Electoral campaigns

Title Text

Subtitle

Target groups

• demographic profile
• political profile

demographic profile

• age
• education
• earnings
• family situation
• possession (e.g. car)
• housing situation
• ...
• ...
• ...

demographic profile

• Selection of topics for the election campaign
• Selection of election campaign tools [methods, communication channels]
• Campaign targeted at specific segments

Political profile

Political profile

• our hard electorate
• our soft electorate
• undecided
• soft electorate of competitors
• hard competition electorate of competitors
• non-voters
• a friendly electorate apart from ours

Factors influencing the election campaign

• Dependent
• Independent
• Positive
• Negative

Independent factors

• The [base] popularity of the candidate party or grouping
• popularity of competitors or rival groupings
• the state of the [local] political scene
• method of converting votes into seats (or more broadly, the election system)
• place on the list [number]
• expected turnout
• candidate's gender (gender share on the list)
• the candidate's appearance
• candidate's age (often neglected)
• current public mood and extraordinary events
• candidate's surname
• restrictions, including financial
• ...

Dependent factors

• an appropriate strategy and campaign plan (and the very fact of their existence)
• financial resources
• team - the number of people involved, their knowledge and competences
• team - contacts and influence on social groups
• candidate / candidates' own workload
• candidate's soft skills - motivating and managing colleagues
• election tactic
• ...

Message

Each message received by voters and the campaign environment (e.g. media, competitors)

Message

content is fun, but not always effective

you have to play on emotions

Message

Humphrey 1968

This TV spot was produced in 1968 by Hubert Humphrey's election staff. It was directed against Spyro Agnew, who was running alongside R. Nixon for the office of vice-president, whose qualifications were assessed very low. The advertisement shows a TV screen with the text: "Spyro Agnew for the president?" At the same time, there is a loud, mocking laugh from behind the frame. The ad ends with a narrator's comment and on the screen says: "It would be funny if it weren't true."

Message

Message

Message

Election campaign topics

A compromise between:

• voters' interests and expectations
• the credibility and competences of the candidate
• topics raised by the competition

Election campaign topics

• the topic is to reach potential recipients
• relevant and attractive
• talking about everything in an election campaign doesn't work
• several catchwords, but for everything else you have to have an idea ...
• people are NOT INTERESTED in public affairs
• people are NOT INVOLVED by electoral programs
• they are more interested in their own family problems, professional situation or the result of Saturday's game - ACCEPT THIS

Attention:

• People don't make election decisions rationally!!
• The campaign cannot ignore the issues that arouse emotions and are controversial
• You have to somehow distinguish yourself from the competition, in some sense have a better offer
• Almost always, the message will reach the average voter - without any special education or knowledge
• The message is supposed to affect the emotions more than the rational part
• We have to give the voter a justification / justification why he is voting for a given party or candidate

Attention:

We have to give the voter a justification / justification why he is voting for a given party or candidate

Agenda

a different situation for a candidate (individualization), different for a committee / list, and very unique in the case of local elections.

A broader approach than the TOPICS of the campaign (we choose what we want to deal with) - in the agenda we refer to everything that may turn out to be important.

An important answer to the question: what topics (total) may appear in the election campaign?

Agenda

What about internal contradiction?

• It is admissible, but then we expose ourselves to the attacks of the competition. Most voters won't notice it anyway (won't even get a chance)
• Voters do not distinguish between the competences of individual institutions or even authorities. You can take advantage of this, but there are also downsides to it - voters can expect solutions to problems that are beyond their control.

Agenda

• available opinion polls can be used
• as well as the results of sociological research, all analyzes and censuses
• using media information to identify problems of a given community
• when we run a campaign in Lodz or Krakow, we are not interested in the problems of fishing!
• But the problems of the Shipyard and Shipyard Workers - as a symbol - can do a little more

• Especially in the case of local government elections - it is worth considering conducting a survey in the district regarding the problems and expectations of residents. This is not only informative, as it allows you to promote the candidate (it must be active in it!)
• Opinions of your immediate surroundings - important, but you should take the correction for representativeness.

Agenda

Agenda

Several levels depending on the type of election and the committee formula:

• The easiest way is in SMC to the Commune Council from its own committee, which puts up only 1 candidate.
• The most twisted thing in local government elections in the case of a nationwide committee (how to avoid contradictions between the interests of different regions, provinces and even municipalities? - see planning the route of expressways)

Agenda

If the program is to take some physical form (printing, or even placing on a website), it is not worth creating contradictory versions for different segments of the electorate - too high risk of embarrassment.

NOTHING IS LOST IN NATURE AND EVEN MORE ON THE POLITICAL MARKET!!!

Election Slogans

• Very important, because they are to attract attention and it is with them that the candidate / group is to be identified
• Supposedly, it is supposed to have something to do with the program. Supposedly.
• Simple
• Readable
• Remarkable
• Consistent with the image of the candidate (or serving to build it)

Election Slogans

• It's good if it refers to emotions
• unfortunately, it is often exposed to alterations and modifications (it is difficult to avoid 100%).
• ambiguities should be avoided
• and even more difficult words
• blatant contradiction to the candidate's image should be avoided
• main slogan better than negative

Election campaign plan

Each campaign (regardless of the tier) is divided into stages

•      recognizing candidates
•      forming opinions about candidates
•      making electoral decisions

The question is, does such a division make sense in practice?

Each campaign (regardless of the tier) is divided into stages

Political branding: continuous, but stronger in relation to the group. It is only at the pre-election stage that candidates are launched (known and identified persons as well as new, unknown persons).

Stage of building lists and searching for funds

The organizational and financial problem of pre-campaign activities

The campaign goes on NON STOP

Election campaign plan

It is important to prepare a to-do list.

Divided into the most important (e.g. failure to comply with which results in elimination from the electoral process), important and optional.

Tasks should be timed and specific people should be assigned to them.

The calendar should be agreed between the candidate and the staff.

In the case of many candidates - a problem of coordination arises

Election campaign plan

Team - people directly involved in the campaign

• Election headquarters
• Volunteers
• Other people involved/helping

Team

The number of team members depends on the possibilities (and indirectly on the nature of the campaign)

The number of staff (Election headquarters) members MUST be limited and adapted to the needs

Number of volunteers - usually the more the better

The number of other people involved - depends on the means and possibilities available (these are often specialists and advisors who receive remuneration or are otherwise associated with the candidate/staff.

Sztab

• People whom the candidate trusts (or the management of the organization at a given level)
  Trust on the part of the chief of staff is not essential, but the lack of it can lay down the campaign or its elements
• It is best to start building the staff (and the entire team) with the closest ones (family, friends) and with existing associates, especially those with whom we have cooperated on the political level.
• In the party, organization - experienced or specialized activists (from the executive or management division), employees (usually full-time employees)

Team

• How to start assembling a team?
• The possibility of organizing a party is sometimes indicated, but for many reasons this is an inconvenient and risky solution.
• Potential staff members and other people involved should be contacted directly by the candidate (or the organization's leader at a given level), and in the case of an organization's campaign, by the chief of staff or the organization's leader.

Sector meetings

• in the first place, we select people for the staff to create a concept of activities and have something to present to the next groups.
•      Further meetings should be organized separately for different forms of involvement (financial, organizational, etc.) due to different interests.
•      In the last place (if necessary, several times) meetings with potential volunteers

• Different levels of information provided - while potential members of the staff should know as much as possible, people, for example, who can support financially (or materially - premises, car) do not have to have full knowledge.
• We have to trust these two groups, and the situation is a bit different with volunteers - if there are new people among them (or those we haven't been able to check yet), be careful.

Sector meetings

as a rule, we do not refuse help, but there are exceptions - especially in a situation where cooperation with a person (or organization) may cause image damage. In the case of volunteers whom we do not want to engage - you can use the method of extinguishing contact.

Election materials

• Materials that we will use to convey the message we are interested in to the voter,
• Their biggest advantage is the fact that their content depends only on us (within the law, of course)
• However, it should be remembered that we do not have full control over the "further life" of election materials and the message contained in them - for example, competitors may use our leaflet and the projects presented in it to show our incompetence. It is also possible to create mocking materials.

• In the case of entities that already have a history of running in elections (especially at the national level, but also, for example, incumbent authorities at the local level), it is possible to use materials created by a political competitor (in a given or previous campaign), e.g. in order to undermine his credibility - e.g. the PO-PiS spot war.
• Materials, even in the form of ephemera, do not disappear at the end of the campaign. Nothing is lost in nature - so they can become an argument in the hands of the competition used for political struggle during the term of office.

Election materials

• Materials in physical form (posters, leaflets, letters) and those published in a digital version (allowing them to be quickly found and processed) are particularly at risk of being used by competitors. For example, it is easier to find a leaflet of a candidate for the mayor of Łódź in 2014 than to find a spot published in these elections only in the free band or only on television and radio, and not on the Internet.
•      The above-mentioned materials are also easier to use due to the possibility of copying and processing.

Election materials

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

1. Readability

2. Attractiveness

3. Practicality

Election materials

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

1. Readability

Maintaining the right proportion between form and content. A legible poster, leaflet or newspaper is therefore understandable and at the same time attractive enough to attract the recipient's attention.

Theses contained in the materials should be simple, accessible to the average voter.

We avoid specialized, sophisticated and complicated vocabulary - instead simple, short sentences.

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

1. Readability

The graphic side of the materials is very important - the simplest solutions are the best. Do not exaggerate with garishness, a multitude of colors or typefaces.

As standard, up to two typefaces and three colors (except, of course, for elements such as a photo). For example, if the white background is black and the elements with special meaning are highlighted in blue.

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

1. Readability

The colors used should contrast with each other.

Please note that after printing, we will get a slightly different effect than we see on the computer screen! (a specialist will come in handy)

Especially in the case of candidates of well-established groups - the colors should refer to the color identification of the group (e.g. to the logo)

Readability is enhanced by free spaces (e.g. on printed materials), so there is no need to fill them by force.

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

2. Attractiveness

Especially in the case of leaflets and newspapers - it is worth using (professional) photos and charts and other forms of graphic presentation (inforgafic!!). The times of text leaflets died with the '90s!

We use only professional photos - the main photo of the candidate and auxiliary photos (e.g. showing him as a leader or head of the family) - also specially arranged.

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

2. Attractiveness

Especially in the case of leaflets - you gain from any form of innovation - a different, non-standard shape, the introduction of 3-D elements, etc. This may also apply to billboards - let's learn from specialists in normal marketing (it is worth following external advertisements of car brands).

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

3. Practicality

When developing materials, one should ask oneself how this particular material will behave during distribution and what will be the consequences and possibilities resulting from the handling of the material by persons distributing and recipients.

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

3. Practicality

For example, a leaflet in the form of a business card can be supplemented with a list of the most important telephone numbers (997, 999 etc.) or a calendar for the coming year.

For parents of children aged 7+ (up to approx. 15), materials containing a schedule of classes/lessons will be practical.

The hats are so cool that they can be worn by people distributing (the recipient will not wear it more than once in a lifetime anyway for two minutes).

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

3. Practicality

With the newspaper (and other materials that the voter receives in his hand, but here in particular) there is a risk of poor print quality - then it gets your hands dirty (important from the point of view of the recipient's reception and possible soiling and irritation of the recipient)

Cool material can - instead of promoting us - harm us. Leaflets prepared especially for drivers of cars parked in housing estates...

Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:

3. Practicality

They are very cool and will be warmly welcomed, especially if, for example, the expansion of parking spaces is promised, and if you add, for example, an air freshener for the car, it's something wonderful...

UNLESS they are placed on cars at 5am, and at 5.30 it starts to rain heavily, and the paper turns out to be of such poor quality that it sticks (and tightly) to the windows.

In such a situation, we are left with minimizing losses

What information should appear in each material?

Candidate's surname (prominent, first name less)

The party from which the candidate is running

District number/list number

List number...?

Website address (currently it can be an FB page, but better a separate one), at least one profile on a social networking site (better more, but updated!), possible messenger.

YouTube profile address with materials, if any

What information can appear on the materials, and which you do not think about?

Information about the election date and what the elections are like [!]

Support for other candidates (others from the lists of the same group in other constituencies, but also e.g. a candidate for the Sejmik and a candidate for the mayor of the city by a candidate for the City Council or candidates for the Senate by candidates for deputy).

Information on how and where to vote

•      Leaflet
•      brochure
•      Election business card
•      Newspaper
•      Letter
•      Term report
•      Poster
•      Outdoor advertising
•      Election gadgets
•      Radio / TV / Internet election spots

Kampania bezpośrednia

• Komunikowanie się bezpośrednio z potencjalnym wyborcą
• Komunikowanie się w sposób mniej lub bardziej bezpośredni (zarówno rozmowa 1 vs 1 jak i 1 vs 400, a nawet 1 v nieokreślony tłum)
• Brak pośrednika w postaci mediów
• Zazwyczaj kontakt jest jednorazowy i nieweryfikowalny (lub weryfikowalny w ograniczonym zakresie)

Kampania bezpośrednia

• Zbieranie podpisów
• Kolportaż materiałów wyborczych
• Ankietowanie wyborców
• Door to Door
• Spotkania z wyborcami

Zbieranie podpisów

• Głównie przy okazji zbiórki wymaganej przepisami kodeksu wyborczego
• Bardzo dobre narzędzie również poza w/w - jedno z podstawowych i najskuteczniejszych narzędzi pokazania aktywności kandydata/ugrupowania i działania na rzecz określonej idei czy też grupy obywateli
• Efekt / reguła konsekwencji - podpisami robimy pierwszy krok do "związania" z sobą wyborcy

Zbieranie podpisów

• Różne limity podpisów (od kilkudziesięciu do 100.000)
• Ważne rozróżnienie między okręgami
• KW przewiduje szereg zwolnień z obowiązku przedstawiania podpisów, ale nie warto z nich korzystać
• Niezależnie od limitu - lepiej zebrać jak najwięcej podpisów
• ok. 30% należy z góry uznać za nieważne

Zbieranie podpisów

• Najbardziej wydajne jest zbieranie podpisów w okolicy (PIESZYCH!) ciągów komunikacyjnych oraz w miejscach, w których gromadzi się duża grupa ludzi - np. targowiska, czasami festyny, koncerty, pikniki osiedlowe
• Elementy niezbędne, a przynajmniej przydatne: stolik, (krzesełka), (parasol), nagłośnienie (megafon)
• Dobrze jeśli stoisko jest odpowiednio oznakowane - rollup, potykacze, a osoby zbierające podpisy wyposażone w ubiór "kampanijny roboczy"

Zbieranie podpisów

• Pilnowanie prawidłowości wpisywanych danych
• PESEL - przedostatnia cyfra odpowiedzialna za płeć, zawsze 11 cyfr, schemat ROK-MIESIĄC-DZIEŃ (dla urodzonych po 2000 ROK+20)
• Warto pamiętać o wpisywaniu kodu a szczególnie NAZWY MIEJSCOWOŚCI (w wypadku wyborów samorządowych lub lokalnych inicjatyw uchwałodawczych może tą informację wydrukować na karcie do zbierania podpisów)

Zbieranie podpisów

• Nie warto być nachalnym
• Z dużym prawdopodobieństwem spotkamy się z przeciwnikami, którzy będą nas traktować jak wrogów. Należy zachować spokój.
• Ale w sytuacji niebezpiecznej należy powiadomić policję/straż miejską
• Grupy 3+-osobowe (większe przy dużym strumieniu potencjalnych odbiorców)

Zbieranie podpisów

• Zbieranie "przy okazji" od wyborców deklaracji zgody na otrzymywanie materiałów wyborczych.
• Można przetestować, ale ja bym tego rozwiązania nie polecił.
• Zbieranie podpisów D2D - czasochłonne, ale w niektórych przypadkach może być przydatne (wybory do Rad w małych gminach)

Kolportarz podstawowych materiałów wyborczych

• Głównie chodzi o ulotki (i podobne materiały) oraz gadżety
• Najskuteczniejsze i najbardziej efektywne jest prowadzenie kolportażu siłami osób zaangażowanych, ale przy dużej skali nie jest to możliwe w 100%
• Istotne jest rozplanowanie przestrzenne oraz czasowe
• Nie można zapominać o weryfikacji

Kolportarz podstawowych materiałów wyborczych

• Grupy minimum 2-osobowe, a w wypadku obecności kandydata najlepiej większe
• Ciągi komunikacyjne, festyny, imprezy, targowiska, krańcówki autobusowe
• Ważne żeby dobrać godzinę i formę przekazu (oraz np. gadżet) do miejsca i odbiorców

Kolportarz podstawowych materiałów wyborczych

• Osoby kolportujące należy odpowiednio wyposażyć:
  • mapa obszaru (przy roznoszeniu ulotek po skrzynkach czy drzwiach)
  • Odpowiedni zapas materiału
  • Identyfikatory z logotypem (choć tutaj pojawiają się wątpliwości)
  • Narzędzia komunikowania z koordynatorem
  • Upoważnienia

Ankietowanie

• Skuteczne narzędzie nie tylko w toku kampanii ustawowej
• Różne formy - ulica, D2D
• Czy ankietować oparcie dla kandydata/ugrupowania? Lepiej sobie darować. Wyniki i tak będą w znacznej mierze bezużyteczne.
• Doskonałe narzędzie do zebrania informacji o głównych problemach
• Weryfikacja wyników, które ewentualnie zostaną ogłoszone jest niewykonalna

Door to Door

• Wyjątkowo skuteczne i przydatne narzędzie
• W każdych wyborach, ale powinno być wykorzystane w różnym stopniu i w różny sposób
• Największe znaczenie w wyborach radnych (szczególnie gmin), również Wójt/Burmistrz/Prezydent
• Ale nawet na Prezydenta RP warto wykorzystać jako event

At the end:

Regardless of the preparation of the campaign, the resources (including financial), the organization's sign or the name of the candidate, one must not forget about:

several laws of the structure of

the universe

At the end:

Regardless of our assumptions, the campaign plan will NEVER be completed in 100%

At the end:

and EVEN IF it will never be in a situation where nothing else could be done

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and could not do more, we will not have access to such resources that it could not be done better

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better, we will not use them anyway due to limitations

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better and somehow we will not be bound by limits, we will never have the best candidate

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better and somehow we will not be bound by limits and we will have the best candidate, we will not predict all the actions of the competition and opponents

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better and somehow we will not be bound by limits and we will have the best candidate and we will predict all the actions of competitors and opponents we will not eliminate them and their voters

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better and somehow we will not be bound by limits and we will have the best candidate and we will predict all the actions of competitors and opponents and even they and their voters are eliminated, we will not convince everyone

At the end:

and EVEN IF we manage to implement the plan and we could not do more, we will somehow have access to such funds that it cannot be done better and somehow we will not be bound by limits and we will have the best candidate and we will predict all the actions of competitors and opponents and even them and their voters we will not eliminate and we will convince all possible voters...

We can never be sure of winning anyway

[if only due to the actual inelectibility of some candidates]