A campaign that is well prepared on the front end has a much better chance of success than a campaign that stumbles out of the gate or has to be reorganized midway through an election cycle. Good campaigns do their homework and are well versed in four basic campaign building blocks: Math, Money, Message, & Momentum.
Math is all about understanding the numbers, percentages, and voter propensity. In short, the electoral landscape. It is the first thing a campaign should consider. Understanding the “Math” helps campaigns set benchmarks and develop realistic action plans. Math is the indifferent but necessary counterbalance to campaigns built on hope and dreams.
Money is about the resources a campaign will need to implement an effective action plan. While more is typically better than less, it is critical for a serious campaign to know the bare minimum necessary to reach voters. Understanding the “math” allows campaigns to build realistic budgets.
Messaging is critical to a campaign. Understanding voter concerns and articulating your ideas and qualifications in a clear and powerful way can set you apart from your opposition. Unfortunately a common mistake is the belief that a good message is enough to win elections. Good messaging, while important, is only effective if the campaign knows who to target and has the resources to get the message out.
Momentum is about tipping the scales, building excitement and peaking at the right time. It comes from effectively combining math, money, and messaging into a dynamic action plan and then executing that action plan well.
The services Strategic Market Services provides enables campaigns to understand and utilize these basic building blocks. We can help you answer many questions like:
How many votes do I need to win?
Where are the votes going to come from?
What does my voter universe look like?
How strong is the opposition?
How much funding is realistically needed?
How do I communicate effectively with voters?
When and where do I allocate resources?
How do I fundraise?
Should I put in my own money?
Should I block walk?
How important are endorsements?
How do I respond to negative attacks?
A consultant told me he can “guarantee” my election. Should I believe him?
How important is social media in my campaign?
Do I need polling, and can I afford it?
Understanding campaign basics and avoiding common pitfalls makes the campaign process much smoother and lets the candidate focus on communicating with voters. Campaigns that make the effort to produce a quality action plan greatly enhance their probability of success.