The upcoming election has engaged me as no other that I can 
remember. Maybe it’s because of my disgust with the status quo or the fact that we seem to have more, and better, choices than we’ve had in some time. The fact that both a woman and an African American have a legitimate opportunity to become president has definitely contributed to my interest.
As for who I’m going to vote for, that’s not important and I haven’t made up my mind yet anyway. What is important is that, for the first time, I’m interested in committing to a specific political party. You see, while I’ve always voted, I’ve always been unaffiliated. A radio commentator recently convinced me that by being unaffiliated I’m really diluting the impact of my vote, particularly in the early stages.
Although a registered voter for 32 years, I had no clue how to affiliate m
yself with a specific party. No problem, I thought, I’ll simply go to the party’s website and find out there. Guess what? While both major parties in Colorado (my home state) provide links to the voter registration form, neither party addresses how to become affiliated (if un-) or how to change affiliations (if the other). I’m sure it’s a simple process but, seriously, don’t you think that either the Republicans or Democrats would address this fundamental process? What’s worse, in my view as a marketer, is that neither party had any obvious information on WHY their party is the right choice. They offered all sorts of direction for getting involved and a fair amount of, “what’s wrong with the other guys,” type of info but nothing readily obvious that said this is what we believe in, this is why our candidates are the right choice, this is why you should be a _____________.
It’s as though they assume that you’re only going to visit their site if you’re already a member of that party. Huh? Believe me, I can’t be the only one who’s gone to a political party’s site looking for information and answers.
It’s basic marketing folks. In this age of sound bites and insta-punditry don’t you think that a major role for the parties should be to provide substantive education to the electorate as to the benefit that their party affords and the differences that make them unique? I will say that the Dems provide slightly more information than the Republicans – who have very little (‘coming soon’ is not a party plank, is it?) other than a 9 page PDF containing 7 pages of not very specific content with little direction as to how to obtain more detail. But the Dems house their information in a section labeled “About Your Party” and the key, substantive document available is the 2006 Colorado Democratic Party Platform. Uh mm, isn’t it 2008? And, gee, if you aren’t my party yet, why would I even look there?
My suggestion: Assume that at least some of the visitors to your sites are going to be information seekers and provide them that information along the lines of:
- What’s a Democrat/Republican
- What makes our party different
- What are the major issues of the upcoming campaign (local/national) or legislative session (local/national) and how does our party’s position differ from the honorable opposition’s – Don’t be a jerk and demonize the other folks but provide solid, objective (as much as possible) reasons on why you differ and why that’s important.
- How do I join…
Basic, fundamental questions that any ‘buyer’ needs in order to make an informed decision. After all, it’s not as if there aren’t enough prospects out there with roughly 1 out of 3 Colorado voters unaffiliated. After looking at each party’s site, I’m really not surprised.
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