Why Political Campaign's Internet Strategy Failed?
Traditional political campaigns rely on advertising mediums that attempt to capture the vast majority of voters irrespective to political ideology. Huge sums of money are poured into television, radio, billboards, and direct mailings to motivate individuals to vote.
In 2004, the Internet played a major role in changing the political paradigm as candidates for the Presidency, U.S. Congress, and the U.S.Senate used the Internet to reach prospective voters. The majority of these campaigns failed miserably. They lacked a clearly defined Internet strategy that seamlessly integrated into the overall campaign objectives.
The big problem according to Mathew Gross, the Director of Internet Communications for Howard Dean's failed presidential campaign, said it’s not a technological one: it's a problem of attitude. “What the Dean campaign was most effective at was letting go of control. It won't help you to build a website that enables people to canvass if you don't trust people to go out and represent your candidate in their own words.”
A successful Political Campaign Internet strategy can be accomplished with the following SIX tools:
1. Meetup - A web tool for forming social groups. Meetup can be used to organize thousands of volunteers who go door-to-door, write personal letters to likely voters, host meetings, register voters, and distribute flyers.
2. Blogs - A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.
3. Blog Advertising – Strategically bought advertising catering to left or right-leaning blogs.
4. Opt-In Email Newsletter - Opt-in email marketing is used to gain explicit permission from your subscribers to send them your email newsletter. It’s critically important to build a subscriber list which can be used for a multitude of purposes.
5. On-line Donations – Electronic transfers of campaign funds via a computer network.
6. Email Video Advertising – Thirty-second ads attacking a candidate or promoting positive imagery sent by email.
The challenge for political campaigns in the future is to embrace the Internet and the tools of this medium like political candidates of the past. Here are some examples of successful campaigns over the Internet.
In 1998, Jesse Ventura's innovative use of the Internet garnered him an additional two to four percent of the vote, which was also his margin of victory. In 2002, John McCain raised $2.2 million in a few weeks, but by the end of the campaign they had signed up more than 100,000 e-mail subscribers who received campaign updates, requests for volunteer help and money. In 2004, Howard Dean raised a record $50.3 million with most of it coming from small contributions of $100 or less over the Internet. In 2004, Ben Chandler won a special election in Kentucky for the House of Representatives when he turned a $2,000 investment in blog advertising into over $80,000 in donations in only two weeks.
About the Author
William Coit, a political Internet strategist, analysis the trends developing over the Internet with regard to campaign organization, fundraising, strategy formulation, and voter turnout. For more information williamcoit@yahoo.com
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