Advertiser: Dick DeVos
Agency: Connell Donatelli
Product: Voter Impact
Features: Video, Data collection, interactivity
Description: See why Dick DeVos is the change Michigan needs.

Advertiser: Rick Santorum
Agency: Connell Donatelli
Product: Voter Impact
Features:. Data collection, interactivity, photo gallery
Description: Meet Rick Santorum and help in his Pennsylvania Senatorial Campaign.

Advertiser: Gatorade
Creative: Tribal DDB
Media: OMD Digital
Product: BadBoy Floater & Tomboy Universal 100k
Features: Synced ad, dynamic data, video, interactivity
Description: Play the SI Kids Gatorade Legends Trivia Challenge.

Resistance is Futile
Why political dollars can no longer ignore Rich Media

Try as they might, political consultants, advocates, and candidates can no longer ignore the Internet in their campaign strategies.  Research just conducted by E-Voter Institute and HCD Research, and sponsored by PointRoll, shows the wide spread acceptance of the inevitable—the Internet has changed the political communications landscape.  Traditional media is becoming more expensive and less effective.  The Internet may turn out to be the general that leads the charge in campaigns in the not too distant future.

What are the trends?

1. Voters want to be part of the conversation not just part of the audience. Voters want control over how and when the campaigns communicate with them.  Online ads and newspaper ads are good, phone calls and mobile messages, not so good. Voters overwhelmingly expect candidates to have web sites, send email newsletters, collect contributions online and use online ads to reach them.
2. Consultants buy media they can control.  With increased targeting capabilities, specific messages can be sent using a variety of techniques to reach saints, sinners and those who are salvageable. This saves money and reduces unintended exposure.
3. Social networks are showing their impact in the virtual and real world  Voters are very interested in searching out information about candidates and issues and are sending on what they find to friends and family as well as posting it on blogs.  There is also a rise in interest in canvassing which takes advantage of targeted database information to make the best use of time.
4. Significant growth in Internet political communications is predicted in 2008
   The survey shows that there are fewer hesitations for using web-based tools, though only a trickle of money is going online.  By 2008, consultants will not be able to simply buy more points on television and cable to reach likely voters.

Call to Action for Agencies and Advisors

• Rich media works at an emotional level.  Even if voters do not click on a banner, they are much more likely to interact with an ad unit that educates, entertains, asks for opinions, or offers some incentive.  The persuasion value of these ads is slowly being recognized for increasing name identification and authenticating candidates and issues. 
• Encourage your clients to experiment.  Use your knowledge of other kinds of advertising to draw useful analogies.  Drive home the difference between media that can be measured and that which is thought successful but lacks success metrics. 
• Strive for a consistent look across all media. Focus on using content on line that was developed for television, radio, print, and outdoor.  Voters expect to see candidate television commercials on the candidate’s web site.  Blogs and podcasts can make messages from the campaign more timely and engaging than printed material. Ads on local newspaper sites can bring print ads to life.

The key is media mix and timing of efforts.  Yes, the Internet strategy is going to require hard work, but in this age of real time no-spin political coverage, we predict that the Internet will soon become the darling of the political set.

For a copy of the full E-Voter Institute report Moving to the Mainstream: Web-Based Communications on the Road to 2008 please go to e-voterinstitute.com.