Running a Successful Political Campaign

All political campaigns seek to persuade the public to vote for a candidate by managing the message that is communicated to the electorate through the media. The core message of any campaign is comprised of more than words and pictures. It is one component of a larger campaign game plan that seeks to coherently combine images, emotions, and logic to position people and ideas convincingly. During a campaign, external developments and attacks by other candidates require campaign managers to spin the news and the debates back to certain core messages in order to massage the particular segments of the audience that are required for the campaign to be successful (Stockwell, 4). In the first democracies, speakers could look directly at their constituents to gauge how their audience was reacting to their message or to campaign events and tailor their arguments accordingly. In this age of mass media and instant publicity, campaigns are an exact science that demands attention to detail. Campaigns must come up with a strategic plan, a coherent message, and must constantly research their particular audience in order to understand the electorate's ever changing wants and interests (Stockwell, 5)

This paper will examine the most effective mechanisms for running a successful campaign. First, we will examine all the elements that must be considered before a campaign can begin. These elements must be spelled out in a strategic plan that should be formulated before the campaign

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figure out how much the campaign is going to cost and where those funds will come from. The budget is, at heart, a statement of the campaign's overall strategy. It must include the projected expenditures on for staff, for the infrastructure that will be used such as office space for a headquarters, legal advice, and for the media outreach that is so important to a campaign. In an ideal world, over 70% of the campaign's budget will be allocated for communication, and at least 10% should be set aside for unforeseen expenses. This means that only 20% of the budget will be used for paying the staff and other resources that are required for the campaign (Trost and Grossmann, 24). The finance plan for the campaign must include what specific amounts will be raised from direct mail, from fundraising events, from solicitations from donors and peers, from political action committee contributions, and from online or web based fundraising campaigns. Weekly goals are crucial to keep fundraising staff motivated and so that the campaign manager can monitor whether fundraising is meeting expectations (Trost and Grossmann, 24). Campaign Message Campaigns, in essence, focus no persuading likely voters that one candidate is better

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