Frankenstorm Claims First U.S. Victim: Donald Trump
Who knew government meteorologists were so good at branding?
When the science nerds over at NOAA realized the tropical weather system churning in the Caribbean was strengthening and could impact the U.S. mainland around Halloween, Sandy was asked to step aside in favor of the more frightening pseudonym, “Frankenstorm”.
Certainly this powerful storm is no laughing matter, having contributed to the deaths of 65 people in the Caribbean.
What is notable is how the rebranding served to attract media attention so quickly. Stories that had been trending, like Donald Trump’s umpteenth attempt to insert himself into the presidential discussion, disappeared faster than plywood sheeting and flashlight batteries at a coastal Home Depot.
Trump was mentioned 700 times on Thursday but the Donald’s comb-over was about to get blown over by Frankenstorm, according to Critical Mention. Only 136 additional Trump mentions were recorded between midnight Friday and 8 a.m.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Sandy’s most popular nicknames – FrankenStorm and the Perfect Storm – had already garnered 1,793 mentions on U.S. television Thursday and Friday morning, according to Critical Mention.
It’s impossible to know whether Trump would have been trumped as effectively if the National Weather Service had stuck with Sandy. But this lesson in holiday-jacking shows just how smart branding can triumph even against the most experienced media masters.
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