Since the announcement on July 8 of the August 27, 2007 election, both political parties have been aggressively campaigning. They have significantly increased their advertising presence both in the print and electronic media. In an avant-garde move, both political parties have sought to utilize an unconventional advertising channel to broadcast their party’s message: The Internet.

Enter WatchMi.com – a free Caribbean video sharing website that mainly contains music and party videos but which has now seen a different kind of party video added to its inventory. With the recent hype the Caribbean video-sharing website has received by virtue of its exclusive coverage of the recently-released reggae artiste Jah Cure, it is little wonder that the political parties in the heat of the impending election have decided to utilize this medium. The PNP and JLP very recently placed several video campaign advertisements on www.watchmi.com .

Internet campaigning is a novel concept for Jamaica’s political parties but so far the move has not been disastrous with the ads receiving a moderate number of hits. Since www.watchmi.com appeals primarily to the 18-35 year-old demographic, the logic seems to be geared towards attracting the younger electorate. The posting of these videos to the Watchmi.com website will definitely capture the eyes and ears of a wider market and broaden the party’s geographical reach.

WatchMi – www.watchmi.com (or watchmeh.com ) is a 100% free to use Caribbean video-sharing website. Members can perform mobile, digital or video camera uploads and share videos with friends/family. Additionally, businesses can advertise digitally mastered commercials for free. Launched just over a month ago, watchmi.com is already receiving widespread rave reviews and by all predictions will permanently influence the manner in which information is exchanged across the Caribbean.

Alison Young
Entertainment Publicist
ALYKHAT PR
Mobile: (876) 365-3734
VOIP: (954) 642-0618
www.myspace.com/alykhat