Sarah Newhall, EVP of Strategy & Insights at Blue State Digital, spoke at ASAE's Marketing, Membership, and Communications Conference on June 13, 2016. Half a century ago, Pennsylvania Avenue looked to Madison Avenue for inspiration on how to engage and persuade voters. In the last decade, the tables have turned. Political campaigns have mastered the art and science of integrated marketing and have many lessons to impart to today’s practitioners. Pulling examples from outside the industry, explore how associations can adopt the road-tested tactics of successful political campaigns, including smart data segmentation, rapid response, emotional storytelling, and influencer engagement. See how associations can move beyond the transactional, to create more authentic and meaningful relationships, which can lead to increased membership, sales, volunteering, and advocacy. By moving people up the ladder of engagement and asking them to take meaningful actions on behalf of the things they care about, associations can create a community of supporters prepared to act on their behalf anytime, anywhere.

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WhatAssociations Can Learn
from Political Campaigns
Sarah Newhall, Executive Vice President
(@snew0112)
Blue State Digital (@bsd)
Marketing, Membership, & Communications Conference
June 13, 2016

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1. About BSD
2. Campaign Insights
3. Data Deep Dive
4. Takeaways
5. Q&A
Agenda

3. About BSD
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We’re the creative and tech
agency for brands and causes
looking to scale their impact.
Who we are

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Who we are
We apply a people-first, data-
driven, campaign mindset to
transform how our clients
engage people.

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Today, we work with leading organizations
across industries and verticals.
Who we are

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Campaign Insights

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So what turned things around?

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Relationships.
11

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Let’s break down
some key
components…

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Authentic
Storytelling

14. Authentic storytelling
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15. Authentic storytelling
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16. Authentic storytelling
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Always-On
Marketing

18. Speed: always-on marketing
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19. Speed: always-on marketing
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20. Speed: always-on marketing
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Customization

22. Customize to drive action
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23. Customize to drive action
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24. Customize to drive action
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Relentless
Optimization

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Relentless optimization

27. Relentless Optimization
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Lower the barriers
Test, test, test
Challenge instincts

28. Data Deep Dive
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29. Results > Hunches.
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Testing, measuring and iterating helps you be
fast, accurate and reliable.

30. All kinds of experiments
You can test virtually every aspect of a digital
experience:
• Messaging - what you say
• Visuals and copy - how you say it
• Layout - how it’s presented
• Interactions - how people experience it
• CTA - what you ask people to do
• Nuts and bolts - little things that can add up to big impact
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31. The essential elements
Every test or experiment must comprise the following:
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32. The testing process
Focus your testing efforts with these five steps:
1. Set objectives and KPIs.
2. Develop hypotheses based on research.
3. Create testing variants, controlling for key variable.
4. Measure the results, with a focus on ultimate objective.
5. Iterate new hypotheses and incorporate results into your
strategy and creative.
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33. Your turn: Which test
won?
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34. Tone & Voice
with Partners In Health
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Design for Generosity
A
Emotion
“Every night, Stella
wondered what might
happen to her.”

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Design for Generosity
B
Urgency
“I know we’ve
already asked you for
money this month.
More than a couple of
times.”

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Design for Generosity
A
Emotion
“Every night, Stella
wondered what might
happen to her.”
B
Urgency
“I know we’ve
already asked you for
money this month.
More than a couple of
times.”

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Design for Generosity
A
Emotion
“Every night, Stella
wondered what might
happen to her.”
B
Urgency
“I know we’ve
already asked you for
money this month.
More than a couple of
times.”
+1,084%

39. Consider results in context
We learned that at crunch time, a direct ask
was most effective for this fundraiser.
But PIH still uses storytelling and emotion
throughout their digital communications.
Constant asks would damage their brand.
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Design for Generosity

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Landing Pages
with Trout Unlimited

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Design for Action
A

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Design for Action
B

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Design for Action
C

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Design for Action
C A BA B C

45. C
A
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Design for Action
C A BA B C
+18%

46. Make it easy
Though we preferred the aesthetics of the full
bleed image, the simple, clear form was more
effective.
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Design for Action

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Takeaways

48. Ask us anything.
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sales@bluestatedigital.com