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Sunday, October 4, 2009
Managing a Produce Campaign Like a Presidential One
The morning session at PMA Fresh Summit Day 3 featured David Plouffe, the campaign manager for President Obama's run for office. While a presidential campaign and the produce industry may not, on the surface, appear to have anything in common, Plouffe said there were a number of things he learned during the campaign that businesses can incorporate.
The Obama campaign really changed the way candidates reach people. The campaign elevated the role of new media and used it to organize supporters and gain new ones. It was how Obama won, Plouffe said, because it brought in new voters - the "holy grail" of election campaigns. Among voters that took part in the Bush/Kerry election, Obama led 50 to 49 percent, but among people voting for the first time or returning to voting after having not for a number of years, Obama led 73 to 27 percent.
Plouffe encouraged produce businesses to incorporate some of the goals of the campaign when it comes to their adoption of new media. In the campaign, the Internet efforts achieved three goals - raising money, organizing and motivating. People live their lives online now, he said, and they want regular communication that isn't propaganda. If you respect your online media consumers, they'll respond by becoming advocates for your brand.
One unanticipated thing Plouffe found during the campaign was the use of video. Supporters didn't respond well to overly-produced pieces, but genuine communication had good results. He added that e-mails sent to supporters had a much higher chance of being read if they included video.
Plouffe also said companies can use the Web internally to align employees. In the campaign, Plouffe used Web sites internally to encourage employees during smear campaigns. Internal communication can also make decision-making easier.
The final message Plouffe had for the industry members was to listen to your media consumers. If something on a Web site can be better, it will come from someone using it every day. And when changes are made, promote those changes so that others know you're listening.
posted by Great American Publishing
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11:08 AM
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