Democrats should lose sleep over their inability to Internet
If Casper can turn 20-somethings into mattress evangelists, why can’t Dems turn out more voters?
November of 2016 was a weird time for all of us.
It was weird for anyone who spent their career contributing to the rise of an ad tech network that’s now being used to systematically confuse the American public. It was weird for the planners who understand the power of earned media, to watch a few exacting strategists use this power effectively to build a platform for hate speech. And it was weird for the folks who monitor Internet trends, to watch Pizzagate in horror, knowing which meme-laden subreddits would re-emerge as citizen militias.
I dove into politics as penance, I suppose, for noticing all of these things and not speaking out more loudly against them. It’s my literal job to keep my finger on the pulse of these emerging trends so I can alert my clients to the Internet’s Next Big Obsession — flagging niche audiences to target, Instagram-savvy artists to partner with, and new social apps that really only make sense to tweens (and me). In this brave new world, it’s become an obligation for all of us to say something when we see something. And at the risk of becoming insufferable to my closest friends, I have not stopping saying something about voter turnout for the past 18 months straight.
Why will people march, but not vote?
So, last year, we got to work with other marketing-savvy minds to break apart this business problem. Right off the bat, we found a dangerous blind spot — Democratic campaigns start with the assumption that certain groups (e.g. youth, minorities, immigrants), don’t care enough to participate, organizing resources to focus only on “likely” voters while ignoring the rest. Not only does this marginalize the massively influential audiences who curate and create culture, it gives political candidates and elected officials an excuse to ignore the hopes, dreams, and challenges of our future.
So we tested this flawed assumption that young voters are inherently uninterested. Throughout 2017, as we ran electoral experiments on Tinder and earned a 22-year old mayoral candidate in Albuquerque nearly 7,000 votes with a smart (and cheap!) digital-first content strategy, a different narrative emerged. When treated as if they might be interested, young audiences are happy to engage, ask questions, and pass your message along.
People care when you give them good reasons to.
Our mission as marketers —political or otherwise—is to build engaged audiences that care about an idea, believe in it, and want to take action for it. Right now, the best tool we have for this is the Internet.
But when I look at everything the DNC is (or isn’t) doing to get me excited about being a proud Democrat, I can’t help but wonder who is on the other end, dropping so many obvious balls. When we consider the rise of digital native vertical brands (DNVBs) like Glossier, Harry’s, and Warby Parker, it’s impossible to ignore how much of their success can be attributed to activating influential audiences with art, culture, and an understanding of the what keeps the Internet interesting.
In a 2016 article about the power of DNVB’s, Bonobos founder Andy Dunn talks more about the secret sauce to building a loyal base:
“[A DNVB] doesn’t have to adapt to the future, it is the future. It doesn’t need to get younger customers. It starts with younger customers…
“Some big companies now believe they can make these brands themselves. There is some hubris to this notion, though it probably will happen in some exceptional cases. The general rule is that entrepreneurs need the fear of their brand’s demise to make it magic.”
With seemingly no fear or self-awareness of its failure to reach new audiences, is the DNC too big to make magic?
As we wait for Dems to play catch-up, other inspired creators take matters into their own hands. Amanda Brinkman of Shrill Society turned a simple Trump quote into a powerful “Nasty Woman” brand, raising over $136,000 for Planned Parenthood through some wearable merch and timely Instagram campaigns. Branded movements like Black Lives Matter and the Women’s March use good design and hashtag-able moments like pros, creating simple ways for their followers to participate and share both online and off. Just as Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama “Hope” poster became the face of a movement, artists and makers online are adopting this highly visual approach to create shareable ways for young audiences to drive awareness among their peers.
In a world where Urban Outfitters is literally selling out long-sleeve tees that simply say, “The New York Times,” and hawking others with bold phrases like, “Imagine,” “Be the change,” “Together,” and “The Time is Now,” it’s increasingly impossible to ignore the fact that civic engagement has become part of a coveted lifestyle.
In 2016, Millennials and Gen X even outnumbered older voters for the first time. But Dem leaders aren’t yet showing an adequate effort to harness this new wave of energy, or understand the language these young audiences speak.
Between now and July, when most state primaries are set to take place, the ability to use digital campaigns to effectively and authentically engage newly-curious audiences is key to building a new electorate. And a new electorate is key to shaping the future of our country.
So what can Dems learn from future-focused digitally native brands?
- Ask customers for input: Don’t just push out messaging, reach out and start conversations to make sure your supporters have the best experience possible. Transparency and collaboration are exactly how Casper managed to convince people to buy mattresses online, a product over 90% of their potential customers report they’d rather try in-store. New organizations like Generator Collective and March On aim to help facilitate some of these conversations by creating easy ways for online audiences to share their views through personal videos and polls about issues and policy.
- Turn loyalists into reps: Instead of focusing on stranger-to-stranger contact like door knocking and phone-banking, try peer-to-peer recommendations. Glossier has nailed it with their word-of-mouth programs, attributing 79% of their 2016 sales to the power of referral. New political startup Tuesday Company recently launched an app called Team that aims to help political campaigns try this approach.
- Partner with artists / have some fun: We get it. Trump is bad. Give audiences something to take their mind off of it. Mailchimp kills it at this, investing in a dedicated Brand & Culture team to make cool stuff in reaction to the world around them. Marketers talk often of their irreverent campaigns, like turning billboards into public art installations, inventing fake companies that (vaguely) rhyme with Mailchimp, and capitalizing on a mispronunciation of their name. No tech reccs here— the key to this one is to invite creatives into the process. Especially if they’re new to politics!
Let’s expand our minds about what does and doesn’t “work” for politics, and get a little bit more creative with how we use the Internet. It works for brands, it (honestly) worked for Trump, and we’re missing a massive opportunity to capture new energy if Dems don’t take advantage of the creative energy that’s on our side. Experienced brand-builders and digital marketers are yearning to lend a hand. Let’s take it — midterms depend on it.
