And I hold you down, (I’m a hold you down).
No mention of this new GOP effort can be found anywhere on WENZ’s website.
Instead, WENZ still features numerous news stories critical of Republicans and conservatives, including: “15 Things Black People Like That Republicans Are Outlawing [EXCLUSIVE AUDIO],” “‘Republicans For Rape:’ Website Promotes Al Franken Bill,” as well as a story attacking James O’Keefe:
The RNC ad copy:
Voice One: “Hey, check out this text I just got.”
Voice Two: “Engage, empower, uplift, that’s what’s up, what’s that all about?”
Voice One: “Some election site thing where they’re talking about issues like making college affordable, better job opportunities and the best path to success if you want to own your own business.”
Voice Two: “I’m all about that. Where do I get involved?”
Voice One: “Go to GOP dot com, forward slash, committed to community.”
Voice Two: “GOP, as in the Republican Party?”
Voice One: “Yeah, and they’ve been working and reaching out here in the past two years. I actually voted for Republicans in our state who get it and who have turned things around for our city. And you’ll be hearing from them a lot more. So it’s worth checking why they’re here, what they’re talking about, and how we can work with the GOP in our community.”
Voice Two: “GOP dot com forward slash, committed to community. Yeah. Catchme info. I’ll check it out.”
Alfred Liggins, the CEO of Radio One, was pleased:
The RNC wants to tell its story to the African-American community. Radio One reaches 82% of Black Americans with our television, radio and digital multi-media platforms. We view ourselves as the link to our audience. Our reach, relationships with Black churches, organizations, entertainers, and our unique understanding of our primary audience makes us a high-value partner to organizations like the RNC.
In contrast, the Democrat Party is now using advanced data analytics to drive deeper into their base of support to reach voters who are cheaper to reach. Using these advanced data analytics, the Democrats retained the White House in 2012 by largely abandoning efforts to reach out to more-expensive-to-reach independents.
Republicans and conservatives still have not come close to matching the data-driven capabilities of the Democrats and the Left. Nor does the RNC appear to have any dedicated effort towards energizing base voters, efforts the Democrats have adopted.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member