Campaign Management Strategies - 20 Marker Flashcards
Intro
Political parties make use of various campaign management strategies at election time
All political parties make use of the media, new technology as well as grassroots methods
It’ll be argued grassroots methods like canvassing aren’t as effective as new technology strategies like voting targeting software
Media strategies like social media will also be discussed but this is still not as effective as the use of new technology
Canvassing - Point
Some people would argue grassroots methods like canvassing are the most effective campaign management strategy
Canvassing - Explain
Involves workers going door to door to make contact with voters & aiming them to vote for party
May also be used to assess party support levels in an area
Canvassing - Example
Labour grassroots org, Momentum, trained volunteers to extend the reach of their message in 2017 election
Canvassing has been one of their key strategies
Canvassing - Analysis
Highly effective, allows parties to communicate key policies & why it’d be in their interest to vote for their party
Also allows them to directly address concerns of voters
Canvassing - Rebuttal Point
Relevance can be questioned as canvassers need to be targeted at correct voters
Canvassing - Rebuttal Explain
Poorly organised canvassing can limit the effectiveness of this strategy
Identified by Labour’s analysis of their defeat in 2019
Report identified that their canvassing wasn’t targeted effectively
Canvassing - Rebuttal Example
During the 2017 General Election campaign trial, Theresa May & Ruth Davidson went door knocking in Aberdeen & when May knocked in front of the media, no one answered
Canvassing - Rebuttal Analysis
The success of canvassing depends on how many people politicians are able to engage with when on a campaign trial
Social Media - Point
Other people would argue media strategies like social media are the most effective
Social Media - Explain
Social media allows parties to reach populations quickly at little cost
Parties making increased use of social media like Twitter
Have enabled parties to engage younger voters who may have been less engaged by traditional methods
Social Media - Example
Labour spent expenses promoting #forthemany on Twitter
Was worth it as 66% of younger voters voted Labour
Social Media - Analysis
Highly effective, enables parties to reach a varied demographic who are able to gain a better understanding of the party
Social Media - Rebuttal Point
Influence of social media shouldn’t be overestimated as shares don’t translate into votes
Social Media - Rebuttal Explain
Younger people are more likely to use social media but often group least likely to vote
People can share a video but it won’t matter if they don’t vote
Social Media - Rebuttal Example
Labour claimed they won the online election but in reality their share of the vote fell by almost 8%
Social Media - Rebuttal Analysis
Despite young people being most active on social media, it can fail to influence them to vote
New Technology - Point
New technology & voter targeting software most effective method
New Technology - Explain
Parties making use of new technology to target voters with messages
Can also improve effectiveness of grassroots campaigns by processing voter data which enable these parties to be more effective when using their resources
New Technology - Example
Nationalists system “Activate” is a database of all voters in Scotland
SNP targeted 20/44 demographic which helped them win 56/59 seats in 2015 UK General Election
New Technology - Analysis
Most effective strategy as parties effectively use Activate to ensure they appeal to target demographics
New Technology - Rebuttal Point
Ethical questions can be raised over its use making it less effective
New Technology - Rebuttal Explain
Maximising potential of modern technology needs an army of volunteers to be effective
New Technology - Rebuttal Example
Serious concerns raised about how data is shared especially after Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal where millions of personal data was obtained to target them for political advertising
New Technology - Rebuttal Analysis
Less effective as there’s not enough proof to show people their data is protected
Overall Conclusion
New technology most effective rather than traditional grassroots methods
New technology has an increasing impact on people’s lives the importance for political parties at election means it’s becoming more important than traditional methods as a way to persuade voters
Has potential to reach many voters at little cost
Allows parties to be more efficient in microtargeting voters
Using technology like databases helps parties gain an understanding of certain groups & makes them vote for a party
Newspaper circulation declining, social media becoming more important & is allowing parties to tailor messages to voters
Doesn’t mean other methods aren’t effective but new tech is most important as importance will increase
