Hundreds Converge On Cancun To Learn Key Lessons From Obama Campaign

Reaching voters has always been a key challenge for campaign professionals, both in the United States and abroad. This was particularly true after recent electoral reform in Mexico, which placed more restrictive financial caps for campaigns and made airing television and radio advertisements more difficult.
A recent joint Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine – The Graduate School of Political Management of The George Washington University training session shed new light on how successful candidates, including President Obama, have used direct contact techniques to connect with voters. Such techniques include the use of social media, cell phones and other technological tools, and land campaigning. More than 200 attended sessions geared toward using new technology for successful campaigning.
The main themes of the conference included the development of strategies and political leadership to win elections; reaching citizens who might otherwise be indifferent to politics; use of the Internet and cell phones in campaigns; use of technological tools and direct mail to persuade voters; land campaigns in Mexico; and how to keep voters’ support while governing.
Prominent U.S. and Latin American-based speakers at the event included Obama advisers and strategists John Del Cecato, a consultant with AKPD Messaging who was responsible for many of the most effective Obama campaign ads; Peter Giangreco, president of the Strategy Group, who was responsible for microtargeting and direct mail for Obama; and Luis Matos, Director de Governance for Latin America at GW’s Graduate School of Political Management. Additional speakers included Ryan Hawkins, Scott Goodstein, Teddy Goff, Tom Edmonds, Brian Williams, Courtney Sanders, Roberto Izurieta, Gisela Rubach, Eduardo Achach, and Jesus Diaz.
Campaign officials and other interested parties from from Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Venezuela, Panama, Peru, Honduras, and Argentina attended the event. More than half of the attendees were public officials, while the other attendees included campaign advisors and political consultants. The former president of Ecuador, Lucio Gutierrez, and former Guatemala presidential candidate Otto Perez were also at the event.
“In the last electoral cycle, direct contact with the voters has become remarkably important for success in political campaigns and their strategies,” said Israel Navarro, operations coordinator for governance in Latin America of GSPM-GWU. “Moreover, technological tools have been developed around citizen participation in electoral processes. This event gave attendees some true insight around the use of these tools.”
Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine is the pre-eminent magazine dedicated to educating, informing, entertaining and connecting all those who touch politics, from high-profile players to political junkies and casual observers. The magazine is published by Political World Communications, LLC, under the parent company MJH & Associates. Campaigns & Elections’ Politics launched a Latin American edition earlier in the year.
MJH & Associates is a leading provider of publishing, research, information, and education for the medical, financial, and political industries. MJH & Associates serves the needs of hundreds of thousands of political professionals, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and managed care professionals through an extensive suite of magazines, journals, e-mail databases, websites, events, and personal meetings. With names like The American Journal of Managed Care, Pharmacy Times, MDNG, Oncology & Biotech News, and HCPlive.com as part of our publishing group, we reach more than a half million readers each month.
George Washington University is the most prestigious graduate school in the U.S. for political professionals, referred by the New York Times as “The West Point of Political Wars”, The Graduate School of Political Management of GWU along with the most popular magazine of political marketing and strategy Campaigns and Elections’ Politics Magazine are pleased to present the seminar.
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