PardonMyFrench

Political Online Advertising and Local Politics

During the Online Fundraising panel at the June 16th AAPC conference a pretty interesting discussion took place mainly between Andrew Rasiej and Benjamim Katz.  If you didn't know Andrew is of Personal Democracy-techPresident fame and Benjamins runs CompleteCampaign which provides technology solutions to political campaigns (he's also a competitor of Campaign Solutions).  Their discussion was along the lines of how very local races (public advocate, school board) should or should not use the internet to engage voters.  Benjamin decided to take the side that these campaigns aren't using internet tools other than website-donations while Andrew took him to task basically saying that there is a change occurring as more campaigns and governments become more open source. 

At one point, a woman in the audience stood up and described a situation she had where she used the web to get voters to help pass a school funding bill that failed the two previous (non-web) attempts. Ben's argument was lost (it kind of was in the beginning), but it got me thinking back to my own Board of Education race in Washington Township.  Sure I didn't win, but I can point to a lot of great things.

Why I Almost Got A Seat On My Board

1. I had a simple message which was to recall the Everyday Math curriculum in our school.  This led into a conversation about curriculum that had all the candidates speaking about it.
2. I knew that there was a large group of parents that had concerns about the curriculum and by speaking out against it, they gravitated towards me.
3. I provided as much information some with my commentary and others without it on my campaign website that was really a blog.  This allowed me to respond immediately and provide information in the form of videos, charts, and links.  I generated an enormous amount of traffic for a local campaign that really had nothing hot in it except what I generated on the math issue.
4. I used internet communications in the forms of email, display ads zipcode targeted in Yahoo, and zipcode targeted Google search ads to drive traffic and messaging.  It was so dominant that the Board President was relieved that she no longer had to see my face in her Yahoo mail everyday.
5. People passed my message and links around virally.
6. I pounded my message home about the math so much that the local newspaper generated earned media exposure for me.  I also had fans write letters to the editor and I put out a bunch of signs and made robo calls to voters.

Why I Lost By About 100 Votes

1. People were motivated to prevent me from getting on the board, specifically the local Democrats.
2. I didn't start early enough.  My first post on my website was 3/21 which was 25 days before election day.  I relied on an internet campaign that spread virally in town but I needed about another week or two to close the deal.
3. I should have consulted more people in NJ before deciding to run.  I did it on a whim based on my son's math homework.  I should have received more support from key Republicans in town and insist that I should have been linked to one of my other friends running.
4. There was a bit of a whisper campaign running that erroneously claimed I was friends with someone disliked in town by quite a number of people.  Plus there was talk of my sparse Board of Education voting pattern.  Neither one of these  was unfair in politics, but if I would have started earlier and received more base support it would not have mattered.
5. I started with a low base of support and low name recognition.

Basically if you are someone running for an office and using strategies that Ben Katz described that most of you use, you can probably still win.  You can overcome not using modern internet techniques to push your message and get support.  Riding someone else's coattails can still bring you to the top.  However, if you have a message and you have a strategy, you can bring the power of the internet to your campaign and become more open sourced.  You can use video, social networking, blogging, paid advertising, and etc to market yourself.

Why not let people spread your message for you?  Why not let them do what is most convenient for themselves and forward an email on or link to a video?  Stop using the same old tactics and run a well rounded campaign.  If you have enough old school support melded with modern techniques, you actually might surprise yourself and win.

PardonMyfrench,

Eric

Curious on Two Budget Items in NJ's 2009 Budget

So the state of NJ released its budget in detail and The Star Ledger had a write up on it, but I was curious about two items mentioned in the article.  One was that they restored $395K for the NJ Motion Picture and Television Commissions and the other was they restored $500K for the NJ Small Business Development centers.  This got me thinking.

We actually have a NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission?  So I Googled it and low and behold we do have one and there is plenty of updated information on the site.  I half expected to write a post about a story Ronald Reagan used to tell about the commissioner of Indian Affairs crying in his office because his last Indian died, but I was actually quite surprised.  There were quite a number of films and TV shows shot on location in NJ included Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with Zohan so perhaps we actually need this commission because it generates some revenue to the state. However, what I don't know is how large their budget is and how many people work there.

Next up is the NJ Small Business Development Center.  I'm a small business (I work part-time for CDI) so I was wondering if somehow they can help me and is it worth it.  I've never been contacted by then and didn't know they existed and I've been out of corporate America for over 30 months now.  Nobody has ever mentioned them to me and I've run across a ton of local small business folks in Chester and Long Valley.  My local bank who also runs the local business association never mentioned them either.  Finally, my accountant and also my Dad who both do great jobs with their small businesses never mentioned them to me while every other tip they have given me has panned out or I've run into them.  So curious I went to their site to see what they can offer me.  So here's what I see on their home page:

1. A link for consulting where they can help me with marketing and management.  My favorite part was the link on eBusiness with strategies that are over 6 years old.  All kidding aside, why would I go to them when it comes to marketing when in 30 months I've never heard of them?
2. The calendar had some decent events so clearly there is some work being done.  Perhaps they are marketing through these colleges and events, but once again I've never seen them advertised anywhere.
3. The impact seems very impressive of what they have been able to accomplish.  I don't have time to figure out how realistic their numbers are or how direct they are to what they do, but what has me a little concerned is their closing point because it doesn't mention money "Since 1979, more than 293,000 people have received direct assistance from the NJSBDC in the form of free, confidential, one-on-one management consulting and affordable education."
4. The vast majority of in the news is from 2007 so either they were too busy or under funded to post more or perhaps they weren't in the news.

In the end, I'm not sure why NJ is funding them at all.  $500K seems like a small enough number to put back in, but to me this looks like a lobbying effort.  They do seem to push a lot about consulting and helping you so it seems like a giant networking effort. I could be wrong but in 30 months I have never heard of them and one of their offices is in nearby Hackettstown.  Unlike BNI which a lot of people have recommended to me and the NFIB which I've seen signs for, the NJSBDC doesn't seem to be very active.  So, I'm not sure what $500K is getting Small Business owners like me in NJ or why when the state is being described as draconian we should be funding an effort like this.  If I'm wrong, feel free to enlighten me.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Quick Hits from Today's AAPC Conference in NYC

I was on the opening panel at the AAPC Conference in NYC today. Diane Rinaldo from Yahoo was the moderator for our panel and she did a fine job.  I can't say I learned a lot from the panel, but then again it was on online advertising which I've been doing a longgggg time.  I did get a lot of great questions from the audience, probably more than I expected so I'm pretty sure we did well.   I caught two other panels in between meetings and here's what I learned.

• Mindy Finn played clips from the documentary Primary reminding all of us  how far we've come in the political world.  It seems like ancient history watching JFK make phone calls to see how the voter turnout was in a certain district or when they just stood in line shaking hands.
• Brendan Burns gave a good presentation on using social media at the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  It was great to see someone so enlightened when it came to using Facebook and other social networking tools.  Brendan reinforced that a) check to see what others have already done with your brand in places like Facebook b) don't try and control the message but seed it with information c) get involved with the community by providing widgets, communications, and applications d) when you try to control the message yourself don't be surprised if you have no followers
• Brendan also proved once again why the worst form of online advertising you can do is to buy banner ads (directly) on the social networking sites.  I get why these companies try to get a piece of the ad dollars, but really it is about letting go of your brand and letting these folks turn into evangelists for you; pushing messages there will fail no matter how cheap they are.
• I had originally intended to leave during Becki Donatelli's (and my boss) panel on Online Fundraising because I had already seen three of the presenters.  However, Becki smartly had everyone condense their decks down to 2-3 pages and then we went right into a discussion.  Another surprise was that Andrew Rasiej from Personal Democracy Forum and techPresident was also on the panel.  This panel besides my own was a highlight from the day and I got out of it a) a more organized minority is more powerful than a disorganized majority b) all candidates at all levels must have some demand for what they are trying to accomplish; no amount of smart marketing can get you to the finish line without it c) open source government and not just open source campaigns will be coming in the near future due to the ease of use of social networking tools, cheap technology, and low bandwidth cost d) show your donors actually giving money because it helps motivate friends e) focus not just on donors but the most networked individuals

Then I had to leave in order to get home (I actually made it back from Columbus Circle in about 2 hours and 15 minutes and most of that was on the subway-path).  However, I'm glad I made it in.  I learned something and met some interesting people.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

So Is This Really A McCain Strategic Briefing?

A few days ago a strategy briefing video was posted on JohnMcCain.com and I had a number of friends email me to see if it was real and is it worth watching 14 minutes of a power point slide.  My answer of course was yes to both and if you have any interest in the election and what our path to victory will be, this is a great presentation.  Besides one of things I learned 30+ months ago is that a) I enjoy listening to campaign manager Rick Davis talk about political strategy and b) I'd say Rick's briefing back in December was very accurate.

I obviously can't go into much detail on the plan that was just posted and whether or not it is the full picture, but what I will say is that I put a lot of value in the primary briefing and it played out exactly like that December briefing said it would.  There was so much good information in the primary briefing and whenever anyone asked me how I thought it was going to play out, that document was my example.  People kept saying "are you sure Eric" and I'd always reply back "yes, this is how we will win."  Now, let's take a look at the finish line.

Yes the video is 14 minutes long, but if you ever wanted to know how the campaign is being planned out, give it a watch.  Don't take notes because well you can watch it again and besides, that's what I'm going to do for you in a second.  If you ever wanted to run for any elected office, this is a model for you for planning out your race to the finish line.

1. Make sure you understand the macro environment you are in and what are your hot issues.  At 1:10, Rick flashes a chart that shows why Republicans are in for a tough time based on the President's approval ratings as well the direction of the country.  1:20 is a great graph (hmm - I wonder what I can do with that) that shows the top issues by region.  Basically what are the issues and how are you going to address them.  Understand your own brand.
2. People have a very positive view of Senator McCain (1:56) and he has much better favs/unfavs versus Senator Obama.  2:14 is a mapping of how close voters views are with the perception of the candidates; Senator McCain maps up better.  This is followed by recent head-head polling data at 2:43.  The polling data is then broken down between the two for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents and Rick explains why campaigns just can't focus on their core supporters this year and that Independents and even some Democrats are in play.  Basically for you wanna be politicians - know your voters and what your brand means to them.
3. Map out where your voters are coming from and what you need to win.  Starting at 5:19 Rick shows a bunch of maps of the country and which states are typically solid for which party and which ones are in play (right now 24).  At 7:09 you see why McCain changes the standard map (my favorite one is CT = Joe Lieberman).  8:20 you get a deep dive into OH and PA which will be key states (hmm - that's very interesting, no?).  Listen how he explains the key regions within each of those states.  9:39 you get a quick summary of what the electoral map looks like today.  That's how you win.  Start from what you need to get elected and work backwards.  That's how we won the primary season.
4. Money.  All you need to see is the chart at 11:58 to understand why Obama's money machine is not as big as an advantage as you might think.  When you add the RNC's money to McCain you get about the same level (to slightly more) of money than when you add the DNC's to Obama's.  That's why we are doing well on the fundraising side and will have what we need to win to drive our voters to the polls and to push our messaging.

Is this an official briefing and do you have the keys to the castle?  Well, I can't answer for sure but what i will tell you is that it played out exactly the way Rick said it would in the primary season, so why should you doubt him now?  Watch the video.  It shows you how to put a winning strategy together.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Google's Peter Greenberger Throws Props To McCain's Paid Search Campaign

While having meetings in Crystal City a savvy sales person (don't get excited that doesn't mean I will cut a deal with you) sent me a link to the latest Kate Kaye article on ClickZ called Clinton Needed More Search: Q&A with Google's Greenberger.  As always you can read the article for yourself but here are my highlights and then commentary.

1. He argues savvy search advertising contributed to the success of both Barack Obama's and John McCain's primary season wins by helping them build supporter lists.
2. Through sponsored links in search results, the McCain and Obama camps have driven users seeking information on the candidates to their official Web sites to register for newsletters, volunteer or to donate money.
3. The McCain campaign was the savviest among the Republican presidential primary campaigns. We think it's not a coincidence that the two savviest primary campaigns with Google are the winning ones.
4. Even in the darkest days of the [McCain] campaign... they never stopped spending on Google AdWords... There were times, corresponding to the political polls, when maybe interest waned in his campaign, but he was ready to capture interest.
5. We saw the use of video and I would highlight the McCain campaign for being ahead of the curve on that...

OK, so why did Peter (and I agree with him) believe that Clinton needed more search?  Pretty simple.  People look for almost an infinite amount of keyword combinations and no matter how savvy you are at SEO you can't possibly optimize for those combinations let alone direct people into new or updated landing pages.  For example, if you were trying to get people to sign a petition for a summer gas tax holiday perhaps you'd buy keywords to send searches into your page instead of either a) letting someone else steal your message or b) letting the searchers fend for themselves via the organic listing.  Notice how the page itself isn't listed on the first page of organic results.  You need a paid search campaign for that. 

#1 is correct, but I'd add in that we get $3 - $4 in donations for every $1 we spend online.  It just isn't about building lists and capturing searchers; we balance generating money for the campaign with other activities.  As Peter said we were ahead of the other campaigns when it came to using using video advertising and while I like to pat myself on the back for that, some times when you have a great TV/media team and when you have money challenges, you do what you can for the limited dollars you have.  That meant click to play video ads on the internet.

The article that Kate mentioned (darkest days) includes quotes from me about our online advertising just when the campaign was switching the team around.  I gave that interview in Crystal City that week and I told Kate that the campaign was more charged than ever and it wasn't doom and gloom.  We just had to focus on the early primary states and focus on the Senator.  During that week I was just formulating ideas for how to approach the primary states and hinted as much in the interview "Whether he's buying keywords specifically to counteract the negative press and commentary about the campaign, however, he wouldn't say specifically. "There is a strategy that I'm' working on….I wouldn't call it trying to counteract negativity," he said"  I can't tell you exactly what we did because that was just a warm-up act for the big show.  BTW - we are in the midst of a new approach right now.

Anyway, I thought the article by Kate was very insightful and Peter Greenberger was pretty much on the money with his interview.  One of the things that amazes me is how far we've come since I started with Connell Donatelli 30+ months ago.  I've met a lot of great people and I'm getting the chance to work on a Presidential Campaign which was unfathomable a few years back.  It still amazes me today to see how many people are now working on the campaign.  And it all started because my Yahoo account executive Adrienne Skinner set up a lunch meeting with Becki Donatelli in the summer of 2004.  I still can't believe that I actually do this for a living.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Off To Crystal City for Meetings So A Few Quick Posts

I'm taking the early train to DC tomorrow morning for a series of meetings in Crystal City, VA so I have political advertising on my mind.  Before I close down for the night (I need to wake up at 5:30 AM), a couple of random thoughts....

1. Have I told you how awesome it is to have a meeting with Meg Whitman of eBay fame?  We had another one today and every time she has something to say I always just smile.  It is kind of like having a guardian online advertising angel overlooking what you do.
2. I've seen a lot of chatter online lately regarding a few of our McCain online ads we've launched recently.  The only report that seems worthwhile is this one over at Politico.  People who think the ad in question is nasty need a history lesson in political advertising.  As flash ads go, this one is brilliant.
3. Google is a political advertiser's best friend and if you haven't tapped into them at any level you need to hand in your political marketing membership card.
4. I get asked a lot what website I read for political news besides JohnMcCain.com.  So, here's my short list of must reads everyday. If you have a good site you think I'm missing drop me a note...
   1. McCain Google news feed - you cant go a day without it
   2. The Next Right - a collection of right bloggers who just started this site.  Mostly inside baseball stuff but sometimes very interesting
   3. The Hotline - political scoop
   4. The Politico's Jonathan Martin - Great mix of news, marketing, and inside baseball
   5. Kung Fu Quip - fired up commentary by Bush-Cheney's former eCampaign director
   6. Marc Ambinder - you want political scoop?  Marc is your guy.
   7. Electoral Vote - I remembered this site from 2004.  Internet cheese but always liked the electoral map and the way it integrates polls.  Sure Real Clear Politics is probably your #1 source, but sometimes I like going old-school internet without the online ads.
   8. National Review - a main source for political news
   9. Townhall - a good aggregation of political and national news from a variety of sources and bloggers
   10. Redstate - if anything is happening in the conservative blogosphere it starts and ends with Redstate.
5. You'll notice that I left off plenty of well known sites and bloggers, but this is my short list of must reads everyday.  One in particular however, I never read on my own unless prompted by a friend.  That's the NY Times.  I stopped reading them a long time ago and after their hit jobs on Senator McCain I go out of ny way to avoid them (WSJ works much better for finance and national news).  I don't go there for any type of news - sports, politics, dining out, book reviews.  Nothing unless it is properly vetted by friends before it is sent on.

That's it for today.  See you when I get back home (tomorrow night).

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

The Tobi Steamer Dominates NJ TV at 11AM on NBC

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment.  Nothing serious, but just a cleaning (and for you fans keeping score at home - NO CAVITIES).  When I got unto the chair, playing on the TV was this ad for the Tobi Steamer so I didn't pay much attention to it. After a few minutes I looked up again and saw more ads for the Tobi Steamer which got me a little upset.  Come on I'm a captive audience here so I stopped my dental hygienist and said "Why do I keep seeing an ad for the Tobi Cleaner?"  "Is Dr. Goodkin getting a $5 kickback from every Tobi Steamer that the patients buy?  That's a little unfair because I'm a captive audience"

After she stopped laughing with me, she called Dr.  Goodkin into my room even though it wasn't time for me.  BTW - Dr Goodkin is one of the top 5 nicest people you'll ever meet and a GREAT dentist.  If you are in the Long Valley area you should stop in.  Here's their website.  After I yelled (jokingly), he said "No, we aren't taking kickbacks but I know exactly what you are talking about.  It seems that Channel 4 runs this infomercial  everyday at 11AM."  So after some more jokes we flipped on MSNBC.

So, I was thoroughly confused that this wasn't a one time event and that NBC-NY actually runs this infomercial more than a few times as Dr.  Goodkin told me.  What happened to some game shows or reality TV shows like some crappy judge or some talk show.  Don't tell me that NBC actually figured out a new model for the 11AM slot.  So I consulted the TV Guide and found such behemoths as Price is Right and The View in there but the rest of the channels looked pretty lame.  Well maybe not as lame as a 30 minute commercial in the middle of the day.

Seriously, can't NBC figure out something else other than a commercial to run in that slot?  I know it is probably making money for them, but WHAT's the point of having a TV station if all you do is show a commercial the whole time?  I wonder at what point it costs NBC money to serve that ad for them? 

Wouldn't they be better off putting a show in there, even if it is reruns and then use Google TV to fill their unsold inventory on commercials.  Dr.  Goodkin uses satellite so it might fall back to DirectTV for that, but you understand where I'm going.  Seriously, how lame is daytime TV now?  It is lamer than root canal.  OUCH.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

The Day Before June 3rd Primary in NJ And All Is Quiet

The past week while I've been driving around, I've been on the lookout for signs or anything else that might tip NJ residents off that there is an election tomorrow morning.  It seems for the most part it is very quiet, but before I dive in with some examples, allow me to post Lincoln's 4 essential activities of campaigning via my friend Richard Kosinski:

1. Make a list of issues
2. Ascertain supporters with certainty
3. Have undecideds be talked to by supporters
4. Make sure every voter is brought to polls

OK, so back to NJ.  The county I live in has the second most registered Republicans (a mere 600 or so behind Bergen County) and there is precious little activity (BTW even less Democrat activity but that's expected).  The only Republican signs I've seen between here and Bridgewater (think Route 206) was for Joe Pennacchio (Senate), Rodney Frelinghuysen (House my District), Kate Whitman, and for Washington Township Committee Jim Harmon. 

That's it.  No other signs.  Nothing from Dick Zimmer (couldn't find a website) and nothing from Murray Sabrin and both of them are running for Senate.  We did receive one robo call from Frelinghuysen but before I could listen to the entire recording my wife deleted it.  Nothing from Kate Erber who is running against Rodney and she doesn't even have a website (more on how shameful that is in a second).  Google advertising for any of them? Nope.  The only ad I saw while Googling for them was from Frank Lautenberg who bought Dick Zimmer's name.  Banner ads anywhere?  I doubt it.  TV or radio?  Perhaps somewhere but you won't catch my attention with that.

Back to Kate Erber and a little of Murray Sabrin.  Both of these candidates are supposed to be self style Ron Paul Republicans but neither of them learned anything about marketing or using the internet from the Ron Paul campaign.  Sabrin's website does have a slight Paul campaign feel to it, but Erber doesn't have a site or at least none that I can find.  The Star Ledger confirmed this a few days back in an article that stated her and her Mom were licking stamps for their direct mail campaign.  No website, but direct mail?  This is someone influenced by Ron Paul?  Neither of them has any internet buzz. 

Why am I so surprised about the lack of quietness in NJ?  Well notice Lincoln's fourth campaign activity.  Get your voters to the polls.  How is anyone supposed to be motivated to go the polls if the candidates themselves don't ask for a vote?  Road signs are cheap.  Google ads are dirt cheap.  Heck for my own Board of Education campaign I ran banner ads in Yahoo for a $100 plus Google ads.  Email?  Pennies to send out.  How about some branding out there?  I know it is June 3rd but come on there is very little.  All it will take is for one well organized, internet or grass roots driven campaign to drive enough voters to the polls to steal a primary election and then everyone will say "how did that happen."

In fact the only email I received from any campaign was from the John McCain campaign urging NJ voters to go to the polls to vote for our slate of delegates.  An email costs next to NOTHING to send out.  The McCain campaign realizes this and understands that the Paul campaign has their own slate of delegates.  The Ron Paul campaign is hoping to catch people sleeping tomorrow.  Again, all it takes is for a low turnout with a motivated opposing group to shake things up. 

I can understand saving money for the fall, but a little branding and GOTV activity can't hurt.  That's why I was happy to see our own Washington Township Committee candidate Jim Harmon start a website, push out some emails, and put up some signs in town.  Running unopposed he obviously didn't need to do that work, but Jim is smart enough to realize that a little branding and asking people for a vote can be done cheaply and cost effectively.  Hopefully setting himself up for a battle in November.  Use the internet, people.  In a low turnout you can actually drive voters to the polls.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric