The final stretch of any campaign is hectic. Consultants are rushing to get ads finalized and approved. Campaign managers are trying to keep a hawk’s eye on the budget while simultaneously coaching their fundraiser to generate an influx of cash.
Field staffers are chasing down last-minute absentee ballots and are facing increased pressure to hit their daily voter contact goals. Not to mention the candidate might be getting a little more nervous and may feel the need for the campaign to spend money on something that was never in the agreed upon plan.
The craziness of the final days increases the chances of a well-run organization going off the rails. It also increases the chances of waste and unforced errors. So how do you limit these mistakes and finish your campaign strong?
Ask questions.
In the final weeks, a lot of the campaign's money is being shipped off to vendors for them to execute a digital buy, fulfill a texting plan, place a TV ad, or pay grassroots vendors to knock on doors and make phone calls.
This results in the campaign sending a good amount of money for a service in hopes that the service is executed and performed to the agreed upon expectations. To avoid misunderstandings, waste, and even fraud (this is the season for fake vendor submissions) the campaign and its compliance team should be holding those vendors accountable.
This includes asking for detailed reports, updates, and reviewing the progress with the vendor. Ask questions about the reports and gauge the responses from the vendor. A credible vendor will be able to comfortably answer those questions and provide a more refined approach to maximize money spent.
Secondly, with any new technology, a learning curve takes place for both the vendor and the campaign. Remember the days of digital ads landing on ghost websites? It doesn’t necessarily mean the vendor is a bad actor—it just was an issue that development because of new technology.
For example, peer-to-peer texting is everywhere this cycle. A handful of vendors are offering this service. But the dirty secret among these vendors is problems with deliverability. If certain best practices aren’t followed, or CTIA compliance is ignored than the carriers flag the text as spam and the text does not get delivered. Again, I’m not saying the vendors are purposely doing this, but if you don’t ask the questions or received detailed reports, it could result in a waste of resources.
Don’t get pretty—keep it simple.
Let’s face it: as the final weeks approach, the pressure is constantly building on everyone in the campaign. There might be an overwhelming sense to throw a Hail Mary and change up the game plan. I would urge you to resist that play—unless you’re Doug Flutie. Yes, campaigns are fluid and need to be agile.
But the final days are not the time to call an audible and change the strategy that was agreed upon and has gotten the campaign thus far. Also, don’t forget that the opposition gets a vote, too. Yes, your opponent has a say and will try to disrupt your strategy. It’s normal for a few bumps in the road to occur. Keep it simple and push on. Stay hyper-focused on what you need to do to execute the plan and then execute. Complexity invites errors, waste, and confusion. Keep it simple and focus on the task at hand.
Access vulnerabilities.
Smart campaign managers know their campaigns vulnerabilities and take advantage of their opposing campaign’s vulnerabilities. They also expect for the other campaign to do the same. In the final days, stay hyper-focused by mitigating your vulnerabilities, and that includes limiting waste, look out for unforced errors, and succumbing to emotion and ignoring logic or rational.
Spencer Sullivan is the founder and CEO of Lean Campaign Strategies, a consulting firm that works with campaigns, corporations, nonprofits, and associations all over the country.