Campaign Message Control Tough in the Twitter Age

The days when a political campaign could control its message by catering to the journalist "boys on the bus," with handouts, press briefings and prepared sound bites, has vanished. Now every campaign must face a blogging, tweeting, sharing mass of professional and self-appointed reporters everywhere, all the time -- which makes it hard to sustain a controlled narrative. A recent New York Times article sums up: "Because of the relentlessness of the schedule, the limited access and the multi-platform demands, many of the boys and girls on the bus are in fact boys and girls. And the bus they ride is Twitter." The media has become "one giant, tweeting blob," in the words of Peter Hamby, a political reporter at CNN. "With Instagram and Twitter-primed iPhones, an ever more youthful press corps, and a journalistic reward structure in Washington that often prizes speed and scoops over context, campaigns are increasingly fearful of the reporters who cover them," Hamby wrote in a report quoted by the NYT story. Mitt Romney's campaign failed to handle this social media-driven journalism by trying to fence off the candidate and alienating the young, inexperienced reporter "embeds." The Obama campaign did better with a proactive social-media-attuned approach. It's an important lesson for campaign marketers looking to the next elections. For the rest of the story, see http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/business/media/campaign-journalism-in-the-age-of-twitter.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

2013 Has Unusually Low Number of Ballot Measures

Just 26 ballot questions were certified for a spot on five statewide ballots as of Sept. 5. It's an unusually low number given that, going back to 1989, the average tally of ballot measures in an odd-numbered year is 43. Indeed, 2013 has the lowest ballot initiative total in the last two dozen years. The states with ballot initiatives in 2013 are Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. All of the signature petition deadlines have passed, so no new initiatives can appear on ballots. The targets of the measures include business regulation, health care, minimum wage, and taxes, including Colorado proposals for a 15% excise tax and a 10% sales tax on marijuana sales in the state. For more detail by state, see http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/2013_ballot_measures

The Dead Can't Vote, But They Can Donate

The dead can't vote, but they can give to political parties and candidates. In fact, 32 people listed on federal campaign records as "deceased" contributed more than $586,000 to Congressional and Presidential candidates and political parties since Jan. 1, 2009, according to a recent USA Today analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. Federal campaign rules allow individuals to make candidates and political committees the beneficiaries of their estates, just as they can leave money to charities. In first place among recipients of gifts from the grave is the Democratic National Committee, which garnered $245,000 from deceased donors. At the top of the list of dead donors is Raymond Groves Burrington, a Tennessee man who left more than $217,000 to the Libertarian National Committee. Current federal rules require political giving by the deceased to comply with applicable contribution limits. So an individual's estate cannot donate more than $5,200 to a federal candidate during an election cycle and no more than $32,400 to a political party each year. But a case pending before a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C., seeks to overturn limits for deceased donors. The Libertarian Party is arguing that it should be able to receive Mr. Burrington's money as a lump sum, rather than in annual installments, since "a dead person can't corrupt someone," reports USA Today. See the full story at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/08/04/campaign-contributions-from-the-dead/2616245/

New GOP Digital Effort Hopes to Leapfrog Dems

Republican operatives have launched a digital enterprise they hope will "leapfrog" the Democrats' 2012 high-tech data-mining success, according to a recent story by the National Journal. The new Media Group of America (MGA) LLC includes a digital consulting firm, a center-right news site with over 3.5 million monthly visitors, and an online technology tool called the Central Organizing Responder (COR). COR can merge data into one platform to create detailed targeting profiles of voters and supporters. GOP campaigners will be able to integrate canvassing lists, phone banks, fundraising reports, event sign-ins and social networks with outside data for real-time insights. Democrats interviewed expressed skepticism about the potential of the Republican digital initiative, but some experts saw a key advantage: The GOP digital technology will be for sale. The Obama campaign developed a proprietary machine whose operatives have since split up into various lobbying, party and for-profit efforts, but the GOP system is built for continuity and adaptability, to be shared online by multiple campaigns with different systems and budgets. MGA is already signing clients, ranging from the Republican Congressional Committee to the Boeing Company. For the full story, see http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-democrats-are-laughing-at-the-republican-digital-strategy-and-why-they-shouldn-t-be-20130729

Celebrating 30 Years As a List Professional

Today marks my 30th consecutive year as a list professional. I began my apprenticeship at Mike Wilson List Council, Inc. on August 22, 1983. Now, as CEO and president of AccuList, Inc., parent company of AccuList USA and Beyond Voter Lists, I can look back on a career that has grown with the direct marketing industry, expanding from traditional direct mail list and insert media brokerage and management to include e-mail marketing, online advertising, mobile marketing and social media. Today the Direct Marketing Association refers to me and a few others as "Data Innovators" or "List Leaders." My thanks to the thousands of clients and direct marketing industry colleagues who have made my 30-year journey so rewarding! For a synopsis of my career highlights, see my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dkanter

2016 Hopefuls Provide Useful Campaign Checklist

A checklist of campaign tasks derived from 2016 presidential hopefuls provides useful insights for any candidate or campaign. An article by Associated Press journalist Calvin Woodward recently summarized the tasks: get to know donors, get the public to know you on TV and social media, visit big primary states (or top cities or neighborhoods in the case of more local campaigns and candidates), network with the activists and ideologues, produce a vanity book, polish a record, deflect personal baggage, take a stand, develop a world view (or a state or local view), scout for advisers and political organizations that can power up a campaign team. Then the article shows what national political players are doing: For the Democrats, Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley; and for the Republicans, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. There are some nuggets to mine from these major political players! Take a look at the full article at http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/19/5090573/2016-campaign-checklist-whos-doing.html

Social Media Politics: Get There Ahead of the Pack

Since social media is a required component in today's political campaigning, candidates and campaigns readying for 2014 may want to look at a recent socialmediatoday.com post for tips on effective social media politicking. And at the top of the recommendations is to "Get there first."  An example of how effective it is to get your message out ahead of the noisy pack is provided by Congressional Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, who made news, and gained fans, by being the first-ever Congressman to broadcast his vote using Vine, Twitter's video-sharing app. The six-second clip showed Swalwell voting “nay” to what he deemed a GOP attempt to decrease health protection for women. Swalwell garnered more than normal attention simply because he posted impactful content in a low-competition area. Ten Senators also have posted on Vine since the Senate officially approved its use. For other tips on politically savvy use of social media, see the article at http://socialmediatoday.com/anqicong/1650081/how-use-social-media-your-political-campaign