Each message received by voters and the campaign environment (e.g. media, competitors)
content is fun, but not always effective
you have to play on emotions
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."
(Peace, little girl) 1964
This film went down in history under the name "Stokrotka". Its author was Tony Shwartz, hired by the election staff of presidential candidate Lyndon Johnson. The advertisement was supposed to reassure voters that Johnson's rival Democrat Barry Goldwater is a dangerous radical who has repeatedly praised nuclear weapons. In the film, a little girl holds a daisy in her hand and clumsily counts the torn petals. The camera zooms in on the girl's eye, and in the background you can hear the countdown before the explosion.
(Peace, little girl) 1964
An atomic bomb explodes on the screen. Hear Johnson's voice during the explosion: "The choice is clear: let all the children of God live in the world or go into darkness. We must love each other or we must die." The ad ended with the narrator's words: "Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high to stay home."
The film was released only once - on September 7, 1964, on the program Poniedzialkowy Evening Wyborczy on the national CBS station.
A compromise between:
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?
What about internal contradiction?
Several levels depending on the type of election and the committee formula:
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 campaign plan
Each campaign (regardless of the tier) is divided into stages
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
Means of campaign
Resources of various types - organizational, financial
First, it is necessary to define (estimate) the resources to which we have access (can be launched), then those to which we hope that we will have access (e.g. volunteers, "who will come"), only against this background should the resources needed to carry out campaign.
It is useful to have information about the resources held (and potential) by other candidates, especially opponents.
Resource assessment must be done on a case-by-case basis!
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.
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.
Three basic conditions that should be met by election materials:
1. Readability
2. Attractiveness
3. Practicality
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
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
Regardless of our assumptions, the campaign plan will NEVER be completed in 100%
and EVEN IF it will never be in a situation where nothing else could be done
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...
[if only due to the actual inelectibility of some candidates]