Campaign Recommendations Memo

To: The Smith Campaign

From: Luona Li
Date: March 24, 2017
Re: Advice regarding 2016 Presidential Election

Your campaign Mr. Smith has hired me to be a campaign consultant for

your 2016 Presidential bid. I have spent much time on your behalf gathering
information regarding the 2012Presidential election. The information I have
gathered pertains to the effectiveness of both parties, their strengths, and
weaknesses. I have looked over video commercials for both Republican, and
Democrat, and formatted a chart for your convenience. I also have an
analysis for your campaign regarding the use of social media for both parties.
I have also put together for your camp an Excel chart regarding statistics for
two swing states. I have a few suggestions for my research that I hope prove
useful for the campaign below.

Analysis of Campaign Videos:

My analysis of the videos for the Obama and Romney campaigns of 2012
showed my interesting tactics from both parties. President Obamas re-
election campaign videos most of the time had him addressing the public
directly. What I mean is instead of just hearing the Presidents voice you see
him on screen speaking directly to the camera, and in turn to the audience. I
would recommend this for possibly your campaign it shows that the candidate
is trying to convey the message that he has nothing to hide. Head dressed the
accusations of the other party directly he also used the celebrity factor. He
had a previous President, President Clinton speaks on his behalf, and for the
Democratic Party. He tried to bring what some people would consider an
expert in politics to the table since Mr.Clinton held the Presidential office
before.
Most of the time his attacks on the Republican Party were second to his
message from the videos I reviewed. This is good he is not taking his lead
from the other party he has his agenda that he is bringing across first. Do not
get me wrong he tried in every video to undermine the Republican Parties
agenda. However, the way he went about it was direct and subtle and in a
less negative way. Most of the videos had a message that was weaved
throughout the entire videos one of prosperity. He tried to convey that
choosing him for re-election would lead to jobs that paid better and were
considered admirable. I would try this for your campaign throughout your
videos use a positive message to reinforce your message through positive
images, uplifting music as well. That was another thing the music throughout
was one of a relaxed uplifting nature it helps set the tone for the candidate's
platform.
For the Romney campaign videos that I viewed I saw some positive
attributes that your campaign could use, and other tactics I would suggest you
might want to steer clear.There was one video that I thought pointed out well
the hypocrisy that can be prevalent in politics. The video for the Romney
campaign the gives me a broken video highlighted a time, and place where
President Clinton looks to be speaking about President Obama in a very
negative way. So this directly undermines the positive comments President
Clinton was making in regards to President Obama in the Democratic video. It
does highlight the double talking and makes the audience wonder if the party
has all its ducks in a row so to speak. You could use this tactic but in an
understated way do not make the entire video all about the other party. You
want to get your point across in a positive manner as well in the video, touch
on a point address it, and move on. You only have seconds to get your parties
message you do not want to spend the entire video talking about the other
parties platform highlight positive things your administration would do for the
American public. There were a few videos for the Romney campaign that had
a narrator speaking, and not the candidate himself. I would say if you are
going to do this kind of video limit the number of them your make. When the
candidate herself/himself is seen onscreen talking to the audience, it creates
a connection dont miss this opportunity. Then again if the message is going to
be more on the negative side perhaps refraining from appearing could be the
best thing. You, of course, will have to decide in regards to each video that is
commissioned.

The role Social Media played:

There were many ways the candidates tried to get their message heard in
2012 among them was social media. Through this new way of reaching the
public, I will go over the effective, and ineffective use it had during the last
Presidential election. Also how much each candidate allocated to this form of
campaigning and were the funds used well.Some of the Social media that was
used was Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and websites. I will start with the
Democrats President Obama allocated about 47 million to these various
outlets for his campaign. Im not saying to be successful in your upcoming
campaign that you need to spend this amount of money to be successful. This
is just to give you an example for you to see how much emphasis the winning
candidate put on this type of campaigning. They gave it a lot of attention that
means they thought or knew that it was worth their while, and or vital to their
campaign. The Romney campaign spent less money than Obama on their
digital media about 4.7 million.
I would suggest allocating a good amount of your campaign funds to social
media.Find a reputable, and capable person or company, and put them in
control of this main area.For instance, President Obama had the co-founder of
Facebook in charge of his online face, his website. His website was a one
stop shop so to speak he had links to all his other social media forums. His
site also provided a place for his supporters to meet, and organize their
strategies for the campaign. Romney did have a good plan as well for his
campaign he rolled out a web-based app called ORCA. This was good in
theory however when it came to implementing the app; it fell short. This is why
I suggest you make some inquiries and make sure the person or company
you hire is the best in their field. ORCA had various issues the people, and or
company that was in charge of it ran into a lot of glitches with the app. This
was Mr. Romneys face to a specific part of the nation the social nation.
Make a website that is engaging spells out your platform, and provides a
place for your supporters to meet. Whether it be online, and posts regarding
where you will be holding rallies. Social media seems to motivate people a lot
of us are very busy, online is a place that we can access from almost
anywhere and provides instant information. If you supply the public via social
media a good face, you will see results for your campaign.

Analysis of Florida and Nevada:

I have provided you an Excel chart with my findings regarding Nevada,
and Florida. Nevada went to the Democratic Party in 2012 Interestingly
enough, however. Most counties in Nevada voted Republican the two largest
counties is what provided a win for the Democrats. The Median household
income is at 54,083 compared to USA average53,046. They are slightly below
the poverty average of the United States the secondary education is right
about the same as national average, and the post-secondary is slightly
below.Demographics of the state are mostly made up of 77% white, 8%
African-American below the national average, and 27.3% Hispanic above the
national average. 986,326 of age male voters versus 977,897 female voters.
They usually have a very good voter turnout they voted 52% for Democratic,
and 46% Republican.
Florida has a demography roughly made up of 78.3% white above the
national average, African American 16.6, and 23.2% Hispanic. Either state
has very few Asian demography Nevada 7.9%, and Florida 2.7%. The median
household income in Florida is 47,309versus the 53,046 of the national
average the below poverty level is higher at 15.6%. Secondary education
average is at 85.8, post-secondary is at 26.2 below the national average.
Females at or above voting age are 7,407,979, and males 7,414,209. 50.0%
voted for Obama, and 49.1 for Romney I think that is pretty close both states
ended up going to the Democratic Party. I hope this information helps you
gauge your playing field in these two swing states. They tend to swing to the
left there is talk though for the next upcoming Presidential election it could go
to the right. Via this information, you can gauge which issues might be a hit or
miss in these states.
So to wrap up bring your A game when it comes to your online profile and
face. Please take careful consideration to the hiring of your Social Media
Administrator make sure they are qualified to handle all the needs your
campaign has. Make sure to set aside a good amount for the hiring the best
does cost, but it does not have to be exorbitant. Regarding video stake care to
get your point across without being negative point out the positive aspects of
your campaign plans. With that being said do not be at all too concerned
regarding calling your opponent on their foibles. Regarding the swing states
try to win over the public in the states with more moderate points of views
anything too extreme one way or the other might lose you the state. I hope my
memo proves helpful if you have any further questions or concerns, please
feel free to reach me at the number below. Thank you, and have a nice day.
 Citations
U.S. Bureau of the Census. State& Country Facts. Florida. ONLINE. 2011-
2015. Census Bureau. Available:
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml
[19 Mar. 2017].

U.S. Bureau of the Census. State& Country Facts. Nevada. ONLINE. 2011-
2015. Census Bureau. Available:
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml#
[19 Mar. 2017].

"Video: Obama Spent 10 Times as Much on Social Media as Romney | Watch

PBS NewsHour Online | PBS Video." PBS Video. N.p., 26 Nov. 2012.
Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2012

"2012 Florida Presidential Results." POLITICO. Accessed March 24, 2017.

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/president/florida/.

"2012 Nevada Presidential Results." POLITICO. Accessed March 24, 2017.

http://www.politico.com/2012-election/results/president/nevada/.