Dialsmith

It’s essential to test your message (in all its iterations) outside the echo chamber of your campaign team. They aren’t your audience. They already (probably) agree with you, and they (obviously) support you, and they (likely) could be inclined to tell you what they think you want to hear.

Image courtesy of ABC News

Testing a political message can seem quaint in an age that’s dispensed with the luxury of unexpressed (unposted, un-X-ed, un-texted) thoughts. Not to mention a news cycle with the briefest of attention spans. But if you’re building your political career, you need to figure out how to communicate what you stand for in ways that resonate with voters. And if you’re launching a re-election campaign, you need to make sure your messaging hasn’t become irrelevant, or, even worse, out of touch.

It’s essential to test your message (in all its iterations) outside the echo chamber of your campaign team. They aren’t your audience. They already (probably) agree with you, and they (obviously) support you, and they (likely) could be inclined to tell you what they think you want to hear. So test your message in front of your audience.

The prologue to the testing process is crafting a great message—or at least an outline of it. You’re running for a reason—what is it? Who are you? What do you believe—what are your non-negotiables? What’s the fire in your bones?

You’re willing to be a public figure, sacrifice privacy, open up your life and finances to public scrutiny and the meanness. What do you have to offer voters? What’s the mission that transcends all the negatives?

Your message should flow from that. This seems obvious, but it’s incredibly important. No amount of message refinement can impart core values. Or sincerity. Your philosophy will inform your attitudes toward the issues: the current ones, the campaign surprises, and the policy decisions of elected office. Have a solid, reasoned basis for those decisions. Then take this thing you believe, this passion you have, and give it form. Have a line that sums up what you stand for that’s easy to say, easy to remember, easy to expand upon. Play with words, bat around ideas with family and friends, and sure, bring in professional teams.

Here are five proven ways to test your message, both in the building process and after you have something closer to a finished product.

1. Start by talking to friendly audiences and ask for feedback. Your family, friends, and close associates form a natural, informal focus group. Explain to them what you want to say and ask what they think. This forces you to articulate your message and see reactions to it. You can begin to see what works, and get a sense of what kinds of questions come up.
2. In-depth interviews. A moderator can conduct a series of one-on-one interviews with people in your target audience to see and probe reactions to pieces of your message. This is incredibly useful, especially in the crafting stage; conversations with objective outsiders consistently provide insights that you and your team can’t.
3. Focus groups. A moderator tests your message in front of a larger group. This is classic political message refinement. “It’s been focus-grouped.” So classic it’s been verbed.
4. Another public opinion research go-to, polling is the quantitative research side of message testing. This is you putting a number to favorable/unfavorable reactions to your message.
5. Dial tests. A dial-test focus group involves presenting your message (usually in video form) to a group that records their moment-to-moment reactions with handheld dials, enabling you and your team to see exactly which parts of your message are fantastic, meh, or cringe-inducing. If it’s set up as a point-counterpoint debate, you can see how you fare against attacks. You will be surprised at the what works and what tanks. Our clients always are. You can dial test things online as well—useful especially later in the campaign, when you need to respond swiftly to attack ads.

Don’t forget to include these things in your messaging:

• Your bio. The things people need to know to be persuaded that they can entrust this job to you.
• Stories that resonate. Fill your quiver with them, and practice telling them.
• Speeches targeted at your constituents.
• Answers to potential questions, especially the ones you hope no one asks.

Good luck on the campaign trail! If you need assistance, please reach out. We’d love to help you find the perfect tone.