5 Ways Campaigns Can Use Data to Win in 2018
2018 is not a time for business as usual.
Harry Enten at FiveThirtyEight opines the Democrats’ wave could turn into a flood. Sabato’s Crystal Ball reports on the growing sense among political observers that the United States may be heading toward a wave election in 2018. Doug Jones’ election was a sign of things to come. And Cook Political Report simply declared: A wave is a comin’.
Rising to meet the surge of candidates is a small army of political entrepreneurs that are equally inspired to deploy new strategies and approaches to ensure that every candidate has the resources, know-how and technological sophistication to win. Exciting new organizations like The Arena, Tech for Campaigns, Local Majority and VoterCircle are training candidates and equipping them with tools and resources to win — galvanizing citizen activists in the process.
At Change Research, we’re proud to be collaborating with a host of progressive PACs, candidates and activist groups that have embraced a data science approach to understanding voters.
In January of 2019, we are confident we’ll see a world that looks very different: new leadership, a changed political landscape of new leadership, and a fresh understanding that a technology-forward campaign is a successful campaign.
Here are five ways Change Research is improving the way campaigns are run, and (more important!) helping great candidates win:
1. Help Every Candidate: From dogcatcher to statewide races you rarely hear about (hello Ms. Comptroller and Mr. Insurance Commissioner!), down-ballot candidates need to understand their electorate as much as U.S. Senate candidates. Affordable message testing and audience measurement will help them run stronger campaigns that win.
2. Go Bigger: Change Research frequently runs very large polls — 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 respondents — at or below the cost level of a 500-person poll with a traditional phone pollster. Larger samples allow for deeper learning within key groups (minorities, young voters, people in smaller regions) and are necessary for gold standard a/b message testing.
3. Learn Early and Often: The typical quarterly poll is helpful, but a lot can happen in three months. Because Change Research polls are affordable, candidates run polls more often, getting the latest every few weeks. Each poll presents a new way to understand voters, see how they respond to questions and understand what truly resonates with them — all vital pieces of a top notch, targeted campaign.
4. Respond Instantly to Breaking News: 2017 brought crazy news almost every day, and 2018 promises to be even crazier. Candidates need to know how voters are reacting, and fast, affordable polling lets you know what voters are thinking right now. Remove the guessing from campaign-messaging strategy.
5. Track Sentiment Online: Where are voters today? Online. And that’s where you need to go to reach them. How do you measure the effectiveness of your online outreach? Same answer. Online polling is accurate and fast. Run a poll and get data in just a few days’ time.
Applying a data science approach to running and winning campaigns can make all the difference in close races. Let’s collaborate to think differently about your race or campaign now to win this November.
Contact Change Research today.
