What to do about Political Ads

Political advertising is in full swing. And it’s only March.

What are things going to look like in October and November? One can only imagine.

A report that came out last week estimates that online political spending will hit $159 million in 2012. That’s just online!

I know the big online ad networks are happy. If I’m Google, or Facebook, or anyone else that stands to make a huge percentage of that money, I’m thrilled.

But what does it do to us? The general public? What about the fact that a large majority of the advertising is negative against an opponent?

Each election carries with it a higher amount of advertising dollars. And each election carries with it more negative and smear campaigns. And I fear that overall, it’s doing more harm for all of us in the long run than it is doing good for any single candidate in the short run.

We’re hammered with negative ads about everyone. We don’t forget those ads when it’s all over. We hate whoever is elected, we hate the system they represent, and we wait 2, or 4, or 6 years until we get to see them dethroned.

The political system in our country is f*cked already. And now advertising is pushing it further off the cliff.

The Ultimate Consulting Gig

On any given day, I might answer the question “What is your dream job?” different. While I love what I do, there are always other opportunities out there. The grass is always greener.

Right now, my dream job is consulting for Barack Obama’s campaign team, specifically on the email marketing side. And while there are many people in the field who might have the insight and experience that I have and then some, I believe that I could bring a level of creativity and understanding that I don’t see in their email strategy at the moment.

If tomorrow, I was brought on to manage Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign email marketing program, here’s what I would do:

1. Segment lists by region, state, county
2. Segment the segments by race, age, and gender
3. Research the important issues by segment
4. Survey our email list to learn more about them and their needs
5. Work on a variety of email templates designed not only to inform and seek donations, but attention grabbing, over the top emails that demand readers. When you’re the President of the United States seeking re-election, you’ve got a pedestal to speak from. Be daring, take advantage of the attention you already command.
6. Use emails to drive followers on a variety of social media campaigns, both those that already exist and new ones that I’ve suggested (Kickstarter).
7. Ask people to subscribe to a newsletter specifically to receive news and updates from the campaign trail.
8. Use the newsletter to promote local supporters, town halls, petitions, and donation collection.
9. Use the newsletter to announce live webinar type discussions with key members of the cabinet and Barack Obama’s team. It’s hard to be everywhere all of the time, but virtual meetup technology can help facilitate intimate communication at a distance.
10. Use all the emails that we send out to refer others to the program. I have not seen an email from the campaign team yet that asked me to find other subscribers. You should always ask.