Sunday, July 6, 2014

E-BOOK; POLITICAL CAMPAIGN STUDIES.105 PAGES-The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

I


POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING
MANUAL
A STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO WINNING ELECTIONS
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 2 of 105
The National Democratic Institute
for International Affairs (NDI)
is an international nonprofit organization
working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI
provides practical assistance to civic and political leader
s advancing democratic values, practices and institutions.
NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard
elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.
Copyright © National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) 2009. All rights reserved. Portions of
this work may be reproduced and/or translated for no
ncommercial purposes provided NDI is acknowledged as the
source of the material and is sent copies of any tr
anslation. Printed in the United States of America.
2030 M Street, NW
Fifth Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-728-5500
Fax: 202-728-5520
Website:
www.ndi.org
This publication was made possible through the support provided by the
National Endowment for Democracy
.
The opinions expressed herein are
those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National
Endowment for Democracy.
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 3 of 105
PREFACE
At the beginning of 2009 NDI finds
itself making the fourth version of this manual, this time for
the Malaysian context. A year after its hist
oric March 8, 2008 general
election, the Malaysian
government has yet to revise its laws governing el
ections and campaigning to respond to the public
call for greater transparency. As
Malaysians work towards a mo
re open process, this handbook
seems timely.
Originally developed a decade ago by NDI’s staff
team in Russia, this manual has traveled the
globe numerous times with localized updates. NDI’s
team of political party experts in Malaysia
edited the version you hold for th
at specific context. In 2004, I
ndonesia’s candidates ran campaigns
using this manual and, late
r, candidates and their teams simila
rly followed the formula in that
country’s first direct elections
for governors and mayors. In
2007, in the landmark elections
required by the peace agreement in Aceh after a forty-
year conflict, a more substantial update to the
manual gave candidates greater confidence to co
mpete in the ever-changing world of campaign
politics. The updates made to the manual reflect
advances in targeting, message development and
the use of technology in campaigns in every country
; the lesson for all of
us is that political
campaigning is, quite simply, about effective pl
anning. Campaigning techni
ques are refined over
time. The lesson of political practitioners everywhe
re is to learn from each others’ victories and
mistakes. And, to make sure the campaign we run
is appropriate to the context in which we are
competing.
As this manual makes clear, campaign plans aren’t
simply calendars of ac
tivities in an election
campaign; campaign plans are much more than th
at. Good campaign plans are written months and
even years prior to elections
so that the party-building and
good governance work required to be
elected or to be re-elected are put in place with
that clear, strategic goal in mind. The written
definition of that goal – and the map of how to
get there – is the essence of any campaign plan.
This manual will be used by parties big and small,
established and new, as they draw a picture of
their future electorate and ways to engage them
effectively. This manual will also enable more
women candidates to effectively run campaigns a
nd get nominated in the face of substantial
obstacles. Women’s increased nomination – and elec
tion – will be beneficial to their parties and
the communities these women will represent.
Different political parties offer
different analyses of the proble
ms and solutions facing society.
These are the choices put before
voters. But if those ideas are not
communicated effectively, to the
right voters, using appropriate language and th
rough a medium in which they can be heard and
acted upon, those parties’ ideas will not
be represented in parliament. A campaign plan is about
thinking through the component step
s of a campaign to touch voters in
such a way that they choose
you over the other parties and candi
dates on offer. Many techniques are the same regardless of
party, electoral system or even c
ountry. But it is in the planni
ng – and subsequent implementation
– that Malaysia’s candidates will prove to voters
that choosing them is the best option to keep
Malaysia on a bright and positive path to the future.
This manual is dedicated to every brave soul who
agreed to stand as a candidate in Malaysia in
2008, and in advance to those who will agree to stand
in the elections to come. You give a great gift
to your community. Go and ask voters for their
support in humility, but knowing with pride that
you have chosen a noble profession...the
opportunity to serve your neighbor.
Stephanie Lynn
Jakarta, Indonesia
March 2009
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 4 of 105
Stephanie Lynn
is a Senior Program Director responsible
for managing NDI’s programs for Malaysia and
Burma. Programs in Malaysia focus on support for parlia
mentary and electoral reform. The Institute's Burma
program focuses on support to the democracy movement in
its advocacy in Southeast Asia, Europe and the
United States. Until late 2008, Stephanie directed the In
stitute’s political party programs in Indonesia and its
women’s political participation efforts in Southeast
Asia. Before moving to Indonesia in 2003, Stephanie
managed similar portfolios with NDI’s
Serbia program for five years. Living first in Belgrade under the
Milosevic regime and then operating ground-breaking
programs from neighboring Hungary, Stephanie was
able to return to Serbia after the dramatic elections
of October 2000. In her ten years with NDI, Stephanie
has trained more than 2,000 women and men from twenty countries, across three continents. A Canadian
native, Stephanie worked as the Exec
utive Assistant to the Minister of
Finance in the British Columbia
government. Prior, she served for seven years as an
organizer of the BC New Democratic Party (NDP),
acting as a trainer and election campaign manager, dur
ing which time she also developed and delivered
innovative, successful campaigns to youth voters. Stepha
nie, who earned a BA (Honors) in Anthropology,
lives in Jakarta with her husband
and their seven year old son.
Telephone: +6017 322 7004 (Malaysia); +62811 933 932 (Indonesia)
Email: slynn@ndi.org
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 5 of 105
CONTENTS
PREFACE ........................................................................................................................
.................................................
3
CONTENTS.......................................................................................................................
...............................................
5
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................
.........................................
8
STEP ONE:
RESEARCH.............................................................................................................
.................................
10
ELECTION
RULES ..........................................................................................................................
..........................
11
THE
DISTRICT.......................................................................................................................
....................................
11
THE
VOTERS .........................................................................................................................
....................................
11
PAST
ELECTIONS......................................................................................................................
...............................
11
THIS
ELECTION.......................................................................................................................
.................................
12
OUR
CANDIDATE......................................................................................................................
...............................
12
VIABLE
OPPONENTS......................................................................................................................
.........................
12
WORKSHEET
1:
ASSESSING
THE
POLITICAL
LANDSCAPE.............................................................................
13
STEP TWO: S
ETTING A
GOAL.......................................................................................................
..........................
14
WHAT
IS
THE
TOTAL
POPULATION
OF
THE
DISTRICT? ..................................................................................
14
WHAT
IS
THE
TOTAL
NUMBER
OF
VOTERS?.....................................................................................................
14
WHAT
IS
THE
EXPECTED
TURNOUT?..................................................................................................................
14
HOW
MANY
VOTES
ARE
NEEDED
TO
WIN? .......................................................................................................
14
HOW
MANY
HOUSEHOLDS
DO
THESE
VOTERS
LIVE
IN?...............................................................................
14
BRINGING
IT
ALL
TOGETHER.......................................................................................................................
........
15
WORKSHEET
2:
SETTING
A
CAMPAIGN
GOAL..................................................................................................
15
STEP THREE: TARG
ETING THE VOTERS...............................................................................................
.............
16
WHAT
IS
TARGETING? .....................................................................................................................
......................
16
WHY
TARGET
VOTERS? ........................................................................................................................
.................
16
CONSERVING CAM
PAIGN RESOURCES..................................................................................................
..........
16
PERSUADING TARG
ET VOTERS .......................................................................................................
..................
16
HOW
TO
TARGET
VOTERS.........................................................................................................................
............
17
GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING...........................................................................................................
......................
17
DEMOGRAPHIC TARGETING ..........................................................................................................
...................
18
Our Demogra
phic Gr
oups .........................................................................................................
...........................................
19
Their Demogr
aphic
Groups
.......................................................................................................
...........................................
20
PROBLEMS
WITH
TARGETING ......................................................................................................................
.......
20
BRINGING
IT
ALL
TOGETHER.......................................................................................................................
........
20
Explanations ...................................................................................................................
........................................
21
VOTER
ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................
............................
21
VALUES.........................................................................................................................
.........................................
21
ATTITUDES......................................................................................................................
......................................
21
ISSUES.........................................................................................................................
...........................................
21
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES ...........................................................................................................
.........................
22
SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ..........................................................................................................
.....................
22
WORKSHEET
3:
GEOGRAPHIC
TARGETING.......................................................................................................
22
WORKSHEET
4:
DEMOGRAPHIC
TARGETING ...................................................................................................
22
WORKSHEET
5:
BRINGING
TOGETHER
ALL
THE
TARGETING ......................................................................
22
STEP FOUR: DEVELOPING
THE CAMPAIGN MESSAGE .................................................................................
24
CHARACTERISTICS
OF
A
GOOD
MESSAGE........................................................................................................
25
A MESSAGE MUST BE SHORT........................................................................................................
.....................
25
A MESSAGE MUST BE TRUTHFUL AND CREDIBLE ........................................................................................
25
A MESSAGE MUST BE PERSUASIVE
AND IMPORTANT TO VOTERS .............................................................
25
A MESSAGE MUST SHOW CONTRAST...................................................................................................
.............
25
A MESSAGE MUST BE CLEAR
AND SPEAK TO
THE HEART ...........................................................................
25
A MESSAGE MUST BE TARGETED .....................................................................................................
................
26
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 6 of 105
A MESSAGE MUST BE REPEAT
ED AGAIN AN
D AGAIN ...................................................................................
26
WORKSHEET
6:
WHY
ARE
YOU
RUNNING
FOR
THIS
OFFICE?.......................................................................
26
WORKSHEET
7:
THE
MESSAGE
BOX....................................................................................................................
26
WHAT WE SAY ABOUT US ...........................................................................................................
........................
27
WHAT WE SAY ABOUT THEM .........................................................................................................
....................
27
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US .........................................................................................................
......................
27
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THEM .......................................................................................................
..................
27
CREDIBILITY
-
RAISING
YOUR
CREDIBILITY
WITH
VOTERS
AND
LOWERING
YOUR
OPPONENTS’
CREDIBILITY
WITH
VOTERS.........................................................................................................................
........
28
ISSUES
AND
THE
CAMPAIGN
MESSAGE ............................................................................................................
28
Remarks of President-Elect Ba
rack Obama: Election Night
...............................................................................
29
Chicago, IL | November 04, 2008
...............................................................................................................................
..........
29
ISSUE
SELECTION ......................................................................................................................
.............................
32
WORKSHEET
8:
DETERMINING
ISSUE
IMPORTANCE
AND
POSITION..........................................................
32
SOCIOLOGICAL
RESEARCH
AND
MESSAGE
DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................
34
STAY
ON
MESSAGE........................................................................................................................
.........................
34
STEP FIVE: DEVELOPING
A VOTER CONTACT PLAN.....................................................................................
36
THE
RULE
OF
FINITE
RESOURCES ......................................................................................................................
.
36
INTERCHANGEABILITY
OF
RESOURCES
AND
METHODS..............................................................................
36
EFFECTIVENESS
OF
YOUR
VOTER
CONTACT...................................................................................................
37
PERSUADE TARGET VOTERS .........................................................................................................
....................
37
GET OUT THE VOTE ...............................................................................................................
.............................
37
VOTER IDENTIFICATION ...........................................................................................................
.........................
38
TYPES
OF
VOTER
CONTACT
ACTIVITIES...........................................................................................................
38
LITERATURE DROP................................................................................................................
..............................
39
LITERATURE HANDOUTS ............................................................................................................
.......................
39
MAIL...........................................................................................................................
............................................
39
DOOR TO DOOR ...................................................................................................................
................................
39
PHONING ........................................................................................................................
......................................
40
VISIBILITY .....................................................................................................................
........................................
41
ENDORSEMENTS ...................................................................................................................
...............................
41
COFFEES ........................................................................................................................
.......................................
41
FRIENDS OF
A FRIEND ............................................................................................................
...........................
41
PRESET EVENTS ..................................................................................................................
.................................
42
CREATED
EVENTS.................................................................................................................
...............................
42
EARNED MEDIA -
THE PR
ESS.......................................................................................................
......................
42
PAID MEDIA - TELEVISION, RADIO AND NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENTS ................................................
43
INTERNET W
EB PAGES.............................................................................................................
...........................
44
COMBINING VARIOU
S METHODS ......................................................................................................
...............
44
WORKSHEET
9:
DETERMINING
WHICH
VOTER
CONTACT
METHODS
TO
USE ..........................................
44
CREATING
CAMPAIGN
LITERATURE..................................................................................................................
45
SINGLE TOPIC ...................................................................................................................
...................................
46
ACTION PHOTOS..................................................................................................................
................................
46
HEADLINES ......................................................................................................................
.....................................
46
BULLETED POINTS ................................................................................................................
..............................
46
BE SPECIFIC ....................................................................................................................
.....................................
46
BREVITY........................................................................................................................
.........................................
46
COMMON LANGUAGE................................................................................................................
.........................
47
STAY ON MESSAGE ................................................................................................................
..............................
47
STEP SIX: MAKI
NG IT HAPPEN .....................................................................................................
.........................
48
THE
ROLE
OF
THE
CANDIDATE......................................................................................................................
......
48
THE
ROLE
OF
THE
CAMPAIGN
MANAGER.........................................................................................................
48
CAMPAIGN
PROFESSIONALS..................................................................................................................
..............
48
CAMPAIGN
STRUCTURE......................................................................................................................
..................
49
VOLUNTEERS
(PEOPLE) .......................................................................................................................
..................
50
WORKSHEET
10:
BUDGETING
VOLUNTEERS....................................................................................................
51
SCHEDULING
AND
CALENDAR
(TIME)...............................................................................................................
51
WORKSHEET
11:
CALENDAR .......................................................................................................................
.........
52
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 7 of 105
WORKSHEET
12:
TIMELINE .......................................................................................................................
............
52
COMPUTERS ......................................................................................................................
.......................................
54
THE
COORDINATED
CAMPAIGN
-
WORKING
WITH
YOUR
PARTY...............................................................
54
MESSAGE AND INFORMATION ........................................................................................................
..................
55
MATERIAL DESIGN ................................................................................................................
..............................
55
NATIONAL MATERIALS.............................................................................................................
...........................
55
PRESS ..........................................................................................................................
...........................................
55
VISITS .........................................................................................................................
............................................
55
ENDORSEMENTS ...................................................................................................................
...............................
56
BUILDING
A
COALITION
AND
OUTREACH
TO
CIVIC
ORGANIZATIONS .....................................................
56
ENDORSEMENT ....................................................................................................................
................................
56
MOBILIZE MEMBERSHIP ............................................................................................................
........................
56
PRESS EVENTS...................................................................................................................
...................................
56
RESEARCH.......................................................................................................................
......................................
56
PUBLIC EVENTS ..................................................................................................................
.................................
57
OUTREACH .......................................................................................................................
....................................
57
RULES FOR WORKING WITH CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS ...................................................................................
57
WORKSHEET
13:
WORKING
WITH
CIVIC
ORGANIZATIONS
AND
YOUR
PARTY .......................................
57
CAMPAIGN
BUDGETING
(MONEY
1) ...................................................................................................................
57
WORKSHEET
14:
DEVELOPING
A
BUDGET ........................................................................................................
58
CAMPAIGN
FUNDRAISING
(MONEY
2) ...............................................................................................................
58
WORKSHEET
15:
DEVELOPING
A
FUNDRAISING
PLAN ..................................................................................
59
THE
CONSTANT
CAMPAIGN .......................................................................................................................
..........
60
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................
..........................................
63
APPENDIX A: A GLOSSARY OF CAMPAIGN TERMS .......................................................................................
.
64
APPENDIX B: CAMPAIGN
RESEARCH QU
ESTIONS........................................................................................
..
75
APPENDIX C: GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING METHODOLOGY ........................................................................
80
APPENDIX D: ISSUES RELATED
TO POLITI
CAL POLLING............................................................................
81
APPENDIX E: DRAWING CONTRAST WITH YOUR OPPONENTS ..................................................................
84
APPENDIX F: SAMPLE CAMPAIGN FORMS ..............................................................................................
..........
86
APPENDIX G: STRATEGIC CA
MPAIGN PLAN TEMPLATE .............................................................................

93
EVALUATION FORM................................................................................................................
................................

102
OTHER PUBLICATIONS AT THE NAT
IONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE ................................................

103
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL


INTRODUCTION
A political campaign can be an exciting experience. A great deal will happen between now and
Election Day and with a little fo
rethought and planning, you can be pr
epared for all
the twists and
turns and, in many cases, control th
e situation. This manual is desi
gned to help you anticipate what
will happen and be better prepared.
While the given political landscape is an important
factor in any campaign, in many cases the most
important factor - the difference between winning and
losing - is what goes on inside the campaign.
There are three types of political campaigns that
have nearly no chance to achieve victory on
Election Day due to their ow
n internal failures.
The first is the campaign that does not have a pers
uasive message to deliver
to voters and does not
have a clear idea of which voters it
wants to persuade. This type
of campaign lacks direction from
the beginning and the situation will only get worse.
Second is the campaign that has a
concise, persuasive message and a clear idea of which voters it
can persuade but lacks a reasonable plan of what
to do between now and El
ection Day to persuade
these voters. This type of campaign wastes time
, money and people as it wanders aimlessly toward
Election Day. It is ofte
n distracted by the days’ events, by th
ings the opponent's campaign does or
by things the press says, spending more time react
ing to outside factors than promoting its own
agenda.
Finally, the third kind of campaign
is one that has a clear message, a clear idea of its voters and a
plan to get to Election Day but it fails to follo
w through on the plan, not doing the hard work day
after day to get elected. This is a lazy campai
gn that makes excuses as to why it cannot do what it
knows must be done and in the end makes excuses as to why it lost.
The winning political campaign is mo
st often the one that takes the ti
me to target voters, develops a
persuasive message and follows through on a reas
onable plan to contact
those voters directly.
This manual has been developed to assist political
parties and candidates in taking these steps to
become this type of winning campaign. You sh
ould read through the entire manual once so that
you have some understanding of the whole process.
You should then go
through the manual step
by step, answering all the questions and filling in
all the worksheets. In this way, you will have a
good start on writing a campaign plan.
A written campaign plan, like the plan for building a
house, defines the overall political landscape,
the strategy and resources require
d to get to Election Day. As
with construction plans, this
campaign plan should serve as a gu
ide to be referred to when quest
ions arise. Progress can be
measured against this outline. You could build
a house without plans, but you would make a lot of
mistakes, you would waste a lot of materials,
time, and money and you
probably would not be
satisfied with the results. It is the same
for the political campaign without a written plan.
While it is true that every campaign is unique, ther
e are some basic principles that can be applied to
any election campaign. This manual is designed to
help you apply these ba
sic principles to your
unique campaign.
The basics of any election campaign are deceptiv
ely simple. All campaigns must repeatedly
communicate a persuasive message to
people who will vote. This is
"the golden rule" of politics.
A political campaign is a communication process -
find the right message, ta
rget that message to
the right group of voters, and repe
at that message again and again.
 




Unfortunately, the actual planning process is much
more difficult than simply following one rule.
There is much more that goes into the process.
This manual is designed to take the campaign
through a step-by-step process to develop a wr
itten campaign plan. These steps include:
1.
Doing the research necessary to prepare for the campaign.
2.
Setting a strategic campaign goal of
how many votes are needed to win.
3.
Analyzing and targeting voters.
4.
Developing a campaign message.
5.
Developing a voter contact plan.
6.
Implementing that plan.
This manual cannot give you all the answers to all of the problems your campaign will face. It
cannot tell you what your campaign message should
be. It cannot tell you who your most likely
supporters are. It cannot tell you what are the mo
st effective methods of
contacting voters in your
region. What it can do is prov
ide the questions that will help
you think through the planning
process in a thorough and methodical way.
Therefore, the candidate, the campaign manager and
all the key advisers s
hould conduct a strategic
planning meeting and go through th
is manual seriously and rigorous
ly. Your strategic planning
session should also result in a wr
itten campaign plan. Too often, po
liticians believe that they hold
the winning strategy "in their heads."
In reality, if the pl
an is not written down,
there is no strategy
at all and the campaign is wandering aimlessly.
Or, at other times, the candidate and the campaign
manager believe that they are foll
owing a single strategy, only to fi
nd out later that their opinions
about the strategy are completely at odds. A
written campaign plan, agreed upon by the candidate,
the campaign manager and all the key advisors, avoids
such problems. The rule is simple - if a plan
is not written down, no plan exists.
Once you have the written plan, you must follow that
plan in a disciplined wa
y. As with any plan,
it is only as good as its implementation. All campai
gns must be flexible to changing circumstances,
but these changes should be careful
ly considered and weighed agai
nst the original research and
strategy laid out in the plan.
A political campaign is an intense experience and, wh
en done correctly, it is also a lot of hard
work. There are no tricks or s
hort cuts to winning the confiden
ce of the voters. A political
campaign can also be an exhilarating, rewarding
and fun experience. To the campaign workers,
you should be commended for offering your time and sk
ills to democracy work. To the candidates,
you should be commended for stepping forward and
offering your services to
your community. In
doing so you not only serve your community; you are
contributing to the demo
cratic process as a
whole.
Good luck

 




POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 8 of 105
INTRODUCTION
A political campaign can be an exciting experience. A great deal will happen between now and
Election Day and with a little fo
rethought and planning, you can be pr
epared for all
the twists and
turns and, in many cases, control th
e situation. This manual is desi
gned to help you anticipate what
will happen and be better prepared.
While the given political landscape is an important
factor in any campaign, in many cases the most
important factor - the difference between winning and
losing - is what goes on inside the campaign.
There are three types of political campaigns that
have nearly no chance to achieve victory on
Election Day due to their ow
n internal failures.
The first is the campaign that does not have a pers
uasive message to deliver
to voters and does not
have a clear idea of which voters it
wants to persuade. This type
of campaign lacks direction from
the beginning and the situation will only get worse.
Second is the campaign that has a
concise, persuasive message and a clear idea of which voters it
can persuade but lacks a reasonable plan of what
to do between now and El
ection Day to persuade
these voters. This type of campaign wastes time
, money and people as it wanders aimlessly toward
Election Day. It is ofte
n distracted by the days’ events, by th
ings the opponent's campaign does or
by things the press says, spending more time react
ing to outside factors than promoting its own
agenda.
Finally, the third kind of campaign
is one that has a clear message, a clear idea of its voters and a
plan to get to Election Day but it fails to follo
w through on the plan, not doing the hard work day
after day to get elected. This is a lazy campai
gn that makes excuses as to why it cannot do what it
knows must be done and in the end makes excuses as to why it lost.
The winning political campaign is mo
st often the one that takes the ti
me to target voters, develops a
persuasive message and follows through on a reas
onable plan to contact
those voters directly.
This manual has been developed to assist political
parties and candidates in taking these steps to
become this type of winning campaign. You sh
ould read through the entire manual once so that
you have some understanding of the whole process.
You should then go
through the manual step
by step, answering all the questions and filling in
all the worksheets. In this way, you will have a
good start on writing a campaign plan.
A written campaign plan, like the plan for building a
house, defines the overall political landscape,
the strategy and resources require
d to get to Election Day. As
with construction plans, this
campaign plan should serve as a gu
ide to be referred to when quest
ions arise. Progress can be
measured against this outline. You could build
a house without plans, but you would make a lot of
mistakes, you would waste a lot of materials,
time, and money and you
probably would not be
satisfied with the results. It is the same
for the political campaign without a written plan.
While it is true that every campaign is unique, ther
e are some basic principles that can be applied to
any election campaign. This manual is designed to
help you apply these ba
sic principles to your
unique campaign.
The basics of any election campaign are deceptiv
ely simple. All campaigns must repeatedly
communicate a persuasive message to
people who will vote. This is
"the golden rule" of politics.
A political campaign is a communication process -
find the right message, ta
rget that message to
the right group of voters, and repe
at that message again and again.






POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PLANNING MANUAL
Page 8 of 105
INTRODUCTION
A political campaign can be an exciting experience. A great deal will happen between now and
Election Day and with a little fo
rethought and planning, you can be pr
epared for all
the twists and
turns and, in many cases, control th
e situation. This manual is desi
gned to help you anticipate what
will happen and be better prepared.
While the given political landscape is an important
factor in any campaign, in many cases the most
important factor - the difference between winning and
losing - is what goes on inside the campaign.
There are three types of political campaigns that
have nearly no chance to achieve victory on
Election Day due to their ow
n internal failures.
The first is the campaign that does not have a pers
uasive message to deliver
to voters and does not
have a clear idea of which voters it
wants to persuade. This type
of campaign lacks direction from
the beginning and the situation will only get worse.
Second is the campaign that has a
concise, persuasive message and a clear idea of which voters it
can persuade but lacks a reasonable plan of what
to do between now and El
ection Day to persuade
these voters. This type of campaign wastes time
, money and people as it wanders aimlessly toward
Election Day. It is ofte
n distracted by the days’ events, by th
ings the opponent's campaign does or
by things the press says, spending more time react
ing to outside factors than promoting its own
agenda.
Finally, the third kind of campaign
is one that has a clear message, a clear idea of its voters and a
plan to get to Election Day but it fails to follo
w through on the plan, not doing the hard work day
after day to get elected. This is a lazy campai
gn that makes excuses as to why it cannot do what it
knows must be done and in the end makes excuses as to why it lost.
The winning political campaign is mo
st often the one that takes the ti
me to target voters, develops a
persuasive message and follows through on a reas
onable plan to contact
those voters directly.
This manual has been developed to assist political
parties and candidates in taking these steps to
become this type of winning campaign. You sh
ould read through the entire manual once so that
you have some understanding of the whole process.
You should then go
through the manual step
by step, answering all the questions and filling in
all the worksheets. In this way, you will have a
good start on writing a campaign plan.
A written campaign plan, like the plan for building a
house, defines the overall political landscape,
the strategy and resources require
d to get to Election Day. As
with construction plans, this
campaign plan should serve as a gu
ide to be referred to when quest
ions arise. Progress can be
measured against this outline. You could build
a house without plans, but you would make a lot of
mistakes, you would waste a lot of materials,
time, and money and you
probably would not be
satisfied with the results. It is the same
for the political campaign without a written plan.
While it is true that every campaign is unique, ther
e are some basic principles that can be applied to
any election campaign. This manual is designed to
help you apply these ba
sic principles to your
unique campaign.
The basics of any election campaign are deceptiv
ely simple. All campaigns must repeatedly
communicate a persuasive message to
people who will vote. This is
"the golden rule" of politics.
A political campaign is a communication process -
find the right message, ta
rget that message to
the right group of voters, and repe
at that message again and again.





.

 

The Dysfunctional State of Nigeria - Center for Global ...

1 ABSTRACT
www.cgdev.org/
by PM Lewis - ‎
From the vantage point of the United States, Nigeria's predicament ... Terrorism has .... in Nigeria, credible figures show that the incidence of poverty has escalated ... toward government.Democracy has proven elusive if not chimerical, as.
Nigeria's travails, while hardly unique within the developing world, are surely exceptional in
their scope and persistence. Mass poverty, economic stagnation, endemic corruption,
political instability, weak institutions, and social conflict can be found in many countries, ...

pages. ;   34 
price ------
call 08030485016    jeffnkwocha@gmail.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
2
Nigerians Governance Predicament;  poverty,terrorism and democracy 

On June 30, CDDRL Director Larry Diamond delivered a lecture in Lagos, Nigeria on poverty, terrorism and democracy. Presented as part of the Freedom House Lecture Series, Diamond emphasized that the country’s core problem is not terrorism or poverty but bad governance and suggested six reforms to address the country’s democratic landscape



ABSTRACT
Because Nigeria has largely squandered staggering natural resource wealth and human potential over more than half a century of independence, there is a chronic tendency here and abroad to see its national prospect as nearly hopeless. But Nigeria is not condemned to suffer endemic corruption, waste, ineptitude, and insecurity.
These are the products of deficient institutions and a culture that has grown up around them. People make institutions. People produce and reproduce cultural norms and expectations. And people can change them.
I was interested to discover that Governor Tinubu and I are of the same generation, born a few months apart. Around the time he first visited the United States I first visited Nigeria.
At similar points in our lives, though from very different perspectives, we have seen the promise of democracy in Nigeria swell and recede. We have seen the military come and go from government. We saw the Second Republic gasp for breath and then collapse under the weight of unchecked political greed and staggering fraud in the 1983 elections.
We have seen military rule bring this country to nearly total ruin, and along the way, arrest and imprison the man elected, under its very auspices in 1993, with a broad popular mandate to fix the mess. We saw that man, M.K.O. Abiola, die needlessly and almost certainly avoidably in prison. We both then watched from outside Nigeria while the worst tyrant in Nigerian history, General Sani Abacha, took plunder and abuse of power to unimaginable depths.

pages. ;   24 
price ------
call 08030485016    jeffnkwocha@gmail.com



I
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)