Marketing a presidential candidate: Clinton’s top communications strategists on big data, amplifying micro-moments and making ‘wonkiness’ cool
In the social media age, marketers have shifted their approach to position brands as people — but what can be learned from a team whose purpose is to position a person as a brand, and a presidential one at that?
Less than 50 days out from the general election, Hillary Clinton’s top communications aides shared what goes into the marketing of a presidential candidate at a fireside chat hosted by TBWA\Chiat\Day NY as part of the agency’s “Disruptor” event series.
“They’re With Her” featured Kristina Schake, Deputy Communications Director for Hillary for America, and Adrienne Elrod, Spokesperson for Hillary for America, in conversation with TBWA\Chiat\Day NY CEO Rob Schwartz. While the strategists, unsurprisingly, kept their comments “safe” and stuck to generalized talking points, they did offer some insight into how they are communicating their candidate’s message across American culture.
Seizing the 'moment'
One of the biggest themes that emerged during the talk was the idea of marketing in “moments” — whether that means delivering a complex message within a 140-character tweet, or amplifying a critical moment in the campaign for maximum impact. Elrod remarked that one of the biggest differences she’s witnessed over the course of her career has been the growing importance of moments, which are increasingly playing out in social media.
“In the 2008 and 2012 elections, campaigns would respond to attacks via statements that were sent directly to the press,” she said. “That’s changed. The fascinating thing about Twitter is that a senior aide can tweet something and it will be held up as an official campaign response.”
While Elrod says the Hillary for America campaign does not restrict staff members from expressing their opinions on Twitter, they do need to be more vigilant when it comes to issuing formal statements in social media or elsewhere.
“We can’t get into a situation where we’re responding to every attack,” she said, citing the importance of picking battles and balancing a defensive communications strategy with a proactive one.
At the same time campaigns are course-correcting moments on the fly, they must also be prepared to amplify critical moments as they arise. Schake cited Khizr Kahn’s seven-minute convention speech, which dominated the news cycle for five days, as a prime example of a moment that endured due to organic chatter and a well-coordinated communications plan.
Leaning into the 'wonkiness'
If the Hillary for America campaign had a brand brief, it might state that while the candidate herself has a lot of name recognition, there is a general lack of awareness — chiefly among younger voters — when it comes to her personal story. One of the biggest tasks on Schake and Elrod’s to-do list, therefore, has been capturing and finessing this story and disseminating it to the right audiences in the right places.
“Hillary is a different type of candidate because she had a well-defined national profile. We didn’t have to introduce her,” Schake said. “Unlike Obama in 2008, she had well-formed policies and positions, so we were incorporating them into this campaign.”
Elrod referred to Clinton as a “wonk” — a term that pundits and media outlets have been using to describe her for months. In fact, the campaign itself has adopted this term in its own communications channels, including email blasts. Asked by Schwartz if the team was “leaning into [Clinton's] wonkiness,” Elrod and Schake chuckled and nodded, emphatically.
“She’s truly a policy wonk,” said Elrod. “She’s sometimes criticized for being too into the weeds, and that’s because people are used to getting their info in 30-second sound bites.”
Hillary the 'client'
Coming from the agency side, Schwartz was eager to explore how Clinton behaves “as a client.” Both communications strategists affirmed that her “wonkiness” translates to her close involvement in branding and communications decisions.
For example, she was very hands-on in the creation of the campaign logo, and wanted to understand why designers were recommending certain treatments along the way. Schake noted that the Hillary for America creative team is nearly 500 people strong, with 150 people dedicated to digital content and distribution.
Another interesting insight to come out of the conversation was how listening has played a role in the campaign’s messaging strategy. The popular “I’m With Her” slogan, for example, was not a top-down message crafted by the campaign, but rather a phrase that bubbled up in culture, and was later adopted by the team.
Data as a differentiator
Schake noted that Clinton shares the same analytics director as the 2012 Obama campaign — which comes as no surprise since a data-focused approach emerged as a critical advantage during his campaign for reelection. Clinton’s analytics team for the 2016 election is comprised of about 70 people, give or take, she said.
“Back in the day, polling led to many [business and media] decisions — now it’s analytics,” said Elrod, who also worked on Clinton’s 2008 campaign. “Data drives more budget decisions than it did in the past. We can look at the most cost-effective way to reach people, and this level of microtargeting is especially important in key battleground states.”
While the wealth of information available requires more resources to pore through it, comparative voter data from 2012, for example, is helping the Hillary for America team fine-tune outreach and make smarter marketing decisions that drive the most impact at the most efficient spend.
People as a communications channel
Building trust in the political world is not unlike the challenges brand marketers face when it comes to convincing consumers of the quality, efficacy or value of their products. More effective than nearly every ad is word-of-mouth, or the personal endorsement from a friend or family member.
“Hillary can only be in one place at one time,” said Elrod. “When members of Congress, elected officials, celebrities or digital influencers validate her, it makes a difference. Other people can validate her in a way that she can’t validate herself.”
Beyond high-profile influencers like Katy Perry, Lena Dunham and Jamie Lee Curtis, encouraging word-of-mouth conversations among everyday voters has emerged as one of the more important objectives of the Hillary for America campaign. “It’s the person who’s not seeking [us] out — [we] need to get their vote,” said Schake, encouraging supporters to share content with their networks.
Despite massive advertising budgets — most campaign money goes to advertising, Schake said — creating buzzworthy and share-worthy content is critical for both brands as they seek to drum up earned media conversations in social.