Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 27, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 21 TALKING POINTS Five communications, digital media trends from the 2017 election By Stephen Jewett T he 2017 election just gave us new lessons for communicating in today's rapidly changing media landscape. Virginia's hotly contested statewide elections also showed us the latest in campaign trends. Here are five to watch: 1. The 2016 election was marked by Presi- dent Trump's unconventional media methods and sophisticated digital advertising. The trend continued in Virginia's 2017 election. Over $50 million was spent in Virginia's election. The majority of this campaign money was spent on TV ads, but digital and social media advertising grew their share of the spend. Both Democrats and Republicans placed early digital ads for their candidates. These advanced digital ad programs would run daily with multiple ads tar- geted to narrow demographic groups. For instance, a targeted group of white, edu- cated women would be sent a digital ad message about "keeping your health insurance." The campaign would watch if the group engaged, clicked or shared the ad. When the group stopped engaging, the campaign would then send a new ad with a similar message "keep your contraception cov- erage." By reading the data behind the ads, campaigns con- stantly improved their targeting pro- cess and message. 2. Video is in- creasingly getting more engagement than static digital ads and played a much larger role in this election. In the past, TV ads and social media would typically run sepa- rate but similar ad campaigns. The better campaigns now have integrated TV and social media together. As campaigns produced their customary 30-second TV ad, they would also produce shorter versions of the same ad for social media, and then launch them together. 3. Campaigns are finding a way to commu- nicate to voters by texting without turning the voter off to the mild intrusion. Volunteers like texting, it's a lot easier than getting a voter on the phone at home. Campaigns ran texting programs that communicated directly with voters through well-trained volunteers. Because of the ease of texting, the reach of the program was extensive. Many of the volunteer texters actually lived outside of Virginia. They could sit in their living rooms and inbound text to friendly Democratic voters with pre-written scripts about the candidate. Many volun- teers still upset about Hillary Clinton's loss found this as an opportunity to get involved in a substantial way beyond donating and social media. 4. Campaign data collection increased dramatically, but campaign pollsters continue to have a hard time predicting Election Day turnout and voter intensity. The Real Clear Politics average of the many public polls was 3 ½ points for Democrat Ralph Northam to win for governor. He won by 9 points. The Quinnipiac Poll, which was considered an outlier to other polls, had it right at 9 points. New types of data poured into campaigns from social media, online surveys and texting programs. This diverse set of data is increasingly evaluated by campaigns for in- sight, however, the data has also not solved the knowledge gap of who exactly will show up to vote. Pollsters and the campaign data people are still working to figure out a new model for measurement. 5. Recent Congressional hearings of ma- jor tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter have not slowed up fake news. If someone associated with a campaign wants to out- smart Twitter by setting up fake accounts and spreading false news through them, you don't need to be James Bond. The volume of this misinformation and negativity is to a point where I'm not sure the tech firms can stop it without a mas- sive overhaul. As this past Election Day approached, the amount of fake news in Virginia jumped. This clearly was not a coincidence, its being planned and planted. It is something that campaigns and technol- ogy have not figured out how to handle and it will take some time. Stephen Jewett consulted in the 2017 Virginia election and is managing partner of Hartford-based McDowell Jewett Communications. He works on political campaigns throughout the country. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Stephen Jewett NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Can Hartford become a hub for insurance- technology, or InsurTech, startups? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How to create an 'authentic' organization people want to work at By Jim Pawlak "Why Should Anyone Work Here? What It Takes to Create an Au- thentic Organization" by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones (Harvard Business School Press, $30). "The world of organizations is made and remade through the actions of the people in them." With that in mind, the authors developed the DREAMS employee function and satis- faction template. Here's a snapshot: "Difference" — True diversity goes beyond gender, ethnicity, age, etc. It includes thought processes, approaches to tasks, frames of reference and ways people learn. Employees don't want to be clones or drones. By valuing such differences you can leverage the power of divergent thinking. "Radical honesty" — In order to maximize productivity, people need to know what's going on. When left in the dark, they begin to guess; productivity falls when the rumor mill starts. "Extra value" — Employees are assets that build intellectual capital. To maximize value, employee develop- ment must focus on three levels of skills: technical (job- specific), conceptual (problem-solving and creativity), and human (communi- cation and collabo- ration). "Authenticity" — This deals with your organization's "identity-defining roots." People want to work for companies that stand for and behind something. It goes beyond products and services and deals with role models and community. Everyone walks the talk. "Meaning" — Engaged employees don't work just for a paycheck. Their jobs connect them to their colleagues, stakeholders and the organization's goals. Cross-functional teams at all levels allow employees to share knowledge and build relationships — the glue that holds great teams together. "Simple rules" — Complexity breeds mis- understanding, and brings agreement, fair- ness and discretion into question. Keeping things simple allows continuous improve- ment to flourish. Jim Pawlak Book Review Can Greater Hartford support another regional shopping center like the Outlets Shoppes at Rentschler Field? 52% No 48% Yes READER COMMENTS: "Online is killing brick-and- mortar establishments, just like big box stores destroyed the local retailer. It's no different than manufacturing. Make as much as you can, for as cheap as you can, or I'll go elsewhere. Loyalty is gone." "There are no outlet options in the Greater Hartford area. This could bring some much- needed life and energy back to the east of the river, apart from Glastonbury, Manchester, etc." Recent Congressional hearings of major tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter have not slowed up fake news. If someone associated with a campaign wants to outsmart Twitter by setting up fake accounts and spreading false news through them, you don't need to be James Bond.

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