Politics and Proactive Marketing

I learned the value of proactive marketing during a unique and strange experience – I ran for state representative.  Let me set the stage… 

We lived in an area controlled by one party for as long as anyone could remember and like all power situations without accountability had descended into corruption. One day around Christmas I was reading of the latest insults to the electorate by the ruling party when I put down the paper and said to my wife, “I can beat that guy”. 

Believe me I was the only one who thought that was the case.

So I filed my petitions with the requisite signatures and set out on my first campaign. With no campaign money and not a lot of time, since I was still employed and needed to keep my  job, I needed to figure out how to reach approximately 20,000 people and convince them to vote for me – someone with no name recognition, no organization, no volunteers, no money, no time, and no chance.

We did three things that constitute the heart of proactive marketing:

1. Targeting

2. High Value solution and message creation

3. Effective message delivery

Target well or go home.

Voter information is extensive. Their voting patterns are public record in terms of when they actually show up and vote, their last address is known, and in some cases advocacy for certain issues is known to the state party.

Historical precinct voting patterns are known.

So our targeting boiled down to ONLY talking to the people who voted in off year elections in precincts that had a 35% or better record of voting for the long out of power party.

We did not talk to you if you only voted in the presidential years…..sorry you were irrelevant to our ‘product’.  You didn’t ‘buy’ in the local and state election market. We only talked to you if were historically a voter in over 50% of the elections possible.

Notice that I did not differentiate based on party.  I did not care what party you were from only that you voted over 50% of the time.  More on the reasons why in a minute.

High value solution and message creation will be noticed by those looking for it.

The ‘solution’ that we recognized people were looking for was someone different. It really was that simple.  As much as I would like to think that I was a gift from on high the people of my district it boiled to the fact that they were just sick and tired of the same old sick and tired party hacks.

Our message was all about change though we did not really talk about it that much.  We just had to show up and be a credible candidate.  Being a real person with real interest inthe process and the people was all the change many voters needed to see. 

Message delivery how, when, and where they want it.

With no significant cash and only a few loyal and hard working volunteers it boiled down to shoe leather.  We knocked on over 10,000 people’s doors.  Just the simple act of showing up, smiling, and asking for their support was all most people needed to hear.

I also made thousands of phone calls to likely voters.  They usually went something like this. 

“Hello, my name is Todd Hockenberry and I am running for state representative and I am calling to ask for your support”

Silence……………..then a tentative………….

“Is this really you?”

Everyone assumed I was one of those annoying-as-hell robocalls that bombard voters in the weeks before an election.  When they found it was actually the real live candidate it hardly mattered what else I said.  They were blown away by the fact that I reached out to them directly and personally. 

A few weeks before Election Day the state party realized I had a shot to win and we did get some money for ads and district wide mailers but in the end I do not believe they were all that convincing. 

These were the same old interruption marketing techniques that politicians always use and most people ignore. Just another piece of junk mail heading straight for the garbage can.

The mailing that did have an impact was a letter from Leanne, my wife.  She knew from talking to other women that our district needed help.  Woman to woman she admitted that she had reluctantly agreed to me running for office because she knew I would make a difference for them. Honest, straight forward, no pretense, passionate, timely, every word hers, and it worked. 

I married way over my head. 

End result. I lost the election by 295 votes or less than 1%. 

We earned almost 50% of the vote with an electorate registered 2:1 against my party. 

My opponent relied on the same tactics that had always worked before.  Go to the same events, meet the same people, say the same things, and deliver the same ‘product’.  Sound like anyone you know?

Two years later another candidate runs (I was his campaign manager) and finally beats the entrenched incumbent. Many of the other local hacks are indicted for corruption.  

Maybe I didn’t lose after all.