Hang Up Those Election Posters Online!
Back in the day we tackled elections a bit randomly. Young, old, male, female — we talked to everyone that walked past the canvassing booth. And we started up a conversation with whoever stayed. Some were enthusiastic, others tucked away the giveaway pen, took the rose and clarified, while walking away, “thanks, but I’m still not going to vote for you” — Elections in the analog days were a lottery, and convincing a swing voter was like hitting all the numbers and the Powerball. Nevertheless, we were out there among the people.
Over the past few years, a palpable new public politics has emerged. The get-togethers of all the regulars have moved online, and there are opinion platforms with loud and influential voices popping up on social networks. It could be a lot easier to address people there than it was from the soapbox. Most importantly, we could deliver our messages to men and women with minimal scatter. There is a lot we could do, if only the parties would finally awaken from the confines of the digital conditional: the coulds and woulds.
We can not accuse politicians of underestimating digitalization. Of all the ingredients that make up a political speech, “get digital” is one of the favorites, regardless of audience or industry. It always fits. Digitalization is multipartisan common sense, recited repeatedly, admonitory like a doomsday threat. The economy has long since caught on and taken up the digital transformation cause. This has led to hefty investing, scrutiny of the tried and tested and new innovations being brought to market.
However, the politicians themselves have yet to understand that the digital transformation also has no plans to stop at them. The 2016 political roller coaster ride was an irrefutable final wake up call. Beyond the digital political symbolism of twitter and Facebook profiles hastily drafted during election season, there is far too little being done. The larger parties are not even managing to reach the bulk of their members via e-mail simply due to a lack of contact databases. The parties are well on their way to becoming digital dinosaurs.
Politicians have to interpret the complex issues, make them palatable for as many individuals as possible and engage in dialogue to determine who wins the competition for the better ideas. Digitalization won’t change any of this. However, how do you engage in dialogue when there is no longer anyone listening, when you can no longer reach the people? Dialogue is no longer happening on street corner soapboxes or at roundtable get-togethers; it is happening on social networks. To drive home the point, parties have to be where people are forming and exchanging their opinions, where they are spending their time. And not just symbolically. No. They have to be there proactively, providing answers to specific target audiences.
Politicians are still wary of the new reality. They are struggling with and clinging to a past that is long gone. Time spent lamenting the erosion of party ties and the dissolution of stable conflict lines is squandered time. The individualization megatrend can not be beaten. Loyal voters are a dying breed. Voting decisions will be made ever more spontaneously because they are now more closely tied to sentiment and people than an affiliation with a milieu.
Populism is following in this same vein because it is scaling back and focusing where differentiation is essential, because it pours oil instead of water over the smoldering fire, because it learned the rules of the many-to-many communication game much more quickly and is using and abusing them. It feeds on filter bubbles, caters to their needs and simulates alignments that established parties are in fact capable of providing.
There is too much at stake to surrender the playing field to populists. We need bold parties ready to try out new channels and formats, willing to learn and make mistakes, open to getting up to speed with the 21st century. We need open parties who can not only endure the moderated chaos of the digital age, but also use it to attract as many people as possible with their ideas, volition and abilities. We need parties that are persistent and realize that the digital transformation is a do-or-die challenge. Parties curious about how to master these challenges instead of shying away from them. Parties have to start reacting like the corporations that are shifting their communications budgets in a digital direction: election posters belong online.
