Mobilizing
Below are examples we’ve gathered on political campaign websites mobilizing their visitors with online tools:
General Practices of Mobilizing:
- Offline distribution of materials
- Allow visitors to email links (ePostcards)
- Electronic, downloadable items (buttons, stickers, web banners, wallpaper)
- Send letters to the editor
Specific Examples of Mobilizing(with student thoughts on each):
Yes, this is gratuitous highlighting of something we did in the fall, but Adopt Five was an innovative way to mobilize supporters for a specific goal: encouraging sporadic, but likely Obama supporters, to vote early. Everyone who signed up for Adopt Five was given five specific voters in their community and their job was to call them and make sure they vote. As the site shows, surrogates such as Michelle Obama were used to highlight the program, and the campaign used other converging campaign strategies to encourage usage. In the end, the lead that Obama took into election day in the Early Vote was insurmountable. ~27 Reasons
Minnesota voters use caucuses and a state convention to choose their party nominees, rather than traditional primaries. Al Franken’s “Feb 5″ site is a how-to on caucusing, from maps showing where to go to videos that both demonstrate and at some level parody the state’s antiquated caucus process. ~27 Reasons
Deeds for Governor Petition Process:
The Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate, Creigh Deeds is attempting to qualify for the Virginia ballot by using the petition process. This website mobilizes volunteers to sign a petition as well as instructs them on how to get others to join in. By requiring voters to put their Congressional district in the search form, the back-end allows the campaign to sort volunteers by regions, since the stat requires petitions to be collected proportionally within the state’s Congressional districts. ~27 Reasons
In response to media reports that jewish voters in Florida were not going to support Barack Obama, Sarah Silverman launched a site encouraging young Jewish voters to ’schlep’ to Florida to tell their grandparents to support Barack Obama. While the site was not an overwhelming success, it did draw a ton of attention. In the end, despite GOP efforts to the contrary, Jewish voters supported Obama by a larger percentage than they supported Kerry four years earlier. ~27 Reasons
The next generation of Obama/Biden 2008, Organizing for America now provides tools for voters to call Congress to encourage them to support the President, form their own canvass teams and even pledge to give a certain amount of time to support the President. ~27 Reasons
Barbara Boxer’s campaign website
now has web widgets which enable supporters to help persuade others online or offline to support the senator. ~Acta Diurna
also has a nice site on partybuilding…which means they facilitate the supporter on persuading others online and offline to support the party. ~Acta Diurna
has a standard form to inform others about her candidacy. ~Acta Diurna
has a section devoted for supporters to either write a letter to the editor or call talk radio stations in your area. I’m not sure how effective form written letters to the editor are, but calling talk radio probably has some merit, as a real person has to be on the line. ~Acta Diurna
which is now Organizing for America, has an entire section on how you or others can contact your member of congress to try to persuade them to vote in favor of the president’s policies. ~Acta Diurna
http://www.yarmuthforcongress.com/gotv
John Yarmuth’s campaign website has a “Get the Vote” webpage that collects personal information, whether the visitor will volunteer to go “door to door” or “make phone calls,” whether the visitor wants to be a “GOTV leader,” and a visitor’s availability. ~HellCat
http://www.kirkpatrickforarizona.com/content/get_out_the_vote_at_a_place_near_you
Ann Kirkpatrick’s campaign website has a “Get the Vote” webpage that provides a map and contact information for ten “staging area” in her district. ~HellCat
http://www.jimesch.org/volunteer/
Jim Esch’s campaign website has a “Join Team Esch” webpage to create a “grassroots network of individuals” ~HellCat
http://barbaraleespeaksforme.org/spread-the-word/
Barbara Lee’s campaign website has a “Spread the Word” webpage to collect information from visitors about ten friends in order to spread the word about her campaign. The webpage allows the visitor to send an email to their friends about the campaign. ~HellCat
https://www.votenader.org/forms/spreadtheword/
Ralph Nader’s campaign website has a “Spread the Word” webpage to collect information from visitors about thirty friends in order to spread the word about her campaign. The webpage allows the visitor to send an email to their friends about the campaign along with a message from Nader. ~HellCat
This website did a great job of gathering supporters together for last nights “Earth Hour.” The website had multiple ways for supporters to interact in order to coordinate the massive project. ~Freedom
This website has an incredible arsenal when it comes to “rallying the troops.” The GOP website enables supporters both young and old to take part in the effort to get Republicans from cities and states across the country elected. ~Freedom
The DNC also has a great website to bring together supporters; however, their website looks too much like a tribute to Barack Obama with links and stories all over the site to the White House and his website. Still, the features on the site provide the committee with the tools necessary to effectively wage a campaign for or against an opponent or issue. ~Freedom
The Republican Party of Florida has done a great job creating a site that gears itself towards Republicans in our state. It provides up to date coverage of party issues in the state while giving supporters resources to join in the effort. The whole site lends itself to organizing and keeping supporters abreast of what is going on with the party in the state. ~Freedom
Meg Whitman for Governor of California…
Meg Whitman has done a great job in beginning a gubernatorial campaign; her website is simple yet informative and does a great job of gathering supporters for what is going to be a very competitive seat. Meg has many avenues which she can travel early in her campaign, and multiple outlets to use in beginning her ground game. ~Freedom
U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Tennessee
I like how Corker has a section called TN Tuesday where he invites TN folks that are visiting Washington during session to come to informal breakfasts that he hosts each Tuesday. He says he wants to talk to them about the issues they are concerned about. He also asks people what issues (he provides a list) they are interested in when they sign up for his newsletters. He has a nice looking site too. ~Mist
Richard Shelby, U.S. Senator for Alabama
Shelby’s page is kind of cool too because he has a place in his constituant services section that allows people to contact him about scheduling a meeting with him or a member of his staff in Washington. He also asks what you would like to discuss at the meetings. ~Mist
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
has a nice looking site. She also has a section in her site where people can find information about meeting her during Spring session in Washington for coffee. ~Mist
I like his site because he has a great place in his schedule request section for people to request to meet him and/or organize a meeting for him with local people in their community. It’s also not a bad looking Web site overall. ~Mist
U.S. Senator John Ensign, Nevada
I really like his Web site. It’s user friendly with many places where Nevada residents can contact him to schedule meetings or to recieve direct information from him about the issues they are most interested in. ~Mist
After reading chapter 6, I was curious to see what GeorgeWBush.com was looking like, but that site is now redirected to GOP.com. With that said, a few minutes into the site proved a good use of mobilizing tools. Even better “connecting” principles. ~Michael Turner
Great use of mobilizing through the MyBO portal. Users had access to online organizing tools that also towed the campaigns’ messages. ~Michael Turner
This site, cited by the Web Campaigning Digital Supplement, is total CHEESE!!! Web 1.0 all the way. But it is a good example for this section. One final thought: I wonder of Joe Turnham’s favorite quote is, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!” ~Michael Turner
This “Tax Tea Party” idea seems to be spreading all over the place in the past couple months. I guess if ‘they’ add “Official” to the front of their URL, then that cinches it?! Either way, good mobilizing examples. ~Michael Turner
Very cool use of this online tool: “Anyone can create an event. It’s a quick and easy way to get other people involved in the things you care about. To get started, just fill out the form below.” You then enter your zip code and select an option for athe few choices listed. Nice. ~Michael Turner
Has a nice story set up where you can buy shirts and keychains and allows you to join a Kay Team to get out and spread the message. ~Magical
Like his Blog Buttons for people to put on their sites which helps with promotion. ~Magical
A standard volunteer sign up page which gives you options on how you want to volunteer and has some nice share this page buttons. ~Magical
Has an excellent take action page which has everything from getting yardsigns to tell a friend. ~Magical
Has the Tell Five Friends page which is a good way of building e-mail lists. ~Magical
Meg Whitman for Governor of California
Meg Whitman’s website has a place for people to post their stories and hopes for the state of California. I like this because it mobilizes people by getting them to think about what they want to see change in their state, and gives them a more real stake in the campaign. ~Thoughts
Loranne Ausley for Florida Senate
Ausley’s website has a prominent get involved section on the top right hand side of the homepage. I like this because it serves to mobilize people without getting in their face about it. It’s simple and classy. ~Thoughts
Jim Douglas for Governor of Vermont
On the right hand side of the homepage, the website has something called “Team Douglas T.V.” This is a clever way of keeping people involved as well as mobilizing them for action. ~Thoughts
Christopher Christie for New Jersey for Governor
This site has a very good blog section which allows supporters to share their thoughts and to mobilize themselves for the campaign. ~Thoughts
This site has a cool “turn up the heat” feature to mobilize donors. It is similar to Howard Dean’s red bat that we read about in Joe Trippi’s book. ~Thoughts
Charles Dodson (for Circuit Judge):
Dodson won, but not because he mobilized. Well, he did, sort of. But I don’t think posting your phone number and telling potential volunteers that they’d have to call in order “to find out how you can help” really counts. ~Osborne
Sean T. Desmond (for County Judge):
Great website, especially for this office. Desmond ended up losing to Nina Ashenafi Richardson, yet did a pretty good job of mobilizing. There is a section entitled “Help the Campaign,” in which Desmond asks for contact information and to check off a role: Hosting a reception, Telephoning or emailing voters, Delivering/Placing Yard Signs for Election Day, Walking Door to Door, Helping on Election Day, Attending Events and handing out literature. ~Osborne
Dee Dee Rasmussen (for School Board):
Pretty good website here, and this one was a winner, which breaks the trend of winner-bad website, loser-good website. Dee Dee gave visitors two options (and made heavy use of stock photography — a terrible choice. We all use Google Images now and know what those pictures look like). You could host a neighborhood event meant to introduce your Dee Dee to your friends, or you could invite her to an existing meeting or event. Dee Dee also gives you, in the right hand column, an opportunity to check boxes to designate other typical mobilizing-type jobs. ~Osborne
Peter Boulware (for Florida House, District 9):
Great website, lots of mobilization for the office. Boulware had buttons for Facebook and YouTube, in addition to the standard form with check boxes for the desired nature of commitment: Place a sign at my home/business, Place a bumper sticker on my car, Walk Precincts, Make Phone Calls, Host a reception, Provide help with fundraising. ~Osborne
Vasilinda’s site wasn’t pretty…at all. But she did take the time to mobilize. Under “Volunteer,” Vasilinda goes through a few possible routes for helping: Putting up a yard sign or bumper sticker, helping them walk neighborhoods in door-to-door support, or sending out emails from the campaign’s email list. Most interestingly, you could download a petition to have Vasilinda placed on the ballot, presumably to pass out to friends or to have it accessible to your friends. ~Osborne
Joe Kenney’s site does a good job of encouraging constituents to mobilize on behalf of him. There are two places on his home page encouraging action: the tab on top of the page entitled “Get Involved” and on the right, above the spread entitled “Show Your Support.” Clicking on “Join the Team” brings you to a place where you can sign up to volunteer in several different ways. One that catches my eye is “host a coffee.” I’m curious if this is a small gathering in your home…? ~Parol
Jim Talent’s website is chock full of information. He does a good job of encouraging voters to get involved. On his home page there are links to volunteer (you are provided a form to fill out with contact info - I assume someone will get in touch to enlist volunteer’s help), donate (no longer works on page), & spread the word. Spread the word page has a lengthy letter written by Jim, asking for help. To the right is the “Action Center” where there are again links to “contribute, spread the word, bumper stickers, recruit friends, and resources). What I like most about this site is the link on his main page “Get Involved” that gives you contact information and names of campaign workers in different parts of the state. He makes the campaign very accessible this way. ~Parol
They have a “get involved” tab, where you can choose to Host an event for the candidate. ~Politics
They have a section on their webpage entitled “join team Stabenow” which includes, getting friends involved, and hosting a party. ~Politics
On his website there’s a take action tab where you can become part of the campaign “Road trip for One America” where you can join many supporters in traveling around the country. They had this during the primaries to promote his campaign. ~Politics
You can volunteer to go door to door for his campaign, along with many other volunteer opportunities that he has on his website. ~Politics
His website has a whole list of events that the public can attend and get involved with to promote his campaign throughout the year. ~Politics
is really hitting the ground running in his race for Governor of Virginia. You can get a bumper sticker for your car or tell your friends to support McAuliffe on his website. It even has a useful tool that will download your GMail contacts. ~Scion
has a lot of mobilization options on his website for U.S. Senator. You can write letters to the editors, make phone calls, host fundraisers, etc. I counted at least 22 options. ~Scion
in his campaign for Senate, had a mobilizing option that is very important to campaigns. In addition to volunteering and writing letters, he includes registering to vote. By the way, the form looks iffy. ~Scion
campaign for Congress has options such as hosting house parties and fundraisers. You can also become a member of his rapid response team. ~Scion
has a few options on his website. You can find events join him at or download widgets that track his fundraising. It’s a very weird website-no bio or issue page. ~Scion
Deeds, the underdog candidate in the Democratic primary, lists in his “action center” the option for supporters to “Tell Your Friends,” which allows supporters to mobilize their friends by sending what the campaign calls an “e-Postcard”. The e-Postcard includes links for the recipient to click on and learn about Deeds’ plans for Virginia, but it also allows for the sender to include a personal message. This mobilization method is pretty common for lesser known candidates, and nominally effective. ~Bully
Bill Halter’s website has a “Downloads” page where supporters can “help support Bill Halter by promoting his website”. The page features a blog button and graphics to put on a website or on an e-mail signature that are linked to the campaign website. I like this idea because it engages supporters by allowing them to do something easy that is also effective, particularly because it’s an attractive logo and it can be put on a website or in an e-mail very easily and be very visible to the viewer. ~Bully
Sen. Boxer uses the same method as Creigh Deeds’ campaign and offers a link to “Tell-a-Friend” about her campaign. The page includes an attractive web form with a canned message that allows the sender to add or remove text. The page also features a “Share This” button that allows the sender to link what they’re doing to the sender’s Facebook account. Good way to send e-mails to friends and also reach out to Facebook friends, too. ~Bully
Following Rep. Paul’s failed presidential bid, Campaign for Liberty, his political action committee, was formed. The PAC provides a “Materials” link that includes flyers in PDF format to be printed and distributed. This idea allows supporters to print the forms and get their friends and family involved through distributing these flyers that are about the issues as well as announcements for upcoming events and petitions. Great idea because the typical activist will actually print these out and distribute, and it doesn’t cost the campaign/PAC a dime. ~Bully
FDF is a ballot initiative campaign aimed at ending gerrymandering in Florida following the 2010 census through creating a nonpartisan commission to oversee redistricting. The campaign effectively allows visitors to “Sign a Petition,” but also to print a petition (PDF format) and distribute copies to friends. This is such an important issue, particularly among Democrats right now, that many local parties and activists are taking matters into their own hands by printing these in bulk and getting the necessary 1.2 million petitions signed in order to qualify for the 2010 ballot. ~Bully
They have this page for an I-Team, which is kinda prescient for the entire “iBlah” meme that has emerged over the past 5 years. The page includes links for students, women, and those supporters who would like to volunteers. The page provides practical information for interested supporters to, um, show their support. But, as Napoleon once said, “An army marches on its stomach.” So to, a supporters volunteer with their feet. Providing the info is good; actually getting people to show up is another thing altogether. ~Fatalist
Bad bad bad. On top of the site being so generic it offends owners of beige Volvos, there is no section of the site that attempts to reach out to supporters. I guess the “Services” section serves some sort (alliteration, anyone?) of mobilizing purpose, but it fails in that purpose. It’s evident the Bush-Cheney campaign knew who their supporters were, and knew that the majority were finding ways other than the internet to get mobilized. ~Fatalist
Simple, effective toolbar to “Take Action” on the right of the site. “Join Team Kosmas” seems like a good idea; or, at least, a much better idea than joining Team Van Der Sloot. Join her, and “Party for Change.” ~Fatalist
Generic, ineffective, static. Kinda like Mica himself. SNARK! No, for real for real, how would this site ever mobilize me to get off my couch? I voted for Mica this past election, just like I have every election since 2000, but, I say damn, John, do something with this “ ~Fatalist
Her Exploratory Committee for a potential run for Texas Governor. Very elegant site, with out much fuss and muss. The front page is a blog, and its easy to see the box to become an “Early Supporter” for Kay. It’s not much - you can join a Facebook group! - but I think its a good mobilizing tool; don’t need to get off the couch to voice support. Good on you, Kay. ~Fatalist
Its the gold standard - It allows a subscriber to connect all the forms of media (cellphone internet: blogs, social networking, personal homepages, email) which made call to actions over the internet extremely effective. ~Spartacvs
The subdivision of the website made the ability to communicate with the just the core activists that were willing to be mobilized therefore she was able to target those that were more likely to help no the shotgun approach. the list of 5 things that you can do also allows the un web savy to not get lost. ~Spartacvs
Done things right, the only thing that it builds on other campaigns is that in allows way to include new web tech - twitter etc. ~Spartacvs
Direct action lobying with target issues and online tools to help lobying, grassroots organization, and online networking. ~Spartacvs
running for Colorado governor, has a ”How to Help” page with a link called “Visit the Campaign Shop” where you can buy campaign gear such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and stickers. You can even tell a friend about the merchandice. ~What I think
Maryland governor, has lots of examples of mobilizing, including a “Take Action” page in which you can Share Your Opinion on the Legislative Agenda, Write to Your Legislators, Send a Letter to the Editor, Write to Congress, or Invite Your Friends to participate. He also has an option to share all of his blog entries and download two brochures: “Steady Progess for Maryland” and “The O’Malley-Brown Two-Year Status Report.” ~What I think
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick,
despite his weird looking website, has an interesting tool called “My Issue.” To use this tool, an individual creates an account, creates an issue, and then organizes supporters around the issue. Some of the most popular issues are listed as links at the bottom of the page. You have a chance to email the coordinator of that issue and even see the names of people who have voted for it. ~What I think
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch
lets you see a whole list of mobilizing opportunities right on the home page such as telling five friends, writing a letter to the editor, getting a lawn sign, or creating a fundraising page. ~What I think
has a Downloads page where you can find web buttons, wallpaper, PDF flyers, and buddy icons. ~What I think
Mitt Romney for President site. On the home page of this site a rolling ad scrolls through four different graphics. Three out of these four are mobilizing examples on this site. The first example is really interesting, it’s titled “Team Mitt: Create Your Own Ad.” Basically this option on his site allows voters to not only create and submit their own political advertisement for Romney but they also have the option of editing one of his past ads and explaining why they’re making the changes. The next example is “Rally for Romney” which allows voters to participate in a grassroots effort to rally support for Mitt. The last example is an option for voters to purchase a bumper sticker for their cars to display their “Surge of Support FOR our Troops.” Apparently this money goes to the troops but at the same time its a great way to get voters to put Romney’s name on their car while still supporting the troops. ~Wordprezz
Bill Richardson’s website for president includes an action center tab at the top of the site with many ways to help mobilize voters. Some examples are find a friend, find a group, find an event, plan an event, and Richardson even has the option to make a reoccurring contribution to his campaign. Interested in campaigning for Bill Richardson? Sign up to be a “Richardson Roadrunner,” and hit the road for Bill! On this link voters can track the progress of the candidate, sign up to walk in different states and keep up to date on the progress by participating in the Roadrunner’s Blog. ~Wordprezz
Florida Congresswoman Ileana has some interesting mobilizing techniques on her website. The Congresswoman displays some of the typical options on her site including joining her on every popular social network possible but she also has some unique options as well. Under her “Action Center” tab, voters can watch videos of the Congresswoman and join her on the net, however there is also the “download” center option. Some exciting options in the download center include a sweet desktop collage wallpaper that voters can download and apply to their desktop,
… Also voters can add a picture of the Congress woman to their MySpace or Facebook Profile by copying and pasting a code…. Not quite sure why she picked this black and white photo or why she picked the brown and yellow logo but I decided to add it to my blog (not facebook profile) just for fun.
~Wordprezz
Florida Congressman Bill Young’s site doesn’t have all the up-to-date, new, exciting options to visit him on facebook, twitter and flickr, however…. you can sign up with the Congressman to send your friends and family an official Congressman Bill Young E-Card. You can even personalize the card. Young’s site suggests you say something to the effect of, “Hi Karen, its Beverly, just wanted to remind you to vote on November 4th, and when you do I hope that you will vote for Congressman Bill Young” Young’s site even gives voters the option of having Bill Young postcards mailed to them, if sending an E-Card is too difficult. Additionally, Young’s site has a link to his Campaign Brochure for voters to read and perhaps even print and distributed to their friends if they’d like. The brochure has several quotes from the Congressman and a map of his district with pin points to everywhere Young has had “a positive impact.”
Campaign brochure: http://www.congressmanbillyoung.com/images/BillYoungBrochure.pdf ~Wordprezz
Florida Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart doesn’t just have quotes from local voters or local newspapers supporting him, he actually has YouTube videos of supporters that you can watch on his site. Voters can also sign up to receive a bumper sticker or yard sign and clicking on “Tell a Friend” allows voters to send an email to their friends about Lincoln. The last field on the Tell a Friend screen allows the voters to fill in a “Personal Message,” however don’t worry if you aren’t sure what to say…. the personal message box is already filled out for you complete will four helpful ways to get involved in the campaign. ~Wordprezz
This site is the best example I saw of mobilization. On the main page it gives very specific options in the take action box to mobilize people. It also provides other sites on which to interact with the campaign. ~You Know?
The site is a good example of mobilizing because it incorporates several means of communication. The “quick subscribe” box and the large icons at the top of the main page are the first things you are presented with. There is direct contact information provided, and you can also connect with Connie using other sites. These things all mobilize people to interact with the campaign. ~You Know?
This site is good for mobilization- the splash page even says, “Enter your email address for updates and action alerts.” It provides the right amount of information and opportunities for interaction necessary to mobilize the site visitor. ~You Know?
Although the home page currently offers little in terms of interaction beyond email sign-up, the site overall has many options for mobilization. Visitors can link to register to vote, contribute, contact, and interact through social networking sites. There are also blogs, which mean user driven content. ~You Know?
Bush’s site for 2002 is a good example of mobilizing, especially for seven years ago. Beyond the usual email sign-up, volunteering, contributing, etc. this site has the option to “Join a Coalition” which is an interesting way for site visitors to be able to interact with others like them who are in favor of the candidate. ~You Know?
Mar 24th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
http://www.barackobama.com
Its the gold standard - It allows a subscriber to connect all the forms of media (cellphone internet: blogs, social netwoking, personal homepages, email) which amde call to actions over the internet extrmely effective.
HillaryClinton.com
the subdivision of the website made the ability to communicate with the just the core activists that were willling to be mobilized therefore she was able to target theose that were more likly to help no the shotgun aproach. the list of 5 things that you can do also alows the un web savy to not get lost.
DanGelber.com
Done things right, the only thing that it builds on other campaings is that in allows way to include new web tech - twitter etc.
MoveOn.org
Direct action lobying with target issues and online tools to help lobying, grassroots organization, and online networking.
many other are just as good but nothing new to contibute