The Scarlet Letter
Campaign Insider
Next for campaigns: Tweet-to-donate
by Dave Nyczepir / Jun 19 2012
Donors can now tweet political contributions to campaigns.
In the wake of last week’s decision by the Federal Election Commission affirming political donations via text message, the tech company Chirpify has launched tweet-to-donate software aimed at campaigns.
Chirpify CEO Chris Teso says while the company has talked to the campaigns of both President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, neither has committed to using the platform just yet. However, several campaigns
Super PACs and mega-firms
by Dave Nyczepir / Jun 19 2012
When it comes to picking a consulting firm, candidates increasingly seek specialization, while larger companies and issue groups are more likely to gravitate toward mega-firms. That’s according to Steve McMahon, co-founder of the bipartisan firm Purple Strategies.
“Big companies tend to go more toward big firms because there’s stability and there’s depth and all the things that companies want,” McMahon said Monday at C&E’s Art of Political Campaigning Conference. “And candidates tend to
The ‘CENGA generation’ and 2012
by Erika Spicer / Jun 18 2012
What noted pollster John Zogby terms the “CENGA generation” might just shape the conversation around the 2012 presidential race. CENGA is shorthand for “College Educated, Not Going Anywhere,” and according to Zogby, these voters no longer see government as a problem solver.
“Who is going to talk to them and who is going to make the promise to them that their America will not only be better, but their America will be
A comeback for door-to-door polling?
by Shane D'Aprile / Jun 18 2012
It's no secret that challenges for survey researchers are on the rise as more and more voters ditch their landline phones in favor of cellphones. Republican pollster Jim Burton thinks part of the solution may come in a return to door-to-door polling.
At C&E’s annual Art of Political Campaigning conference Monday, Burton ventured that the door-to-door polling technique many international consultants employ in places like Iraq and Eastern Europe, could become more
Optimism fades for Egyptian consulting market
by Sean J. Miller / Jun 15 2012
Consultants will have to wait and see whether Egypt blossoms into the kind of market Iraq has been for the industry.
Until Thursday, optimism had been quietly building among international political consultants that Egypt could offer the kind of opportunities that Iraq did after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
"The fact that Egyptians were able to hold this election within fifteen months of the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak is a
Radio advertising showing signs of life
by Cami Zimmer / Jun 14 2012
With Election Day less than five months away, campaigns are busy developing their advertising strategies. The question is what medium to pick: television, radio, print, online and mobile are all options this cycle. But which medium works best?
With the growth of online options, radio isn't as popular. Still, I believe the old standby deserves a second look. Now, admittedly, some radio statistics are problematic. For instance, the Consumer Electronics Association (CES) Read more…
5 media markets already flooded with ads
by Dave Nyczepir / Jun 14 2012
Ad spending is currently flooding markets in a slew of presidential battleground states with point totals well beyond what many media buyers were expecting at this stage of the game. Between Super PACs and early spending from the campaigns of President Obama and Mitt Romney, prime ad space is being snatched up quickly.
“It’s unheard of that you’re having this conversation in June,” says Brian Nick, media strategist at the Republican firm
Costs add up in text-to-donate math
by Erik Nilsson / Jun 13 2012
Earlier this week, the Federal Election Commission gave its stamp of approval for federal campaigns to collect anonymous donations via text donations. I'm a big believer in using technology to get citizens more involved in the political process. This is a great step forward in reducing the friction in collecting donations.
Here's how the FEC ruling applies to us political fundraisers:
- Text donations are capped at $10 per text.
- Donors can
Gallup: Voter 'satisfaction' drops to 20 percent
by Dave Nyczepir / Jun 13 2012
New numbers from Gallup show the percentage of Americans who say they're "satisfied" with the country's current direction has dropped to just 20 percent. It marks a slight decrease over the past several months when the number hovered between 24 and 26 percent.
Overall, Democrats are more satisfied than independents or Republicans. However, Gallup found a notable decrease among Dems since May: the number who said they are satisfied with the country's
Dem strategists: Party needs to shift message on economy
by Erika Spicer / Jun 12 2012
A group of prominent Democratic strategists has a warning for President Obama and the party’s other candidates this fall: if the party doesn’t shift its message on the economy, Democrats “will face an impossible headwind in November.”
A memo released Monday by Democracy Corps, the group headed by Democratic strategists Stan Greenberg and James Carville, warns that independents are not convinced the economy is headed in the right direction. The memo
FEC approves political donations via text
by Dave Nyczepir / Jun 11 2012
The Federal Election Commission voted Monday to allow campaigns to raise money via text message, but some online strategists say it remains to be seen just how much of an impact the decision will have on this year’s fundraising landscape.
The decision from the FEC comes in response to an advisory opinion request filed by Arent Fox on behalf of political consulting firms Armour Media and Red Blue T, along with business-to-consumer
Obama's benchmark on jobs?
by Danielle Kane / Jun 11 2012
If history is any indication, the next set of economic numbers—set for release in early July—will be critical for President Obama’s reelection bid.
Earlier this month, Democrats were rattled by the latest jobs report: just 69,000 new jobs were created in May and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent. If the pattern doesn’t break next month, Obama would be just the third president since 1980 to
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