Political and Grass Roots Design for Effective Outreach Programs
This entry is intended to provide a brief background for general direct contact and telephone strategies and tactics. The objective is to offer ways in which the telephone, in particular, can be used most effectively and work in coordination with other communication mediums to achieve a complementary and cumulative effect in public advocacy.
Reaching Beyond the Low Hanging Fruit: List Segmentation and Targeting
Segmenting lists into likeminded groups allows you to tailor messages and communications more appropriately for your target audience. A single message will not resonate best across the entire spectrum of your supporters or target audience but if you break the audience into categories by – age, family size, income, education, and other natural or determined variables – you can develop targeted messaging that is specific to each category. This is very effective in reaching and persuading people.
List Segmentation List segmentation is used to define distinct message groups and engage those targeted groups with the values and in the language that will resonate most effectively with them. The more information you have on a file the more targeted your message can be. The campaign could run focus groups to determine what messages resonate best in Florida and find useful information that can help in message development and targeting. For example, let’s assume that the focus groups found that males between the ages of 25 and 45 and incomes above $75,000 were particularly more concerned in “your issue” learned through messages delivered via the internet, television and various other communication mediums. Communicating with this demographic segment using messages developed to maintain and build on their interest level will be far more persuasive than a one-message-for-all program.
Message Development To assist in segmentation and message grouping, we often use short surveys to understand what drives an individual’s support for your organization and/or interest in the issues. Understanding the root cause for someone to support your issue will help determine the type of message to deliver to different segments of your supporters. If we using a progressive situational example, you might target a supporter that sees reproductive freedom as a woman’s choice concerning matters of her own reproductive rights with a different message than you would a supporter or potential supporter who might support you as a backlash to what they might see as a government incursion on personal liberty by imposing values through civil law.
Equally important, this understanding of segmenting and messaging can be used to expand your outreach to similar minded individuals in the regional population who are not yet supporters. The aforementioned focus groups and any recent polling results can indicate some common factors amongst the general population in Florida which can be applied, using appended information and targeting, to an expanded, statewide outreach program beyond existing supporters. Using the same progressive example, in Florida, overwhelming indications of support for providing rape survivors with access to emergency contraception may be found in suburban and independent voters.
Frequently, we purchase voter files and commercial/consumer data to append existing files with new information such as gender, age, income, family composition, party affiliation, education, memberships, etc. Augmenting an existing list with additional data might be a first step in gaining new insights into segmenting your file. If support for your issue is highest in voters who are for example, Hispanic, African American, seniors, business owners or parents of school-aged children, is that information on your file? If not, perhaps we begin by appending for that available information. Consideration should also be given when segmenting a file and developing messages to existing supporters that have donated before, attended an event, or otherwise demonstrated some type of action on your behalf. Categorizing your base of support by most active and least active will help you use your resources so outreach efforts and funds are applied where they are needed most, not directed where they are needed least.
Choosing the Delivery Mechanism Different messages and delivery mechanism can be tested to a portion of these distinct message groups to determine the most effective language and those results can then be applied to the larger group. In segmenting your lists, you will find that different groups respond well to different communication mediums. The elderly may prefer a telephone call as opposed to an email and younger, more transient supporters might be reached best through email or text messaging as opposed to mail.
Putting It All Together: Maximizing the Effectiveness of your Telephone Outreach Plan
Building the Process No single communication tool can deliver the silver bullet but steps can be taken to optimize your success. Any outreach program should be viewed as a political campaign that follows a process. This process should ensure that the number of supporters (and potential supporters) you reach is maximized and that a relationship and dialogue between the organization and individual is established. Through this relationship and dialogue you can exercise a level of influence over their actions and enhance the prospect that these supporters can be called upon with certain immediacy when their help is required.
Take a long view to your entire outreach plan, integrating and building upon all of the communication contacts going out from the organization. Employ the idea of sandwiched communications where actions and events are surrounded by a series of strategically sequenced before and after communications. Our collaborative research studies with Yale University have shown that there is a heightened receptivity from successive communications. As an example, if you organize an event or fundraiser to correspond with the introduction of legislation, contact supporters to sensitize them for the event and build interest (whether through email, mail, robo calls, live calls or some combination thereof). Next, supporters would receive an invitation to the event in the mail or via email, and after the event we would contact the attendees to let them know how they can help by providing specific opportunities to take action (i.e. Direct Connect them to their legislator, write an op-ed, sign an online petition, make a contribution, call a talk radio program, etc). This series of integrated contacts would coalesce with the larger notion that Mobilizing to Win is long-term effort. The audience will become increasingly receptive to the program’s message with each subsequent, integrated contact and communication.
Keeping up the Dialogue People want to be recognized for their effort and want to be part of the campaign process. After identifying supporters, it is critical to maintain a dialogue with them so that their knowledge and issue awareness is current and that their enthusiasm and consequential likelihood of participation is maintained. This dialogue is maintained by feeding the audience information through multiple mediums (telephone, mail, email, etc.) and providing them with specific opportunities to respond and take action like those mentioned above. It is important that these points of contact remain steady to avoid any lag in outreach activity and depreciation in participation or interest levels.
Sample Outreach Plan: Scenario is a key vote scheduled in 3-4 weeks in the state legislature requiring public schools that receive state funding to teach comprehensive sex education.
After the message(s) has been developed and targets selected, here is a sample contact pattern.
Sensitize for Campaign - Automated call from an official or celebrity to introduce the issue/bill and sensitize for impending mail piece by mentioning significance of the legislation and advertising your website.
Mail - In 6 seconds or less, capture the reader’s attention and invite them to continue to become more informed on the benefits of comprehensive plan and dispel myths. Include a tear off to be returned with space for email address, check boxes to indicate an interest in receiving future information, to join your Call To Action Network, etc.
Identify Supporters – Live call to educate on the particular issue and identify supporters who are willing to take some action in the near future.
Sustain Dialogue – Email follow up to supporters to thank, introduce affiliates, register them in your Call To Action Network, and solicit feedback. The email should list details of the bill, future activities such as an impending TeleCommunity Forum (a TCG Product/service), and goals for the campaign.
Organize & Educate – Supporters are invited to participate in an interactive conference call where they can be educated on the issue(s) and organized for action. Participants could use their telephone keypad to volunteer for an event, request a yard sign, etc.
Sensitize for Mail - Automated call that alerts and sensitizes for impeding mail piece on an important upcoming critical matter (a hearing, vote, rally, etc.), also references website.
Mail - Highlights the significance of the upcoming legislative battle, requests their continued support.
Call to Action Live calls to targeted universe where supporters are asked to take a specific action such as Direct Connect (Patch Through) to their legislator’s office or an audio testimonial or petition.
Persuasion to Action – Live calls to undecideds where new supporters are asked to take a specific action.
Sustain Dialogue – Live call and/or email to people who agreed to take action ensuring that their commitment was met. Do you write that letter?, attend the event?, etc.
Maintain Dialogue - Keep supporters aware of current issues/success stories via newsletter style email and mail.
A Primer: Maximizing the Effectiveness of your Telephone Call – Here is an overview on the various types of telephone calls and how to use them for success.
A live call to contact a Specific Person in a household is the most effective call. It also costs slightly more than contacting Any Adult in the household due to the increased time needed to reach a specific person. Cost conscious programs; whether a recruitment call, identification (ID) call, or legislative advocacy call, may want to target any adult, as often the chances of finding a supporter or someone receptive to your message will be the same in a household regardless of which individual adult you speak with. Simply put, “specific person” programs do not reach and get your message into as many households as an “any adult” program and the difference is largely how much value our client puts on a household response versus a specific person response.
Not withstanding the recent proliferation of Automated calls, these less expensive than live calls can be used effectively as a means to sensitize individuals or households to forthcoming direct mail pieces, email action alerts, media spots, and events (parades, fundraisers, hearings, town hall meetings, etc.). We often recommend, for example, to increase receptivity for a direct mail fundraising or educational piece, the day before a piece arrives in homes the recipient also receive an automated call giving notice the piece should be received soon, highlighting what it is about and why it is important for them to read and consider. We also recommend that the automated records are made by a recognizable or celebrity voice such as a local politician or prominent member of the community.
Blended calling is a capability which allows our agents and dialer to deliver a message to a live person or to an answering device. This process increases the penetration of live call programs by delivering the message to 30%-40% more households. This is particularly useful when time is in short supply and you want to get the message out to as many people as possible. An example might be that you would like to use a live call to recruit people for an event and collect their email address or other information. If someone does not answer our call, instead of ignoring the answering device we could leave a message inviting the person(s) to the event, including time and location for the event, while also referring individuals to a website where they can sign an online petition, provide their email address to receive more information from the campaign, receive details about the event, etc.
IVR calling with a Press 1 option allows a well-crafted message and branched voice response system to be placed into automated calls. The audience can be delivered several messages and or questions, such as press #1 to receive email alerts, press #2 to contact your legislator (who we will then Direct Connect to the appropriate office), press #3 to attend a local event, press #4 to be connected to a live operator to find out information on how you can help the campaign, etc. IVR can be used to provide supporters with multiple call-to-action opportunities and can be used to conduct automated surveys.
Live Calls with an embedded recorded message by your campaign (or the opposition) can be used as a creative way to deliver information or a persuasive message. When on the telephone with a supporter or a potential support, we can play an audio clip from a celebrity or local community leader’s voice to infuse the message with emotion and intensity. This technique can be used as a powerful way to recruit new supporters or in persuasion. For example, during an ID or recruitment call undecideds/persuadables can be asked to name the issue they are most apprehensive about from a list of provided choices (e.g. economy, cost of gas/oil, high priced prescription drugs, high unemployment, etc.). After their selection is made we would then play a short message we have prerecorded for each possible choice that would provide a myth busting statistic or site evidence in support of that particular public policy issue. For instance, a respondent says that they are most concerned with high schools providing condoms to students – the rebuttal might be a recorded message from a related professional/business owner/community leader citing evidence that suggests that “this issue would not negatively affect you in these ways: ……, rather it will protect or serve you by ……..”
We have used an embedded recorded message during live persuasion calls for candidate campaigns to great success. In these calls, voters were asked if they supported our candidate. If the voter was undecided on which candidate to support, to deliver our persuasion message, we played a recording of the opposition candidate contradicting himself on an issue that we knew was important to voters. Immediately after we played the short audio clip, our agent then asked if the voter would support our candidate having heard the opposition’s embarrassing comments. Of voters who listened to the audio, 90% remained on the line for the entire call. The use of an embedded recorded message is an example of how we utilize or technology and creativity to design effective messages. One way that you could utilize this to similar effect would be to have several pre-recorded messages be ready and used for ID and recruitment telephone programs.
Every opportunity you have to connect with a supporter, be that via telephone, mail or email, is an opportunity to collect additional contact information (mobile numbers, email address), drive traffic to your website, continue the dialogue, and strengthen the relationship.
Advanced preparation is key to successful, cost effective and quality programs. While we can respond quickly to your needs and requests, the earlier we talk with you about specific projects you have in mind, the more time we will have to assist you with targeting and messaging, ensure the correct data is received, and other variables that go in to a successful contact program. We suggest consideration be given by each affiliate to have your database accessible by us early so that we can be prepared for immediate use when needed. Warehousing, formatting, cleansing, indexing and segmenting the voter/supporter data prior to the commencement of a telephone program allows for effective and efficient use of the campaigns funds and resources when time is of the essence.
Telephone Tools – Below are several other tactical and strategic ideas to consider in maximizing your telephone budget and reaching your target audience.
Direct Connect, or Patch Through calls, where we connect citizen activists and constituents into legislative or other decision-maker offices, can be cost effective when spread around to the different offices for an individual lawmaker. For example, when we are running a Direct Connect program targeting a federal lawmaker, we often recommend that the calls we direct go to state and district offices in addition to the Washington, D.C. office. This ensures that that aides and staffers at all locations hear from our client’s supporters. The same principle can be applied to state legislators and it can be an invaluable opportunity for a client and reinforce attention for your issue if we create the conditions in which a subsequent communication resulting from our Direct Connects is made between separate office locations. Direct Connect activities can be targeted for specific days or over the course of weeks and even months. These advocacy communications can be particularly effective when timed with hearings, paid media spots, public events, and when current events organically increase public awareness of your issue.
Along similar advocacy lines as Direct Connects, TCG can contact supporters and digitally record a message for what we call an Audio Testimonial. These testimonials can be used to deliver messages to legislative office voice mails after business hours or on weekends so that staff receive messages from advocates first thing in the morning or at the beginning of the week. These testimonials can collect audio for television/radio spots, PowerPoint presentations, or for your website. We can also transfer them onto a CD for use as a presentation during in-person lobbying or as leave behinds.
TeleCommunity Forum is an interactive conference call feature that you control from your office PC. Opportunities are available to screen and take questions, conduct instant surveys, and accept contributions using the participants’ telephone keypad. This tool can be used as one of the ways you maintain a dialogue with supporters between the time they are identified as such and when you ask them to perform a task on your behalf.
To preemptively address issues before they become expensive legislative battles, accountability campaigns can target lawmakers during election season by ensuring that they understand how their electorate feels about your issues. In an effort to raise visibility and generate earned media opportunities, an example would be to use live telephone calls to recruit for town hall style meetings. Direct Connect can also be used to ensure that lawmakers have had sufficient exposure to their constituents’ opinions before a legislative session even begins.
Issue dialogue with legislators will resonate effectively if the policy and legislative advocacy comes from the voices that make up the influential constituents in a given district. TCG could identify, inform, and invite a cross section of these community influentials to a series of town hall type sessions in targeted areas. These influentials would be the mid-level of community opinion leaders – e.g. small business owners, neighbor association members, teachers, etc. The objective of this public seminar program is to build a network of influentials from inside and outside existing supporters to solicit their policy input or educate them on the issues and in doing so provide them with an opportunity to become new issue advocates.
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Grassroots lobbying and advocacy works and the most effective outreach will consider how your message relates to the targeted audience. Whether recruiting supporters or drafting existing ones into an advocacy role – the more creative, coordinated and numerous your contacts are – the more diverse your advocates will be, giving greater voice to your issues.
