what it takes to be successful in e-campaigning

www.fairsay.com / @fairsaywww.fairsay.com / @fairsay

What it takes to be successful in e-campaigningre:campaign 2010 Keynote

17 April 2010Duane [email protected]: @fairsay+44 207 993 4200 / +44 777 3303 211

www.fairsay.com / @fairsay 2

Sorry I can’t be there!

=+Duane Volcano Justin


eCampaigning: What is it?

• Using ‘electronic’ channels to help achieve campaigning objectives

• Each has different strengths and weaknesses:– Mobile phones: +universal -short text; poor web– Internet:+60% of pop; rich messaging; email; free

- easy to ignore/miss; outreach a challenge

• Most effective: Internet (email + web)Integrated with campaign plans


eCampaigning = campaigning

Works from the same principles as other campaigning

…yet it provides new opportunities:• Mobilise in minutes and hours vs. weeks and weeks• Get more people involved due to lower barriers to

participation and ability to be relevant to them• Support more people to self-organise

and some practices are new and require different expertise


One more campaigning model

20th Century: • Campaigning

added the mass media / broadcast model

• Use mass media networks e.g. newspapers, radio, tv

21st Century:• Campaigning

added the social media model

• Use personal networks e.g. sharing, self-organise

• Digital form of previous models

19th Century: • Campaigning used

the grassroots model

• Use institutional networks e.g. unions, churches

New approachesbuild on and compliment

proven approaches


Many Models of eCampaigning

Most common: Demonstrate public support85%: Recruit and mobilise with online letters / petitions 7%: Recruit online and mobilise locally / phone calls 3%: Recruit and mobilise to fund related actions 3%: Coordinate day/week of action mobilisation

…and the remaining 2%?:• Brand damage – mainly corporate• Bear witness – video or photos of events• Empower/expose through information – easy, relevant• Stimulate debate – generate controversy• Alerts from the field – put tools in supporters hands• Non-public activity – if publicity is counterproductive

…and a few other models.


What is e-campaigning ‘success’?

Depends on campaign objectives and research

Recruit?

Attention? Debate?

BehaviourChange? Law

Change?

Enforcement?

PerceptionChange?

Prevention?

Witness?

Participate?


Common: email-to-action model


Three ways to be successful in

e-campaigning…


1. Money

• Can buy exposure and expertise• Easy to waste without a good strategy• Insufficient for winning campaigns, but helps


2. Luck

• Usually a one-off success• The more you try, the more chance to be lucky• Strategy, expertise and hard work can build on it


3. Strategy, expertise, hard work

• Gives best chance of repeatable success•Makes you ready for luck and attracts money• Is what I can share with you


Ideal: have all three

1. Obama campaign (2007-8) used strategy, expertise and hard work to ensure they could make the most of luck and to raise money

2. Greenpeace is good example of making the most of strategy, expertise and hard work + luck

3. MoveOn.org/GetUp.org.au/Avaaz.org/38Degrees.org.uk:a. raise money to get strategy, expertise and hard workb. respond quickly to crisitunity’s = increased chance of

luckc. Donating is another way of helping achieve change


eCampaigning strategy

• Derived directly from the campaigning strategy• Messages should be coordinated on all channels• Adapted to the strengths of audience(s) and channel(s)• Multi-way: you-to-them, them-to-you, them-to-them• The fastest way to directly and coherently respond• Encourage self-organising with direction/support


eCampaigning expertise

eCampaigning

Direct Marketing• Direct communication• Specific calls-to-action• Trackable, measurable, testable• Supporter journeys• Surveying and polling

Interactive Media• Email communication• Web applications• Usability best practices• Internet marketing• Community building• Communication technology

Campaigning• Campaigning planning• Influencing• Mobilising

Generic• Negotiating• Coordinating• Collaborating


Hard work: getting organised…

Tools

Research

Authority

Budget Benefits

LeadTime

CoordinatedMessaging

Signoff

Relevance

PlanningIssues

TechnicalIssues

eCampaigning success is largely determined by planning issues – not technical

Creativity

Skills

Experience

Strategy Analysis


Examples of hard work

• Build, sustain and deepen relationship with supporters• User experience: fine-tune, constantly test + improve• Learn what works and abandon poor performers• Plan a story arc over the life of the campaign• Plan actions with an offline aspect funded by supporters

• Great case: Amnesty Belgium: Wake Up Humans


Case Study: Amnesty International Belgium‘Wake Up Humans’: 2009


Click to play video


Lessons

• They had commitment throughout the organisation• They planned and executed the idea well• They integrated the idea online and offline• The success factor was not recruitment or mobilisation

(the common ones), but public reaction• Others?

• Success? Why?

• Ultimate lesson: e-campaigning success is still determined by the quality of the planning and strategy


Questions? Comments?

Learn more at• eCampaigning Community: http://fairsay.com/ecflist• FairSay Blog: http://fairsay.com/blog• Care2’s Frogloop Blog: http://frogloop.org

Contact me:Duane [email protected]: fairsayhttp://fairsay.com

what it takes to be successful in e-campaigning

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