Uncategorized

When the campaign strategist becomes a blogger (Part 2/2)

Originally posted Friday, September 08, 2006 This piece is the final part of an op-ed that i started on and published yesterday (Thursday, September 7)

What should campaign strategists consider before exploiting the tool (blog)?

What is missing from the overall blog discussion is a structured approach that will help realise the strategic options that need to be considered before adding a blog to campaign’s bag of tricks. Using blogs as a communication tool will not merely have a positive outcome because of it’s a part of the campaign (see Walmart/Edelman discussion). The influence and effect of the blog will, like every other communication tool, depend on how it integrates the Meta narrative of the campaign. Blogging is time consuming and it is not as controllable as other communication tools, but if you understand its potential and include the people that take an interest in it, it can give a candidates a springboard to a community that probably takes more interest in the election campaign that any other.

Since theoretical data is limited so far, strategists should therefore look to present campaigns by candidates, organisations and PR-firms and question why particular blogs/campaigns are considered to be effective (or ineffective) and then further question if the political and cultural differences between that campaign and the area that the current campaign will take place will allow the same results.

I believe that there is a common set of considerations and questions that need to be asked of the political parties, candidates and strategist that consider using blogs as a PR tool. I have tried to list these considerations here and hope that others will comment on them and make the list useful for people new to the medium.

Set of considerations

What strategic choices does the persuader have? -Should the campaign operate an official blog? -Should the campaign link the blog to its official website or maintain distance? -Should the campaign encourage interest groups to run a blog for the campaign? -Should the campaign try to influence public opinion through pre-existing blogs? -Is it possible to combine the above approaches?

What is the status of the blogosphere? -What are the etiquettes and unwritten laws that define this particular blogosphere that in order to be recognised by the community itself? -Which are the leading blogs? How do you define and rank the status of blogs? -Which tools do you have to help you to do this? -Which power relations and political fragments are dominating the blog community?

Understand Viral Marketing Online and the channels that exist for it - How do you promote blogs or contact bloggers? -By posting on other blogs? -By e-mailing bloggers ? -By e-mailing supporters and party-members?

Discloser -How open should you be when contacting bloggers? Should you be anonymous or use a real name when posting on blogs? -Should people that post on your behalf disclose this fact?

What level of message control should the persuader use? -Open to anyone?

What tactical features does the blog bring to the campaign? -Broadcaster of announcements, calendar -Encourage supporters to act ("meet ups", send direct mail) -Fundraising -A forum for participation, engagement and involvement -Focus groups -Publish links to other blogs, positive media coverage, etc (reinforce the campaigns message) -Debate what to say in speeches -Spin the message -Promote Blogads -Combine and promote other tactical online tools like email campaigns. -Podcast

The message -What should be published on the blog?

Technological aspect -what software and design supports an effective blog? -where to host the blog? -directories that enlist blogs

Which of these things should be considered in the different stages of the campaign? -Research -Planning -Implementation -Action -Evaluation

All the direction that it is possible to take will depend on the objectivity of the campaign and the roll of the blog. The aim of the blog might be to increase visibility or to increase the level of interaction with campaign supporter or to spark further discussion around the theme of the campaign. That is for the campaigner to decide. The choice is there, for anyone that makes an effort to understand viral marketing and online campaigning.

Today's recommendations

Originally posted Thursday, September 07, 2006There’s an interesting post in Currumbin2Cook for those that are interested in finding out more about online campaigning in the Queensland election campaign. The Queensland Coalition has built an Internet site where they screen political ads that encourage people to sent a message to the Premier. Graham Young is not impressed!

There’s also a post on BoingBoing today about blogging in Zimbabwe

When the campaign strategist becomes a blogger (Part 1/2)

Originally posted Thursday, September 07, 2006I will in a two part series publish a personal op-ed on the academic approach to political blogging so far and the direction it needs to take in the future. Hopefully the piece will spark some discussion around the topic and help us understand how to approach the phenomenon from different perspectives.

What do politicians and campaigners know about blogs?

The topic was addressed in The Charlotte Observer Sunday August 03 and an answer to the question will probably vary depending on where it is asked. American media frequently report that blogs are being used in political campaigns, which is a sharp contrast to Australia where the phenomenon seldom receives attention. The natural explanation for this is that while the number of American political candidates and parties using blogs in their campaign is on the rise; the number of Australian candidates using blogs is barely even noticeable. A closer look into the Australian blogosphere however show that there is an increase in the number of candidates that adopt the tool but not significant enough to reach the attention of general media. Despite this growing interest the knowledge on this reasonably new communication tool is far from extensive.

Academic research on the topic is limited. The 2004 US presidential campaign was the first campaign to see the appearance of candidate blogs, and most of the research that was conducted around this campaign seeks to explore how the new medium was used by the different candidates: What was published on the blogs, who published it and was the content on the blogs related to the main message of the campaign. Others, like Australian Mark Bahnisch who contributed to the recently published 'The Uses of Blogs' and is the founder of Larvatus Prodeo, have tried to explore the place and influence of political blogs in an increasingly fragmented and dispersed political and informational culture.

Many studies are agreeing that many of the blogs in the 2004 US election and later in the 2006 Senatorial election had an impact on the campaign but few dare to draw a general conclusion about the direct impact this tool had on the outcome of the election. Of course it could be argued that if blogs influenced the election campaign, they must have also influenced the outcome of the election in some way – not necessarily by directly determining the voting process but by setting the political agenda and increasing candidate’s visibility.

Bahnisch concludes that there is no doubt blogs have shaped politics to date and have the potential to shape politics in the future. ‘However, further research is urgent needed, particularly in mapping the reach and influence of blogs, and also in a more rigours and empirical informed analysis of conversations and power relations internal to the blogosphere and their relationship to their environing context’.

I agree with this and I believe that Bahnisch has a crucial point. We need to take a more systematic approach to the phenomenon of political blogging from the perspective of both campaign strategists and bloggers to look at how the important components of a campaign - its different stages, the communication strategies it utilizes and the level of control it requires - can be synergised with blogs. At the same time we need to examine how bloggers understand themselves and how they view the importance of the work they do.

According to Stephen Stockwell, author of 'Political Campaign Strategy', it is significant that: ‘… [promotion of] the arguments necessary for democracy in a mass society requests not only a systematic approach to reach fellow citizens, but also the creativity to continually produce the open forums where the arguments can be placed’. I believe that blogs today have already established an open forum that the political arena has not realized or seen the full potential of.

So what do politicians and campaigners need to learn about the potential and influence of blogs in political campaigns and how should they approach this tool to realize its potential?

...continues Friday

Matt Stoller predicting the future of blogs in political campaings

Originally posted Wednesday, September 06, 2006I would recommend people to read Matt Stoller’s op/ed on MyDD-Direct Democracy: The Future of Blogs and Campaigns. This is a great piece by Stoller where he (based on his recent experience at the time as a blogger for the Corzine campaign) predicts the future of blogs in political campaigns.

The uses of blogs in the 2006 US Senatorial Campaing

Originally posted Wednesday, Sepyember 06, 2006The Bivings Group recently released a study on the Internet`s role in political campaigns. The study looks at the use of the internet in the 2006 Senatorial Campaign in the US and specifically addresses blogs. Not unexpected did the study find that challengers, regardless of party affiliation tended to include web tools such as blogs at a higher rate than incumbents. 32 percent of the challengers, which rally are not really a high percentage, included blogs in their campaign compared to 10 percent of the incumbents.

The conclusion to why blogs are modestly represented in campaigns (here referring to the Senatorial campaign) is that it is highly time consuming and does not give the controlled communication that the campaign desire:

Newspapers are full of stories about blogging by politicians. The success of Howard Dean’s campaign blog was the big online story of the 2004 election cycle. Yet, in reality, not that many campaigns are using this technology.

First off, it is important to remember the demographics of the candidates running for office and the limitations of the campaigns’ themselves. Candidates are extremely busy, and older Americans are unlikely to have the time or inclination to personally participate in the blogosphere. For many campaigns, having a blog just doesn’t make strategic sense. Many campaigns also have extremely limited resources, and are hesitant to devote these resources to an activity like blogging. Second, there is a perception among many political consultants and candidates that blogging is a risky strategy. Candidates worry that by fully participating in the blogosphere, they will be dragged further to the left or to the right. Bloggers are typically the most active and ideological of Americans, so there is a fear by some that reaching out to these groups may turn away moderate voters.

From The Internet`s Role in Political Campaigns.

Here is also the lates news related to the topic in the US and an article from The Sydney Morning Herald that is mentioning Greens Canada Bay Counsillor Bernard Rooney's experimentation with blogs.

Get your voice heard in the Queensland election campaign

Originally posted Monday, September 04, 2006I need to promote a good cause that is all about what this blog is trying to address.

If anyone haven't heard of eTQ, they should enter their website and find out more about their 'DON'T BE SILENT AT ELECTION TIME' campaign.

eTQ is today encouraging young Queenslanders to get on the phone to local candidates and tell them what matters in the Queensland election campaign.

From eTQ: "eTQ think that the lack of adequate inclusion of youth issues in the coverage and campaigning isn't good enough. Data shows that over 200 000 young people are enrolled to vote, which is a lot of voices. It's time the politicians heard some of those".

"Let's right the myth: we are not apathetic! We are a diverse group of people, with a diverse range of needs, and it is about time they were addressed".

Hit the campaign website for more information.

New survey on the influence of blogs released

Originally posted Saturday, September 02, 2006There has been released a new survey about American adults use of blogs to get news. Here are some interesting quotes from KnoxNews explaining some of the findings in the survey:

"I'm not sure that rate of usage is set in stone. For now, the significance of blogging is that it influences the influencers," said David Kline, co-author of "Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business and Culture."

"Look at the political campaign for U.S. Senate in Connecticut. The blogosphere had a pretty clear effect on the outcome of the vote. And political bloggers impacted both politicians in the race, affecting what they talked about during the campaign."

Read more about the survay here.

More related news:

A hopefully-useful Kos-Armstrong timeline

Mind Numbing Media: The Last Throes of the Punditocracy

James Bruni's take on the Wal-mart/Edelman incident

Originally created Saturday, 02 September, 2006I really appreciate that people take interest in the topic I discuss in my blog. One that does is James Bruni, President of Bruni PR New York. James represents a view that criticise some of the major PR agencies use of blogging in market campaigns. I think it is interesting to present different takes on the subject and since James was kind enough to send me a copy of his op-ed on Edelman’s involvement in the Wal-mart incident earlier this year I would like to publish this for others to read.

Aug. 22, 2006

YOUNG/WAL-MART/EDELMAN TAKE BLOG PUNCHES

By James Bruni

"We absolutely want Wal-Mart's story to be in a discussion, in a conversation. That's the essence of the blogosphere," said Richard Edelman on a CNN interview on March 13. As the proverb says, watch out what you wish for.

The Andrew Young/Wal-Mart/Edelman fiasco is the talk of the blogosphere and most of the conversation isn't very pretty. That begs the question: Can a PR firm really manage the cyberspace debate? As Bob Marley said, "When you play with fire, yah gonna get burned."

In a speech in London just a few months ago, Edelman offered some of the following "tips" for reaching out to the blogosphere:

"If there's a mistake about your company, about your product, send them an e-mail, raise your hand. They will correct it. That's what our studies show very clearly. Either by striking through and writing 'here's the fact.' Or, by correcting. One or the other. Very few of them will leave an inaccurate post."

One wonders if there is an army of young Edelman account executives busy this week answering bloggers who chimed in on the Young scandal: "We are sorry, but Andy didn't mean what he said ... and after all, Wal-Mart has fired him, so what's the big deal. Please post this on your blog." The fact is that PR firms can't control the blogosphere any better than they controlled those old media institutions -- New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, etc. Big PR firms are learning that the blogosphere is no answer for a company like Wal-Mart that really needed a more traditional media relations lobbying campaign. There's just no way to get around the mainstream media. That's the lesson we learned during the past several days. The blogosphere is a great place to promote new products, but ideas are another matter. There's a world of difference between promoting a new software app or tech product on slashdot, engadget, or robingood.com and trying to promote Wal-Mart as a good corporate citizen that is being "victimized" by the left-leaning liberal press.

Sure, you can sell that idea (as Edelman did) to the right wingers who run the political blogs, but the blogosphere is more complicated that Edelman envisioned. As for PR firms, we need to refocus our attention on the old media while keeping an eye on the blogosphere. The media world hasn't changed all that much. Bloggers, just like their reporter counterparts, don't react well to PR firm-orchestrated campaigns that lack substance.

Interesting point of view

Originally posted Thursday, 31 August, 2006I would recommend people to have a look at a piece by Jim Geraghty published July 7, 2006 in On Tap called ‘We all think we know it all. So why are campaigns hiring bloggers who claim they really do know it all?’.

The piece questions a trend amongst the Democratic circles in the US where bloggers are turned into political strategists and raises an interesting question regarding the choice and role of bloggers in political campaigns.

Interview with Guy Cranswick

Originally posted Wednesday, 30 August, 2006Last week I was lucky to get in contact with internet analyst Guy Cranswick. He is known in the online communication strategy market in Australia from his work for IBRS - IT & Business Management Consulting and has over fifteen years experience in media, marketing and business consulting.

When I asked Guy if he would comment on some questions regarding the state of political blogging in Australia he was happy to share his take on the topic. I have been given permission to publish a transcript of his answers and both he and I encourage further discussions on the topic.

Guy has been mentioned by Trevor Cook at his Corporate Engagement site and he has also published an article for AIM in 2003 ( Australian Institute of Management) about blogging as an online communication tactic.

Espen: I am trying to find out how politicians and the grass root can utilize blogs in their political campaign, either to campaign for political issues, ad hoc cases or general political support. -In regards to this success would be measured by how successful the outcome of a campaign is depending on the campaigns objective or how many votes a Candidate recieves or how many MPs is elected for a party. -The question is however, how can we measure the success of blogs as a campaign tool amongst all the other campaign tools? Do you know of any studies that have attempted to explain this?

Guy: How would you measure the success of blogs… Everyone, organisations and companies want to measure success for all kinds of investment, whether it be in time or in money; and of course if a politician is elected, or a party is elected, then it is a success. But blogs couldn’t be solely attributed in creating a victory; they would be just one part of it, along with the door-knocking, and so on...

The thing to understand about blogs is that in a fractured media environment, that is where mass media have less reach (coverage of an audience) than it did ten, twenty and certainly forty years ago; technology on the web means that individuals can self publish.

For politicians this can be quite valuable even though you may be talking to the converted; but at least it is the way of reaching people with your own point of view. When they [politicians] are using the media they are being mediated; you are edited, your views are put together in terms of a editorialised story, in a way that journalist would like to put an angle - not necessarily a spin as we say - but to interpret policies and utterances in certain ways.

For a politician to use their own blog, or for a party - because of the opportunity to discuss daily events in the light of policies - gives it context; and also by doing so, engaging in direct contact with people that the Web allows through emails or even through talk forums. This can be persuasive, to be engaged just as in direct conversation, where, as of course through the media, one listens as the public and one is spoken to by politicians. So, you couldn’t say that a blog is necessarily one element in a campaign, its one thing in a communication plan that a politician can use for their own ends.

Espen: -How can you measure their popularity and influence?

Guy: Well, simply as by engagement, and it wouldn’t necessarily be in numbers. Now, political parties like most organisations that have a marketing strategy want to reach as many people as possible; it’s the nature of democracy - numbers get you elected but blogs, political blogs, aren’t that interesting to a great number of people. But they can be useful to influence others, to reply to questions and so on.

And you can see an analogy perhaps with some magazines in this country, but also in other parts of the world, which may have a small readership but are extremely influential. And a blog may exercise the same form of influence. But you couldn’t measure it in actual total numbers reached, so much, as in the power of ideas through the blog.

Espen: -What impact does Australian blogs have in political campaigns?

Guy: Well today, nil. And it has to be said that for a very connected online society like Australia, the exercise of the Net for political purposes has been rather small, especially in comparison with the US. There are a number of historical reasons: it can also be for political and social reasons; that is, are Australians engaged in politics around ideas or are they interested in terms of economic management. Of course it’s more complicated than that but in comparison with the US, where from this side, there appear to be divisions in the media, politically and over religion: taking control of information is more urgent. But it is true to say, as far as your question is phrased, that Australian blogs, political blogs, are very recent and therefore its very hard to assess their influence. I would also refer to my two earlier answers in terms of their reach and influence.

Espen: -Do you have any information on which Australian parties or MPs (candidates) that utilize blogs for political purposes?

Guy: Well, yes there are a couple of senators: Kate Lundy and there is also the democrat senator Andrew Bartlett. However, the communication strategy, aligned with the political strategy within parties, will look at the mass media as being the most convincing, far-reaching [communication] tool. I would say that that strategic media platform is actually changing… and like so many things, there is a lag between how people and communities are using technology and how institutions and organisations have understood it.

I suppose you can make a sense of that in a short anecdote: There was a rock musician that was elected to parliament, his name is Peter Garret he is 53 years old, and the question that was asked by the political observers, commentators, when he was a candidate was: would he appeal to the youth vote? It was quite ridiculous because he was 51 years old then; he is a middle aged man who had a very successful career with his rock band “Midnight Oil” in the 1980s, and as far as the youth vote goes, he is history.

[Transcript part two]

Guy: Ok now here is part two.

And you have asked the question:

-What is the common view amongst Australian parties and MPs on blogging? The simple answer is that I don’t think there is one. I don’t think anyone has really considered it and if they have they would have to consider how the message would be communicated, the independence of each of those politician bloggers and their relationship to the party managers. Being ‘on message’ is very important and that may at times run against the purpose of a blog, I don’t know what the reason is precisely and it largely depends on the individual, whether they have things to say and they like writing. The arrangement of the party websites shows solid publishing strategy, well that is just a small part of what is possible online, if the will exists, more can be done.

It’s very hard to get some kind of feedback on intentions; they might be talking to others [political commentators] but I am not aware of any kind of common view, single view, or even an individual view. So you could probably say it is a mystery on that one.

Espen: -How do you explain the lack of interest for political blogging in Australia compared to the US?

Guy: A political scientist or journalist would have good insights here. It’s very difficult to say in a few words. Anyway, I think to a large degree Australia is, or rather, Australians are not overtly political in pursuing ideologies. There isn’t a high degree of ideology in Australian political life; although there are debates and criticisms recently about the current federal government being ideological in terms of economic management. That’s not my arena but I mention it because the word ideology is used pejoratively, as if it isn’t right.

I think Australians are quite content with a broad church of policies, but it is absolutely necessary, for the electorate, that any incumbent government manage the economy in terms of peoples’ interests and their aspirations, home ownership etc etc.

Political blogs are forums to discuss ideas. Australians are not…it is a difficult generalisation…Australia is not that sort of society where people engage in discussions of moral political issues. What I mean is that there are no hot debates…surely some exist, in universities and they exist in certain suburbs of capitol cities but you won’t find people motivated, by say, history or class to be moved politically in that same way that they are in Europe or the US.

I would say that Australians are largely indifferent to the political process as long as economic management is always strong and peoples’ material well-being is guaranteed. Once that goes, and I think if you look at the last thirty years of Australian political life, governments suffered when interest rates have become too high or economic measures have reduced peoples’ sense of well-being.

Espen: -What is your findings regarding the effect of blogging in political campaigns in Australia?

Guy: Well similar to one of your earlier questions there is none. We may see it emerge although I am not optimistic …that we will see anything. In the elections now and in the near future, there are many elections in this country in 2007; I can’t see blogging really play much of a part. But if it does it may come about from independently minded politicians. To a large extent politicians and parties will be happy to get their message across through traditional advertising, TV, outdoor advertising; the radio which is very, very important in each of the capitol cities in this country – talk back radio and through television news. But I can’t see blogging having much of a play this time around. But, as often happens, the next round of elections in a few years time could see more activity, which would follow the known pattern of adoption trends.

You were also wondering if there is a way of measuring political blogs in Queensland state election. Well, you’d have to talk to anyone who is running any of those blogs to see how many visitors they have. Also the amount of content they are putting up each week – probably daily – but I would say that they would be lucky to reach more than fifty or a hundred people a week. But then it goes back to the point of influence. I hope that answers your questions.

Thank you Guy for sharing your knowledge and view on the topic

The Liberals include blogging to their campaign repertoire

Originally posted Wednesday, 30 August, 2006The Courier Mail reports today (30.08.2006, page 11) that Liberal campaign director Russel Egan eggs on local party members to use blogs to channel the election message in the last two weeks of the campaign.

From the Courier mail: Liberal campaign director for Mansfield and Bonners’s Federal Electorate Council chairman Russell Egan sent the request in an email to local members on Sunday.

The email said: ”With only two weeks until election day, the Liberal(s) must influence public opinion and change the focus from petty issues regarding the people and focus on the Government’s performance.

“Several avenues are: The Courier Mail’s letter to the editor and blogs (which)…are quite active and are dominated by writers who are clearly Labour stooges.

New candidate blog to emerge in Australia soon

Originally posted Monday, 28 August, 2006Earlier today I stumbled over a post in Adam Lyttle’s blog where he talks about the making of Australian MP Peter Lewis's blog.

I sent an e-mail to Lyttle and asked him if he had developed blogs for other Australian politicians.

I received an answer where he tells me that he also have developed a blog for Michael Harbison.

Lyttle also reveal in the mail that: "I am currently working on another blog, but cannot disclose any information until it has been released". - Which is understandable.

This however, might show that there is a growing interest for blogs amongst politicians in Australia. It is certainly not big compared to the US but at least it's there.

Thanks for the information Adam.

Blog campaigning not always have a positive effect

Originally posted Monday, 28 August, 2006I have received some critics for bing too positive about Edelman’s involvement in blog campaigns. Basically I was told to wake up and look at how Edelman handled the Blogosphere on behalf of Walmart earlier this year.

I think it's good that people are pointing out the sides of blog campaigning that may have a negative outcome. But note that Edelman have recieved positive comments for his handeling of Walmart's blog campaing

If people are interested in reading more about the Edelman/Walmart incident New York Times have a comprehensive coverage of the case.

Richard Edelman also shares his side of the story in two of his blog posts that you can visit here and here.

And offcourse the Pr-bloggers have their take on the incident. Some of them have been gathered at PR Opinions It is all worth a reading.

Did the campaign have a negative effect? It can still be discussed I believe. At least it is an example of a ground breaking way of how to run a PR campaign and both companies and politicians should learn from it. It will be handy when developing online communication strategies.

Update: Visit Business Blog Consulting for their take on the story

Richard Edelmans lessons from the Lamont campaign

Originally posted Sunday, 27 August, 2006Another campaign strategist and PR practitioner that more recently engaged in a political campaign is Richard Edelman. Edelman helped out Ned Lamont pull off a stunning upset in the Democratic Primary in Connecticut beating three term incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman, who just six years ago was nearly elected Vice President of the United States by four points. On his PR blog Edelman share lessons from the campaign that might come handy for other political strategists.

This is what he has to say about engaging with the blogosphere:

“Engage with the Blogosphere — When the Lieberman campaign made a big announcement about Lamont’s ownership of stock in Halliburton, the Lamont campaign did its own quick research and found that the Senator also held shares in the same company. A few bloggers (Daily Kos as example) were given the story, which was then picked up by mainstream media. In fact, the blogosphere has been a key asset for Lamont’s campaign, discussing his views, magnifying the impact of his ad campaign and speeches. One funny ad on YouTube, which was picked- up some blogs, parodies the negative attacks against Ned by showing his family critiquing Ned’s coffee making skills which Ned acknowledges lamely”.

For more information on this, read this article published 4 august 2006 in The New York Times .