reinforced his candidacy and gave people that last min- ute incentive to go vote for him. As with any campaign strategy, Panetta did receive a handful of complaints due to the emails, but he was able to address each complaint individually since VoterVendor is a do-it-yourself platform. Despite a few unhappy re- cipients, Panetta’s response was overwhelmingly positive. Many recipients sent “thank you” notes or called Panetta’s campaign team asking for additional information and their polling place so they could go vote.
A Cost-Effective Solution That Led to a Third Term On September 14, 2010, Panetta secured, for the third
time, the Democratic nomination for his position. Given the down-ballot nature of the race, he needed to find ad- ditional cost-effective ways to break through the clutter and remind voters of the good work he had done over the years. The reality is that elections these days are much differ- ent. Unlike the previous cycles in which Panetta had run
in, he found himself up against an aggressive young chal- lenger who was running very hard for this position and was able to devote far more resources into the race, both in time and money, than he was. Panetta saw his opponent chipping away at his “incumbent advantage.” Despite us- ing traditional offline methods like signs on street poles, winning several key endorsements, and investing in earned media and advertising, Panetta needed a way in which he knew he would get right in front of potential voters. Using VoterVendor to contact voters on the eve of an election worked for Panetta, who plans on using it again. VoterVendor reinforced his candidacy, and his messages provided the type of information that potential voters needed, and it turns out, details that they wanted.
Roger Alan Stone is president and CEO of Advocacy Data, an email marketing company providing innovative solutions for people whose business is politics.
December 2010 | Campaigns & Elections 63
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