Crossing the River: The Coming of Age of the Internet in Politics and Advocacy

By Karen A.B. Jagoda

The political process is seeing the impact of disruptive technologies that are leading to dramatic changes in the marketplace of ideas and action. Crossing the River: The Coming of Age of the Internet in Politics and Advocacy, Karen A.B. Jagoda, Editor, documents how attitudes changed about the convergence of the Internet and politics from 1998 through the 2004 election.

Until only recently, the Internet played no role in campaigns as television advertising, direct mail and phone banks took the vast majority of campaign budget dollars. By 2004, candidates effectively used Internet tools for fundraising, persuasion, and mobilization.

The focus of this collection of provocative essays and research from a broad range of leading political online strategists and Republican and Democratic insiders is on the most effective use of online tools in order to better allocate valuable campaign resources.

Candidates, political strategists, campaign mangers, media planners and buyers, fundraisers, grassroots organizers, public affairs experts, Web publishers, political scientists, and entrepreneurs will gain insights into this new political landscape through the lessons learned and predictions from some of the political and advocacy online pioneers of the 21st Century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 2, 2005
• ISBN: 9781462812653

Karen A.B. Jagoda

Karen A.B. Jagoda is Founder and President of E-Voter Institute, a trade association representing Web publishers and political solution providers. Formed in 1999, E-Voter Institute grew out of work on E-Voter 98, a ground -breaking case study measuring the impact of online advertising for political candidates. E-Voter Institute conducts research on the convergence of the Internet and politics, and encourages bipartisan discussion in order to strengthen the fabric of our democracy. Contributors to this collection of provocative and informative essays include leading political online strategists and Republican and Democratic insiders who share lessons learned and predictions for the future.

Book preview

CROSSING THE RIVER

The Coming of Age of the Internet in

Politics and Advocacy

Karen A.B. Jagoda

Editor

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e-voterinstitute.com

Copyright © 2005 by Karen A.B. Jagoda.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones

PART I Election 2004: Internet Enters the Mainstream

CHAPTER 1 In Search of the Killer App

CHAPTER 2 E-Voter Institute Fourth Annual Survey Results

CHAPTER 3 Political Marriage: New and Old Media

CHAPTER 4 Impact of Political Online Ads: A BURST! Media Survey

CHAPTER 5 Side Effects

CHAPTER 6 DNC Online Fundraising

CHAPTER 7 What John Kerry Taught Us about Online Advertising

CHAPTER 8 ‘04 Political Lessons Learned From the Internet

CHAPTER 9 Paid Search and Local Online Political Advertising

CHAPTER 10 Online Advertising: An Insider’s View

CHAPTER 11 A New Style of TV Commercial That is Perfect for the Web

CHAPTER 12 Distributed Campaigning The Untold Story of Political Technology in 2004

CHAPTER 13 The Net Effect on Political Activism

CHAPTER 14 Coming to America’s Inboxes: Politics People Look Forward To

CHAPTER 15 What Happened?

CHAPTER 16 Online Swears In

CHAPTER 17 Barbarians at the Gate

PART II Election 1998: In Search of Evidence

CHAPTER 18 Preface to E-Voter ‘98

CHAPTER 19 Foreword to E-Voter ‘98

CHAPTER 20 E-Voter ‘98 Major Goals and Findings

CHAPTER 21 The Broader Implications

CHAPTER 22 The New Media Promise: One-to-One Communication

CHAPTER 23 Cyber Politics and Arm Twisting

PART III Election 2000: Measuring the Effectiveness of the Internet

CHAPTER 24 Rules of Democracy and the Myth of the One-Day Sale

CHAPTER 25 Expectations

CHAPTER 26 Online Communication Tools

CHAPTER 27 Political Advertising Study

CHAPTER 28 Online Advertising Campaign

CHAPTER 29 Integration and Interactivity Interview with Ben Green Gore 2000

CHAPTER 30 Changing Political Communications Interview with Max Fose McCain 2000

CHAPTER 31 In Search of the Golden Spike Interview with Tim Vickey Bush 2000

CHAPTER 32 Follow the Money Interview with Lynn Reed Bradley 2000

CHAPTER 33 The Internet as Magnifying Glass Interview with Robert Arena RNC 2000

CHAPTER 34 MoveOn.Org: Issue Campaigns Interview with Jonah Seiger

CHAPTER 35 An Insider’s View Interview with the Honorable Patricia Schroeder

CHAPTER 36 Campaign Media Is Not Just the News

CHAPTER 37 Ten Years from Now

CHAPTER 38 What the Future Holds

PART IV 2001: Assessing the Impact

CHAPTER 39 Introduction to E-Voter 2001

CHAPTER 40 Executive Summary E-Voter Surveys

CHAPTER 41 Traditional Politicos and the Internet

CHAPTER 42 A Case Study

CHAPTER 43 UK 2001

CHAPTER 44 Internet Action Items for Candidates and Strategists 2002/2004

PART V Election 2002: Where the Internet and Politics Meet

CHAPTER 45 Introduction and Executive Summary E-Voter 2002

CHAPTER 46 Second Annual E-Voter Survey of Political and Advocacy Communication Leaders Summary

CHAPTER 47 Embracing Change in Political Campaigning

CHAPTER 48 2002: The Year of Drive-by Democracy

CHAPTER 49 The Arizona Story Interview with Bill Caspare, DB Associates

CHAPTER 50 E-GOP Unplugged on the Bayou: SuzieTerrell.com Failed Republicans

CHAPTER 51 Campaign Finance Reform and the Internet: Real-World Impact

CHAPTER 52 DigitalPower 2002

CHAPTER 53 Coming to a Theatre Near You: The Political Relevance of the Hollywood Online Ad Experience

CHAPTER 54 The New Rules for Winning Campaigns

CHAPTER 55 Vote for Me! I’m the E-Candidate

CHAPTER 56 Campaigning on the Internet: The Need to Uncork Creativity

CHAPTER 57 Emerging Democracies and Their Use of the Internet

CHAPTER 58 Online Global Poll: A Bold Experiment in E-Democracy

CHAPTER 59 Freedom’s Answer—Engaging Our Young

PART VI 2003 ShakeUp, MakeWaves, and PressOn

CHAPTER 60 Introduction and Overview to E-Voter 2003

CHAPTER 61 Third Annual E-Voter Survey Summary July 28-September 12, 2003

CHAPTER 62 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, You’ll Get an E-Mail

CHAPTER 63 Internet Influence Must Be Extended in Election Process

CHAPTER 64 Crossing the Campaign Divide: Dean Changes the Election Game

CHAPTER 65 The History of the Gray Davis Recall

CHAPTER 66 The Impact of Campaign Finance Reform on Internet Advertising

CHAPTER 67 Coming Soon to a Computer Near You: Gigabytes of Politicking

CHAPTER 68 Hunting Buffalo: Finding New Enthusiasts in their Natural Environment

CHAPTER 69 Tapping Into Online Power Users for Political Profit

CHAPTER 70 New Methods for 2004: Changing the Approach to Online Political Ad Sales

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

DEDICATION

In memory of David Nyhan

FOREWORD

Raoul Bhavnani

Westhill Partners

This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.

—Western Union internal memo, 1876

Transmission of documents via telephone wires is possible in principle, but the apparatus required is so expensive that it will never become a practical proposition.

—Dennis Gabor, Inventing the Future, 1962.

Our original goal was to better understand whether or not online banner advertising is effective.

—E-Voter ‘98

What a difference a few short years make.

In 2004, we saw, without doubt, the emergence of the Internet from the shadowy backwaters of the political process. In 2004, the Internet stepped onto center stage and was greeted with thunderous applause. In 2004, we saw the promise of greater democratic involvement realized through e-mail campaigns, candidate Web sites, blogs, chat rooms, and message boards. This year, a campaign Web site was no longer a quirky tool that only technology-savvy candidates employed. This year, it was a primary message vehicle for leading candidates in a U.S. presidential race.

There are still skeptics, and there are still problems with this medium, to be certain. But because of DeanforAmerica.com, MoveOn.org, GeorgeWBush.com, JohnKerry.com, DailyKos.com, JibJab.com, and thousands of other sites, the medium has emerged as a powerful, viable vehicle to inform and engage the public.

These wonderful sites and their talented architects did not, however, take the place of message, candidate, or other media. What they did show was that democracy can be reinvigorated and redistributed if opened to the public through the Internet.

What a difference a year makes.

In the report you have in your hands, you will get the real stories behind why 2004 was

THE YEAR

for the Internet in politics. Due to the exceptionally hard work of Karen Jagoda of the E-Voter Institute and the dozens of other practitioners who contributed to this study, you will read—in black and white—why this medium has arrived and why it must be reckoned with.

For all you remaining skeptics out there—get over it and get on with it; a new era is upon us.

INTRODUCTION

Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones

Karen A. B. Jagoda

President

E-Voter Institute

The first phase of the convergence of the Internet and politics has ended. No longer is the question should online tools be used in political campaigns, but rather, how to use them most effectively. In just three presidential cycles, we have seen a dramatic shift from the political establishment’s dismissal of Internet technology to wide acceptance of the Internet as an essential tool in campaigns at the national, state, and local levels.

The application of Internet technology to campaigning has taken some surprising turns. Online fundraising proved remarkably effective, particularly with those who are not seen as traditional contributors. E-mail and grassroots organizing tools enhanced by the Internet quickly mobilized the loyal base as well as younger voters. Blogs provided a new channel for political junkies and those with a need to know and to express their own views. Online ads were shown to be persuasive and broadly used by both Republicans and Democrats. Advertising in the blogosphere became another way to reach likely voters.

We are starting to see deep implications for technology that allows interactivity in an age of media fragmentation and expectations for instant gratification. Change has been rapid and it has been challenging to determine the most effective techniques and advisors for a particular campaign. Lessons learned by traditional commercial advertisers have started to influence the advocacy and political strategists who control television and direct-mail budgets. Internet advisors are now included in campaign budget discussions.

The political process is experiencing the impact of disruptive technologies that are leading to disintermediation in the marketplace of ideas much as the commercial world saw with the introduction of Amazon.com many years ago. The rate of change will accelerate as more people come of voting age already comfortable with the technology. The bloggers who left a mark on the 2004 election are here to stay.

This book focuses on data and analysis from insiders on how political and advocacy campaigns have used the Internet. It is the intent of the publication to document what has taken place over the last six years and how attitudes have changed about the convergence of the Internet and politics. A dozen areas of interest emerged from the research and essays that are contained here:

1. Use of the Internet

Voters use the Internet to research candidates and issues, contribute money, and have their own voices heard—individually and in groups. Generally, all candidates were expected to have at least a Web site, including the ability to receive online contributions. Not only were potential voters looking for position papers, they were looking to be entertained with repurposed television commercials, games, clever animation, opportunities to buy campaign-related items, and ways to interact with the campaign. In particular, interactive games, while often humorous, were also used to register new voters, raise funds, and turn out the vote. Journalists used candidate sites, as did the competition, to stay current with campaign activities. Geography mattered less as virtual communities formed to support and debate candidates and causes.

2. The Media Evolves

Media habits are clearly changing, and the dependence on traditional media as the primary method to communicate with voters has been challenged. Fragmentation created by multiple media sources, convergence of media typified by online radio, and multitasking have changed the landscape, making media buyers more uncertain about where to get the most bang for the buck. Interest in printed political signs and bumper stickers was at an all-time high in states with tight races as individuals took to ordering signs online in addition to downloading and printing material themselves. Polling is becoming less accurate in part because of the diverse media and the dramatic increase in the number of people with only a cell phone. Extensive implementation of Internet broadband access has changed the expectations of voters for audio and video messages.

3. Online Fundraising Expands

Campaigns and committees found that online fundraising was effective and cheaper than traditional models of outreach. Though the average amount might have been less than the top donors would traditionally send by check, many new contributors found the Internet a convenient way to participate. It is uncertain how much of this participation turned into votes. What is known is that online ads were very persuasive for increasing intention to donate,

especially when the ads were seen on popular Web sites and at times when voters were most receptive to the message.

4. The Growth of Money in Politics

We predicted in 2003 that despite campaign finance reform that banned corporations and unions from giving soft money to national political parties, big money would find a way into the political system. In 2004, an estimated $386 million was poured into federal elections by 527s, partisan organizations named after the tax code under which they fall. Another $384 million was contributed to political action committees—33 percent more than four years ago, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Not only was 2004 the most expensive election cycle in history, but also new channels were created for giving. Many of these organizations used online ads for persuasion and raising money, as well as e-mail appeals.

5. The Rules of Engagement Are Changing

The nature of advertising is changing—Internet ads have broken the rules of engagement and television ads have become more Internet-like. Does humor work better than negative ads? In 2004, we saw plenty of both online. There is also ample evidence that Internet ads are persuasive even if viewers do not click through to the candidate’s Web site. According to December 2004 research from Dynamic Logic, online ads using audio and video increase awareness by 10 percent over standard online ad formats. Traditional television ads were shown on candidate Web sites for the benefit of journalists and voters but never shown on broadcast or cable television.

6. Political Online Advertising Lags Behind Ad Industry Average

Of the estimated $1.75 billion spent on political advertising in 2004, approximately $15 million (nearly 1 percent) was spent for online advertising as measured by TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG. A total $3.9 billion was spent overall for the presidential and congressional races of 2004 according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Total online advertising in 2004 was $9.4 billion, representing approximately 3 to 5 percent of all advertising budgets. Internet advertising is expected to grow by 25 percent in 2005 while network television is expected to grow by 2 percent, according to Universal McCann. Political online advertising has grown significantly from just eight years ago but with only 1 percent of the political ad budgets going to online, there is further evidence that political strategists and media planners are lagging behind their counterparts in commercial communications.

The relatively slow acceptance of political and advocacy online ads is due in part to the complexity of the media buy. Ads are required in multiple formats, and it is a challenge to determine the best placement for them. At the same time, prime advertising inventory on leading sites continues to go up in price and down in availability as more traditional advertisers with big ad budgets switch their ad dollars to online. There is convincing evidence that the online ads were persuasive and could significantly influence voters to feel more favorable about a candidate.

7. Increase in Early Voting

Across the country, nearly 20 percent of the votes were cast before Election Day November 2, 2004. The majority used voting machines set up at convenient locations weeks before the election, while hundreds of thousands used absentee mail-in ballots that are increasingly being encouraged in many states. Money spent reaching those voters after they had voted was wasted. The idea of the election being a one-day event is morphing into a season for voting, which severely challenges a media buyer’s plan and increases the value of data mining, tracking, and targeting.

8. Blogging Goes Mainstream

Blogs—nerds in pajamas or the new journalism? Bloggers created a new class of engaged citizens and a way for the likeminded to find each other online in personality-driven Web sites. Celebrity-commentator blogs were promoted on broadcast and cable news shows. People found blogs often by using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) that also allowed them to create their own blogs.

While blogs have been developing for years as provocative places on the Internet, this year, the political scene inspired new uses for the technology. Just as Meetup.com was originally intended to bring together Chihuahua owners, so were blogs first used for underground rants on popular culture. Traditional marketers did learn a great deal from the growth of political blogs in 2004, particularly the need to monitor them for propaganda and about the potential for advertising on them. In 2004, blogs went from edgy to mainstream.

9. E-Mail Use Expands and Faces New Challenges

E-mail newsletters, spam messages, and other direct mail-like activities were targeted to likely voters based on geographic and lifestyle characteristics. The cost-effective nature of the online world convinced the direct-mail people to at least spend part of the budget on Internet appeals. Many attempted to mix emails with phone calls and direct mail to further drive home the message. Rich media messages with color, animation, sound, and invitations to enter data were increasingly the norm, a direct result of the proliferation of broadband across America. Voters spent more time engaged with rich media online ads, further eroding the unique position of television for sound and motion.

Many of these messages were sent to others in what became strong viral campaigns beyond the control of the candidate. Privacy issues and concerns about spam rose to new levels, while at the same time, techniques were introduced to combat the abuses and citizens became more comfortable with privacy invasions in the name of security protection.

10. Database Mining Targets Likely Voters

Convergence of database tools, handheld devices, the Internet, and wireless communications created the first truly useful virtual campaign headquarters with tools for volunteers, campaign managers, contributors, and journalists. Many bells and whistles were part of the emerging solutions. Perhaps the most interesting allowed for matching voter files with other data and getting that information into the hands of people who went door to door showing electronic ads to voters on their handheld devices.

11. Targeting Becomes More Sophisticated

On the crucial matter of finding likely voters, micro-targeting and behavioral targeting became the name of the game. In an effort to find relevancy for the ad message, many campaigns turned to ads on search engines and blogs as ways to find a narrow but loyal base of voters. In the advertising world, data shows that relevancy to the mindset of the viewer, in large part, determines the effectiveness of the message. Increasingly, the Internet illustrates the inefficiencies of television advertising, in addition to the mass reach and frequency that makes TV so powerful. Neuroscientists have begun studying how different images can stimulate the brain in ways that might be useful in a political context for targeting specific messages to the most receptive people.

12. The Good Guys and the Bad Guys All Have Access to the Internet

Both Republicans and Democrats used online advertising, blogs, e-mail alerts, and wireless messaging to raise money, mobilize the base, recruit new voters, and win races. While the Internet was becoming a key element in electoral politics, it was also increasingly used by terrorists, freedom fighters, insurgents, and assorted bad guys to recruit and mobilize followers and to post horrific pictures for worldwide consumption to persuade and gain support. The technology is a tool for good and evil and, like all media, can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

This book is not intended to be a complete survey of all online political and advocacy activities but rather a window into the history of early developments and guide to the key emerging elements in the political and public affairs landscape. Our goal is to stimulate debate, promote the use of the Internet, encourage experimentation with cross-media optimization strategies, and help those who are crossing the frontier to better convince the uninitiated.

To that end, also included are highlights from the previous research conducted by E- Voter Institute from 1998-2003. Our groundbreaking E-Voter ‘98 Study was a beginning point along this rocky journey.

Thanks to the contributors who made this book possible. Many of these pioneers and homesteaders in this new territory are taking bold steps to make their businesses even more vital in the next election. They have learned some tough lessons working for winning and as well as unsuccessful candidates and causes.

We all hope to stimulate an interest in using Internet tools for fundraising, persuasion, and mobilization in order to promote a more robust and inclusive democracy.

Karen Jagoda is president of E-Voter Institute. Jagoda and Nick Nyhan, president, Dynamic Logic, founded E-Voter Institute in 1999.

PART I

Election 2004: Internet Enters the Mainstream

CHAPTER 1

In Search of the Killer App

Jason Linde

For years, Web true believers (netizens?) searched in vain to justify their faith in the next big medium. On campaigns, these die-hard souls were often found or relegated to doing research where they could surf to their heart‘s delight, finding new and intriguing facts that might catch the campaign manager or the candidate‘s attention.

Every so often, I would venture there, deep into the bowels of the headquarters and stepping over the clutter of Jolt cans, I would hope to find a specific vote or resolution that we could tie our opponent to and sink him deep into the waters of political oblivion.

After getting what I needed from our research team, I would take care of pressing matters and then return to thank them for their hard work. We would share a few words about our latest hit, and then, it happened . . .

In a jumble of excitement, the words would come flailing out of their mouths . . . A new kind of campaign is coming.

You won’t have to spend two-thirds of the budget on TV ads.

And my all-time favorite . . .

The Web is going to change everything.

When these electronic preachers mounted their imaginary soapboxes and began to proselytize on behalf of their cause, I mumbled something about checking the budget and turned away.

Just wait, I heard one of them call, just wait. And wait we did.

In the mid to late nineties, we all waited.

Political consultants waited to see how the Web would revolutionize campaigns. We waited for the killer app because we weren’t about ready to divvy up hard-earned campaign cash and place a heavy wager on the Web. We couldn’t imagine trying to convince our congressional candidates that our Web site was something more than a twenty-four-hour electronic billboard posted on an isolated highway in cyberspace.

And we were surprised when we heard the symbol of generations past, Bob Dole, mutter his Web address during a debate with President Clinton.

Then, other cracks of light began to break through the foundation of our Old World notions. Senator McCain used his Web site to raise millions after handily beating then Governor Bush in New Hampshire. For the Democrats, former Sen. Bill Bradley turned his Web site into Ticketmaster, selling seats to his Madison Square Garden fundraiser featuring basketball greats Dave DeBusschere, Dr. J., and Walt Frazier.

After 2000, we were willing to concede that the Web could help campaigns raise money. All right, thought managers everywhere, we’ll have to include some of the cost of the Web site in our fundraising budget. But it’s not going to eat up part of the money reserved for TV ads.

On this point, I believed, there could be no negotiation. My Web friends continued to warn me to proceed with an open mind and, perhaps, loosen my tightfisted grip on the campaign purse strings to experiment—but I wouldn’t budge.

I remained a skeptic.

There were fundamental differences why using TV and radio (conventional paid media) made more political and financial sense than using the Web to persuade voters. The first was connectivity. So many persuadable voters didn’t appear to be online. My attitude changed abruptly when my aunt from Hosmer, South Dakota, regularly emailed me about the Thune-Johnson battle in 2002, describing the battle and ways the campaigns were using the Web to reach out to rural voters. Hosmer, by the way, has 287 residents.

The second and more pressing reason was that TV and radio ads were what I dubbed an „aggressive media, whereas the Web was „passive. As a political consultant, I knew if our campaign bought enough gross-rating points on conventional media that eventually our target voters would see or hear our spots and our message would get burned in. Conventional paid media was dynamic; it found the voters whether or not they wanted to receive the information.

For voters to receive the information online, they had to work. They had to turn on the computer, wait for it to boot up, search and find the Web site, read and then evaluate the information before checking other sites. I know voters are busy, and I doubted that they would spend the time looking for this information.

The mist of uncertainty regarding persuading undecided voters using the Web was burned away with the 2004 campaign. During the last cycle, we saw voters interact with campaigns and candidates using blogs. I watched as they posted questions, demanded answers, and sought the very information I once believed they didn‘t have time to find. No longer content to wade into the campaign until Election Day, I saw undecided voters using the Web to hold candidates accountable.

And lo, I realized the glorious promise of the Web was fulfilled.

For we had found the killer app . . .

No, it wasn‘t streaming ads or organizing online. It was something much more basic and profound.

Transactivity.

We went from the monologue model of communicating with voters where campaigns sat on the message mountaintop and dictated the terms of the debate to the voters to a dialogue between some of the voters and the campaigns.

This dialogue or transaction between the voter and campaign helped reignite our passion for democracy, and combined with the contentious presidential campaign and the debate over Iraq, we saw more and more voters take to the Net to get information and get involved.

So where does that leave us now? Is the Web better at communicating with the base or persuading undecideds?

Just like the other media, the answer is that it does both.

Intriguing and interesting TV and radio ads have fired up the base in previous elections, causing them to invest themselves in a campaign by contributing, writing a letter to the editor, or volunteering at the phone bank.

Likewise, online persuasion activities, when encountered by a supporter, reaffirms the notion that something is going on at the campaign and that this team cares about winning because they expanded their campaign to the Web.

As we have seen in recent studies, more and more voters are turning to the Web as their primary source of information, whether it is their Yahoo! home page giving them the day‘s news or reading about the antics of a controversial Hollywood starlet; these voters need to be engaged online.

Furthermore, because the Web is a transactional medium allowing for correspondence and relationships to be built with a campaign or among a virtual community, it behooves a campaign to begin asking questions to start the conversation with these voters. Once they are engaged on issues they care about, like the skyrocketing costs of property taxes, they will become more likely to trust you and your campaign. It is a simple rule: Conversation precedes commitment, but it is up to the campaign to start the dialogue.

The next landmark for using the Web as a persuasion tool will take place during the 2006 campaigns. Managers and consultants will need to dedicate the resources necessary to provoke, stimulate, and maintain conversations with voters. Only then will our friends formerly relegated to the backroom truly enjoy a seat at the decision-making table.

CHAPTER 2

E-Voter Institute Fourth Annual Survey of Political and

Advocacy Communication Leaders

Sean A. Cain

University of California, San Diego

Background

The E-Voter Institute Fourth Annual Survey of Political and Advocacy Communication Leaders was conducted from August 2004 to September 2004. Survey respondents were recruited through the following sources:

• American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC)

• Campaigns and Elections Magazine

• MSN/Slate

• NationalJournal.com

• NYTimes.com

• PoliticsOnline

• USATODAY.com

• Washingtonpost.com

The 531 survey respondents received no incentive for their answers, nor were the sites paid for promoting the survey. As in previous years, the 2004 survey was designed, hosted, and tabulated by Dynamic Logic. Sean Cain, doctoral student in political science at the University of California, San Diego, conducted the analysis.

The E-Voter Institute is a nonpartisan trade association representing Web publishers and solution providers. The mission of the institute is to accelerate the use of the Internet for political and advocacy communication in order to promote a more robust democracy.

Summary of Key Findings

1. Reduced hesitations about using the Internet

Compared to the prior two years of the E-Voter survey, respondents in 2004 have allayed most of their hesitations about using the Internet as a political campaigning tool, as the proportion of those with no hesitations whatsoever about the Internet rose by 147 percent from 2003. At the same time, they now perceive the Internet to be both a reach medium and a targetable medium.

2 The Internet has entered the mainstream

Over the past three years, campaign professionals have found the Internet increasingly effective for some of the major activities of modern campaigning—fundraising, get- out-the-vote efforts, and reaching likely and swing voters. From 2001 to 2004, the number of respondents who consider the Internet effective for targeting likely voters rose by 20 percent and for targeting swing voters rose by 27 percent. Campaigns actively bought online advertising targeted to specific types of voters and placed ads on Web sites that appeal to traditional demographics—namely women and the young—as well as on newspaper and broadcast media sites.

3. Republicans focus on actively advertising, Democrats spend more online

Contrary to the popular perception that Democratic candidates and causes are more actively engaged in campaigning online, respondents who work for Republican candidates report having more say over the decisions to advertise online than those who work for Democrats. These Republican consultants were 31 percent more likely to recommend and provide Internet advertising than those who work for Democrats. However, when Democrats did spend online, they devoted a greater percentage of their campaign funds online than Republicans.

4. Top decision makers still not enthusiastic about the Internet

Campaign managers are ambivalent about the use of the Internet for campaigning. They claim to have the most influence of any surveyed occupation over decisions whether to buy online ads, yet they are amongst the least enthusiastic about the effectiveness of online advertising for reaching and persuading voters. In comparison to other respondents’ occupations, the proportion of campaign managers who perceive the Internet effective for reaching all audiences was 67 percent as large as media consultants, and only 44 percent as large as Internet and technology consultants.

5. New field emerging for online political consultants?

The survey results raise questions whether online campaign consulting is emerging as it’s