The Political Entrepreneur: How to Use Secret Political Strategies and Tactics to Grow Your Business by Corcoran John

Author:Corcoran, John [Corcoran, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

Learn As Much About Your Ideal Supporters As Possible

Chris Cassidy had no business being in South Dakota.

A self-described progressive, Cassidy had recently moved to the heart of the conservative midwest from San Francisco, the heart of liberalism.

Like so many political staffers, Cassidy had relocated for a job, and one which would be a few month whirlwind climaxing on general election day 2008. The job was his big break - communications director for an effort to defeat a ballot initiative designed to ban so-called “partial-birth abortion” in almost all instances in South Dakota.

Those pushing the measure were a collective of conservative groups deeply ingrained in the South Dakota community.

On Cassidy’s side was Planned Parenthood, an organization that was extremely unpopular in the more conservative reaches of the state.

It was an uphill battle. And one which they were destined to lose.

​ South Dakota was solidly Republican. The state had voted for the Republican candidate in Presidential elections going back at least 30 years.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the ballot box. Cassidy and the campaign team took the time at the outset to find out if there was any chance their side could prevail. And they found there was daylight if they used the right language to describe the choice voters would be making.

The campaign team threw out earlier messaging in similar campaigns which had fallen into the well-worn “choice” vs. “life” framework which traditionally defined abortion debates. Instead, the team described the blanket ballot initiative as big government imposing its will on women and families - a message which resonated with the more libertarian-leaning elements of the state’s electorate.

“The message broke down political barriers,” said Cassidy. “We were honest in every respect but it’s just a matter of choosing the terms people would be most receptive to.”

Cassidy’s side ended up winning - pulling off an improbable upset on the same day that Barack Obama lost South Dakota to Senator John McCain by almost 10 points. The messaging worked for the campaign because they took the time to understand their audience and tailor their messaging to that audience.

One of the first things any campaign manager or candidate does at the outset of a campaign is they march down to the local registrar’s office or clerk’s office and get a copy of the voter list. Campaigns don’t based their outreach to voters on hunches or intuition - they base their outreach on cold hard facts.

Many businesses do not identify their ideal market with such precision, especially when they are small or just starting out. Often businesses will take a “anyone is welcome” approach - ensuring they will appeal to no one.

​ Based on voter data and polling, campaigns will hone in on their ideal voter demographic. For example, a campaign may decide that soccer Moms between the age of 35 and 45 from families earning over $120,000 per year is their ideal voter.

That knowledge is huge. The campaign can then target its messaging toward that ideal voter. The campaign will pick events that appeal to that voter.

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