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Design a Campaign

Task 7: Identify Target Audiences

(~60 Minutes)

Lesson Framing & Purpose:

The intern teams will start developing their campaign strategy using the Campaign Design Process. In this task, they will focus on statewide polling data in order to identify which groups they think should be the focus of their campaign. Then, interns will use the PurpleState Map Tool to geographically locate these groups in the state. This research should focus on their campaign goal number and the political geography of the state.

  • Interns will understand how polling data is compiled and what information they can get from examining it.
  • Interns will understand how to identify a target audience and craft a message directed toward them.
  • Interns will become familiar with the PurpleState Map Tool and use it to understand the distribution of demographic populations around the state.
Resources:
Teacher only resources Student resources
Reflective Questions:
  • What is the specific question asked in the poll? Based on the question and the polling sample, how can we interpret the results?
  • Which groups would see restrictions on the proposed measures?
  • How do we know what groups we should target for our campaign?
  • Where in the state are target groups located? Was this surprising?
Learning Activities:

Intern Team Meeting (~5 minutes)

  • Intern Teams should use the Campaign Design Process resource to make a plan for accomplishing the tasks needed to develop a campaign.
  • Inform interns that they will have a Campaign Planning meeting with another group to get feedback on their target audience.
  • Groups should plan to accumulate evidence to justify their choice of target audience by using polling data and the PurpleState Map Tool.

Polling Data Analysis (~15 Minutes)

  • Intern Teams will analyze polling data using the Polling Report for their issue.
  • Groups should use the polls to determine target demographics that best align with their client’s position and stated goals.
  • Groups should use the Target Audience section of their Campaign Planning Document to record what groups they plan to target and the evidence they used to make these decisions. They will present this information in the Campaign Planning exercise.
  • Encourage interns to brainstorm multiple target audiences because further research might reveal that not all audiences will best meet the campaign goals.

Political Landscape Research (~20 Minutes)

  • Once target audiences are chosen, intern teams will analyze state/regional demographics using PurpleState’s Map Tool.
  • Teams need to use the layers and filters to figure out where in the state the groups that they are targeting are most concentrated.
  • Based on this research, teams can identify municipalities, counties, and ultimately media markets where they will focus their advertising campaign and influence the most voters.
  • Interns may need to rethink their target audiences based on demographic numbers revealed in the Map Tool.
  • Again, this research should be recorded in their Campaign Planning Document, and interns should justify their decisions with evidence to present in their Campaign Planning meetings.

Campaign Planning (~20 Minutes)

  • Interns will provide feedback for each other. Match interns whose clients have similar positions (support with support and oppose with oppose).
  • Remind interns that the purpose of the Campaign Planning Protocol is to make campaigns as strong as possible. Post or project the protocol for interns to see.

Campaign Planning Protocol

  • Each group will present for 90-seconds explaining
    1. who their client is and what type of organization they represent
    2. what position the client advocates
    3. what their specific campaign goals are (persuasion vs mobilization, target numbers, budget)
    4. what demographic group(s) they plan to target – based on evidence – and how targeting this group(s) will help achieve the client’s goals
  • The audience will
    1. ask any clarifying questions (“Can you say more about…?”) and reiterate the main points until the presenting team is satisfied their main points were clearly conveyed
    2. identify any parts of the presentation lacking a rationale or evidence
    3. offer counterarguments to question elements of the presentation or offer alternatives (“Have you considered…?”)
Implementation Tips
  • The research tasks can be done as a team or split up among individuals. This makes this task easy to be done either synchronously or asynchronously, depending on your schedule.
  • Make sure students are referring back to the goal identified in the RFP from their client. The target audience they identify has to be big enough to meet their goal!
  • Remind students that this is an iterative process, and that information found in the Map Tool or feedback in their Campaign Planning meetings may require rethinking target groups or other aspects of their campaigns.