techPresident - Message vs. Tactics Online - Comments

Interruptions matter

Patrick Ruffini — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:27:13 -0400

What's most effective is the right message married to the right technique. The right message, while fundamental, will probably only get you 80% of the way there.

I do think though that interruptions matter less in a Presidential campaign than for a large membership organization like MoveOn. In a campaign, people are interacting with your brand everyday, and there are plenty of external forces prompting them to give.

The more viral your campaign the less interruptions matter. But you can't run an interruption-less campaign.

Interruptions

Fred Stutzman — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:01:12 -0400

I think you make an interesting point when you say "At the end of day, your message carries your online fundraising." To an extent, I think you're right - we're giving to candidates because they support or affirm our values and identity. But the stimulation of giving is very important - list emails "interrupt" me many times daily, forcing me to at least think about the candidate for a minute as I delete the unread mail.

These interruptions are important catalysts for stimulating giving. I'm interested in your option for what new forms of interruption strategy will be? Will candidates try to put out a humorous video every day, for example? What sort of new strategies can cut through the clutter and meet or exceed list response?

Message vs. Tactics Online

Patrick Ruffini — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:09:29 -0400

The New York Times has a story on the online fundraising disparity between Democrats and Republicans online. I'm quoted in it, to the effect that the environment stinks for Republicans right now, and we have an opportunity to do better against someone like Hillary as an opponent in the general election. Online fundraising will explode come the general election, on both sides. The question is whether we'll rise enough to keep up. That's what keeps me up at night (as you can probably tell by the timestamp on this post).