Political: Automated Programs
Automated call programs took center stage in the 2000 campaign cycle. President Clinton, Magic Johnson and other leaders helped get the message out and mobilize voters for many of our candidates. Used effectively, automated phone programs are here to stay.
Outreach. Automated calls are an efficient means of communicating with voters. Though not as personal as a live call, an automated call to a receptive audience can be a high impact contact at a fraction of the cost of a live contact. Use of respected leaders in the target community for delivery of the message increases the impact of the communication.
Repetition. The low cost of automated calls makes strategic repetition of key messages a serious option to consider. In the only Democratic pick-up of a state legislative body in the country in 2000, we used multiple live and automated calls to target audiences in Colorado Senate races, resulting in higher than expected turnouts and unexpected Democratic victories.
Information Gathering. Automated programs can be used to acquire information from voters. While not a substitute for an identification program using live operators, automated programs are very effective at gauging interest, such as canvassing non-voting households to determine an interest in registering to vote.
Speed. Automated call programs can be up and running in a very short time. It takes only hours to make hundreds of thousands of calls. Automated calls are well suited for those last minute responses to late hitting mail attacks.
Targeting. Automated programs make use of multiple messages and multiple voices to multiple audiences very easy to accomplish.
Cost. An automated call will run as low as a third of the cost of a comparable live call. The cost differentials increase as the size of the calling program grows.
back
next
