This report on Wired.com about an experiment by a group of liberal digital strategists on the efficacy of viral political ads is worthy of our attention and highlights the differences between macro, micro, and vanity metrics – a trap that too many campaigns fall into. The study found that, In the end, the videos’ success […]
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The Science of Timing in Digital Strategy
“We simply don’t take issues of when as seriously as we take questions of what.” This is the central message of Daniel Pink’s latest book, When. We need to spend as much time – if not more – considering WHEN we’ll do something as WHAT we’re going to do. I think politics are unique in […]
Content is a Buffalo
This blog post is a summary of a talk I gave recently to a conference of congressional staff. If you’d like to invite me to speak to your group or event, click here to get in touch. The Native Americans of the high plains were known for using every part of the buffalo they could […]
Obamas will shape our political future via Netflix
Barack and Michelle Obama just formed a “storytelling partnership” with Netflix and they “will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features.” Netflix’s 125 million subscribers in 190 countries means a tremendous new platform for the Obamas and their allies to continue shaping our politics […]
Moving Republicans to a Tech Ghetto
Update: About the same time I published this post yesterday, Crowdpac, a previously non-partisan crowdfunding platform for politics announced it would be suspending all Republican campaigns on their platform. The peer to peer texting app Hustle recently announced via this Techcrunch article something that has been a poorly guarded secret for a while: conservatives aren’t […]
Online Fundraising in Politics Doesn’t Scale
We need a better approach for online political fundraising that scales for smaller campaigns and is more sustainable for larger ones. When it comes to online fundraising in politics, there are essentially two approaches: stocking your pond and fishing with dynamite. The strategy of stocking your pond involves methodically growing the size of your email […]
Optimize for supporters, not the boss
One of the common pitfalls I see in a lot of organizations from campaigns to corporations, is a focus on keeping the principal happy at all costs. Unreasonable demands on staff leading to burnout? You got it boss. Hastily executed event with lackluster attendance? On it. If your candidate or CEO doesn’t create the kind […]
Join Us for LTO Meetup #1
Stay current on digital trends and best practices while growing your professional network at the LTO Meetup. Community has always been central to Learn Test Optimize’s identity, now we’re excited to take that community offline with our very first meetup. Tuesday, May 8, 2018 7:00pm – 8:30 pm Hosted by Crowdskout at 1101 K St […]
Facebook & Cambridge Analytica
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about the current Facebook controversy involving GOP data firm Cambridge Analytica: About Cambridge Analytica Cambridge Analytica (CA) is the American arm of a British firm called SCL, which has done election work throughout the world. GOP Mega-donor Robert Mercer is a major investor in the company […]