Hi [FIRST NAME GOES HERE]!
Most people I know agree this presidential election may be one of the most consequential (probably the most consequential) in our lifetime. I’m not sure where you all stand politically, but I make no secret of my political leanings to the left (and have never have – you can go all the way back to the editorial pieces I wrote in The DeWitt Observer as a 19-year-old in 1992 if you’re curious… though you will probably also have to visit the DeWitt Community Library in Iowa to see it in one of those big books of old newspapers in a storage stack!). This week’s announcement that the fabulous Vice President Kamala Harris chose my awesome Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, to be her running mate has me feeling renewed, hopeful and determined in a way that I haven’t been since 2016. I’ll do whatever I can to get Harris-Walz elected and keep Trump-Vance out of office.
What can I do, other than do phone banks and make donations? I’m a creative digital content marketer so here are some free ideas. Pass them along if you know anyone. 😉
1. BELIEVE: A one-episode YouTube show that's a take-off on "Ted Lasso" in which Tim Walz is Ted and Kamala Harris is Rebecca (which I think are apt characterizations) in which they're preparing for debate night but also dealing with one of their staffers' niece's fear of Scout the Dog. I have no plot point yet for Trump (who is Rupert) or Vance (who I originally thought played the Bad Nate, but I think now is really one of the anti-immigrant vandals who trashed Ola’s). Maybe we just leave them out of it. Ted didn't usually need an enemy or a foil because he was transcendent of all that.
2. Another Schlep: Do you remember “The Great Schlep” from the Obama campaign in 2008? Sarah Silverman was a spokesperson for the campaign, which was created by cool agency Droga5 and funded by the Jewish Council for Education and Research. Sarah urged young Jewish people to schlep it to Florida to convince their grandparents – in what was once a swing state (can you even imagine) – to vote for Obama. It may have worked. Florida went for Obama.
Although Florida is now a Democratic pipe dream, what about a similar campaign in which Harris supporters who left small town life for the big cities go home to their leaning-red families in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, and have a civilized conversation with parents and grandparents? Tell them about why you’re excited about this new ticket and the many ways you think your future depends on it. Explain (using real data points) that Trump's economic policies actually did not help them previously and also are unlikely to improve their economic situation in the future. Encourage them to reject sexism, bigotry, homophobia and racism — which they are not doing if they vote for Trump.
3. Older Undecided Social: The social media teams for Harris and Walz are actually doing a fantastic job using pop culture and memes to excite people who might not normally be paying quite enough attention to the election (I won't be ageist and say younger voters but I will say "people who spend a lot of time on TikTok and Instagram and possibly not so much time on NPR and 538). I love everything they’ve been doing on TikTok and Instagram to capture this demographic (I have to google a lot of the trends – I’m pretty plugged in and usually only get it about 50% of the time, which I think tells you they're totally nailing it). What are they doing to get the older voters who may be on the fence (and maybe also not listening to NPR), though? What is their Facebook ad spend? I’ve been on Facebook looking for evidence of something inspiring and targeted to people my age and older (who are less interested in Charli XCX and Chappell Roan) and currently not seeing much.
I’m hopeful it’s because they are investing in creating and mobilizing Facebook Communities with surrogates and influential community members who can rally supporters and teach them about how to canvas and influence undecided voters in their lives and communities (both online and offline). 🤞 Research shows that social ties like these can be especially powerful when it comes to influence in both buying and politics. (Instead of giving you an article to read below like I usually do, you can check out this fairly old research phenomenon here:
50 years on, Mark Granovetter's 'The Strength of Weak Ties' is stronger than ever, Stanford Report 2023.)
I’m curious if any of you who are on Facebook are seeing something interesting from Harris-Walz that I’m not. Let me know if you are.
Since I’ve been checking Facebook for political campaigns and information, I’ll say it has been fun seeing Pantsuit Nation come back alive! Still, they should be doing more on the platform.
Another social media-politics note: It’s also been an absolute delight seeing Threads (Threads! Remember when we were talking about Threads last summer?) come alive with users’ Tim Walz #BigDadEnergy posts. Here are two favorites:
And I’ll leave you with that on this lovely Thursday, my friends.
Thanks again for reading! I appreciate you. ❤️
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