Vice President of Digital Reid Vineis joins our #StrategySession today to share his take on Majority Strategies’ Community Architect, a new, strategic approach to advocacy that merges data and political insights to help businesses, trade associations and others achieve their public affairs goals.
Thanks for joining us, Reid. Let’s get started. How does Community Architect differ from the old model of advocacy?
The old model takes a haphazard approach to advocacy. There is no actionable intelligence behind the strategy. Random digital advertising and calling on the same people over and over again to write letters simply doesn’t cut it anymore.
Community Architect follows a data driven and proven strategy of how to leverage real grassroots support for success. We don’t “target” by gut instinct. Data tells us exactly who to talk to, what to say, and how to say it. Once a person joins the community, we walk them through a series of prescribed and deliberate actions to turn them into advocates. The net result is a group of highly educated and motivated individuals who will act on your organization’s behalf.
What lessons have you learned from your experience in political campaigns that should be applied to advocacy as well?
Everything starts with knowing your audience. The old model is a monochrome gray scale of who favors, who opposes, and those up for grabs. Our approach with data and technology allows us to paint a vivid decision spectrum with many options to move people. This actionable intelligence helps campaigns build a pathway to victory – how to win the election.
Advocacy campaigns need to take the same approach. A data driven strategy that understands people live in a high definition and high volume world will result in a community that can make a difference in that world.
How can digital help overcome the biggest obstacles to success in advocacy?
Successful advocacy campaigns bring together groups of people to organize behind a single cause. Digital allows organizations to reach those people because that’s where eyeballs are. People are spending more and more time on digital every day and it provides an effective vehicle to reach people. Other methods such as face-to-face communication don’t provide the scale needed to reach enough people.
What question should we have asked you?
What’s next for advocacy? COVID has had very real implications on grassroots advocacy. In- person meetings have lost their impact. Expect to see fewer interactions between elected officials such as townhalls, face to face meetings, parades, events etc. However, groups still need to advance legislative agendas. That’s where digital comes in to build the new personal contact model…a community of real people to advocate a cause.
Learn more about Community Architect and get started today. Our team of strategists are ready to help. Contact us today.
Reid Vineis is the Vice President of Digital at Majority Strategies. Now in his fifth cycle at Majority Strategies, Vineis leads the firm’s efforts helping clients craft the most effective advertising campaigns online. In the 2018 election cycle, Vineis was proud to assist over 500 clients execute successful digital campaigns, making Majority Strategies one of the largest political digital advertising firms in the country. Vineis specializes in media planning, advertising technology, and digital marketing. He brings this expertise to bear on behalf of candidates, corporations, and non-profit causes. Prior to joining Majority Strategies, Vineis worked for a public affairs firm for five years helping Fortune 100 companies achieve their policy goals.