From the Shanes (D'Aprile & Greer) @ Campaigns & Elections
We want to wish you all the very best in these last few days before
Election Day 2020. For all the mud that gets slung at political consultants, you’re the engine that gives voice to candidates and helps voters make their choice up and down the ballot. 🗳️
See you on the other side.
++++++++ When Zuckerberg Gives You Lemons Alternatives to Facebook
Are you part of the legion that got shafted by Facebook this week? If you are, then you’re probably in the mood for some alternatives to Facebook beyond 2020. Step forward Cheyrl Hori of Pacific Campaign House who highlights three areas to consider:
TikTok
Yes it doesn’t accept political ads, but it does accept non-profit ads. And as Hori points out, there’s something to be said for a platform that recently delivered 280,000 organic views for a political video.
Video Games
Twitch has seen its viewership more than double this year. And 82 percent of global consumers have watched or played video games. That means opportunity for campaigns: “Our clients have held 24-streamer fundraisers, the Biden campaign opened up shop in ‘Animal Crossing,’ and after AOC’s ‘Among Us’ viewership had a peak viewership of more than 400,000, it’s pretty clear: breaking into the video game industry will be one of the important next frontiers for digital campaigning.”
Leveraging Non-Political
Hori is well known for her use of Waze despite the platform’s refusal to take political advertising: “Last year, a 501(c)(4) client ran branded GOTV ads letting drivers know that they were just a few minutes away from their polling place. And as a result, we were able to directly trace 3 percent of the total election’s turnout back to our ads.”
More broadly, as Hori points out, with Millenials and Gen Z migrating away from platforms like Facebook, digital advertisers will need to follow suit. Over-reliance on a couple of big platforms won’t cut it in cycles ahead.
++++++++ Our Algorithmic Gods Ad Pricing on Facebook
Reporting this week by The Markup’s Jeremy Merrillclaiming that Facebook has been charging the Biden campaign a
lot more for ads than the Trump campaign garnered a lot of attention. But the report itself was a reminder that those not in the business of digital campaigns often make determinations that are wide of the mark. Loren Merchan of Authentic Campaigns:
“The way this article is framed is incredibly misleading. The headline and introduction is crafted in a way that leads readers to believe the price differences are the result of some sort of intention or bias on the part of Facebook even though the article later acknowledges that there are
valid reasons why these price differences may have occurred.”
Mark Jablonowski of DSPolitical echoed this sentiment: “The analysis overlooks too many variables to count, many of which would not be publicly available to the researcher.”
But the fundamental issue raised by the piece is worth reflecting on: as we all know, the price does
vary from ad campaign to ad campaign. Eric Wilson of Startup Caucus:
“If a campaign runs ads that are better at tickling the algorithm, they won’t have to pay as much… Unfortunately, it means we’re only talking about issues that satisfy the algorithms, not the voters.”
That’s a point Merchan reinforces: “the fact that the platform as a whole is overly focused on ‘engagement,’ which naturally favors more controversial and charged content is definitely dangerous.”
Texting is the quickest way to engage voters, but those texts have to make it to voters' phones. Text Request's Peer to Peer Texting provides the highest delivery rates, at the lowest cost, with the easiest to use system. Go to www.textrequest.com/p2p to learn more and get started.
++++++++ Ignore Cyber Threats at Your Peril
Cybercriminals Steal Millions From Wisconsin GOP
What’s the cost of not taking cybersecurity seriously? In the case of the Republican Party of Wisconsin it’s $2,300,000.
"Cybercriminals, using a sophisticated phishing attack, stole funds intended for the reelection of President Trump, altered invoices and committed wire fraud."
According to security expert Kevin Epstein the attack was most likely a “business email compromise-style attack”:
“If threat actors were able to modify invoices and payments, it could be a sign that an email fraud attack occurred. BEC attacks use carefully crafted, customized emails that often ask specific people to wire funds urgently, pay an invoice to a new bank account or even send W2s — all while pretending to be the victim's boss, vendor, partner or colleague.”
Email attacks like this are astonishingly simple to execute, relying on the weakest of links in almost any organization: humans.
Worth Diving Into
Facebook’s Missteps Stoke Fears Of Long Political Ad Blackout Online (Politico)
Just how long might that post-election political ad blackout last? Some fear it will be significantly longer than the platform is leading advertisers to believe.
Disinformation Moves from Social Networks to Text (NY Times)
Yet another front in the disinformation wars: texting.
Voters Should Resist Blaming Every Election Glitch On Political Interference (Technology Review)
Technology problems may arise, but US elections are remarkably resilient.
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