Learning Activities:

Campaign Simulator (~30 Minutes)

• Using their planned strategy for media buys completed in Task 9, teams should test out their strategies using the Campaign Simulator.
• Have interns refer back to the Campaign Simulator Tutorial if they run into trouble.
• As a group, they will use the Simulator to refine and finalize their ideas for their final pitch.
• Remind interns that they will need to meet or exceed their clients’ campaign goals, while staying within the allotted budget, in order to be awarded the contract.
• Once finalized, interns can export a pdf file of their final summary media buys and projected effects to include in their campaign pitch.

Prepare Campaign Pitch (~40 minutes)

• Groups will work together to craft their final Campaign Pitch. This will be formatted as a slide deck and presentation notes using the Campaign Pitch Template.
• The pitch should take between 3-4 minutes to present.
• The Campaign Pitch can be drafted collaboratively in class or as an out-of-class assignment. Groups should have most, if not all, of the necessary pieces from previous tasks.
• “Once you have collaborated as a team to decide on your final campaign strategy, prepare a pitch presentation outlining your final decisions and the justifications for them.”
• Remind interns that a good pitch is needed to persuade their client that their proposal is the best way to achieve the campaign goals.
• In the pitch, interns should
• identify who their client is and what their goals are for their campaign
• explain their campaign message and strategy based on evidence and justifications
• be specific and “data driven” when explaining why they think their design will be successful for their client group.
• emind interns to use the pitch from their Intern Onboarding as a model and to consult the Pitch Presentation Guide.

Implementation Tips

• Interns may be tempted to stop experimenting with the Simulator after a few iterations. Remind interns that Campaign Simulator gives projections only, and so it is good practice to go beyond the goals outlined in their RFPs.
• Students may struggle to influence enough people and stay within budget. This is often because they overlook the importance of Message Tone. Make sure students are experimenting with tone as they test different media buys. A moderate tone is key to persuading, whereas stronger tones help mobilize a political base.
• The Campaign Simulator graphs can be difficult to interpret. Remind students that bars pointed up always indicate increased support for an issue, and bars pointed down always show increased opposition./li>
• While it might be useful for groups to discuss their ideas and even to adjust their plans based on the ideas of other groups, it won’t benefit them to copy other groups’ plans because each client has different goals.
• To ensure interns have complete pitches, refer them to the Campaign Pitch Template and the pitch made by Matt Gonzalez’s team during Intern Onboarding.
• Remind interns that every group member should participate in the pitch and that it is helpful to prepare talking points ahead of time.
• A good pitch should be high energy, catchy, and to the point. Interns should be able to present all the necessary material in 3-4 minutes.