In October of 2003, the Kerry 2004 Internet team spent a week working on what they thought should be what the Internet Campaign could be - implementing many ideas from the basement of the National Campaign Office. After completing a 10M / 70 page presentation, we revamped the presentation for the Campaign Manager and distilled it to these pages. Kudos goes to all that was part of the effort - Luis Miranda, Morra Aarons, Dave Patten, Dick Bell, Erin Hofteig, Mike Nemec, Jessica MacLeman, Aaron Rosenthal and Richard Rho. And this effort would not have happened if not for the "cover" we got from Nick Grouf and David Waxman, who - at the time of people thinking the website was just an ATM for online hacks - gave the team the credibility to take time to test and measure our efforts and become the kind of team that Kerry became proud of. Before there was A/B testing, before gamification, before social media marketing - there was the scientific method, email campaign testing and "troll patrolling". Something to think about when people discuss the 2016 campaign. Read more about those people here: http://www.politicalgastronomica.com/2004/11/recognizing_the_1/ and http://www.politicalgastronomica.com/2004/12/recognizing_the/

1. Kerry 2004
Internet Business Plan
Kerry Internet Team
October 2003

2. Structure of Proposal
 What are our goals?
 State of site
 How do we achieve our goals?
– Guiding principles
– Strategies:
– Drive traffic to site
– Increase conversion on site
– Convert users into activists: CRM
 What are the assumptions?
 What is the critical path to achieve our goals?
 What are the needs from:
– Budget
– Political
– Advertising

3. What are our goals?
 Increase net revenue into the campaign
– Aim for $2MM net revenue in three months from small donors
 Increase visits to site
– 4,000,000 site visits (!)
– Kerry Membership (email addresses on K-Base)
– Goal of 200K new email addresses from website signups
 Increase number of online donors
– Goal of 40K new online donors (from 7K as of Oct 1st)
 Goal of $50 per online donor
– Difficult to achieve a level of estimation – will address it via
messaging (small donations make the difference) and form
improvements (KISS and easy usability)

4. Additional Goals
 Effort to use the Internet campaign to generate virtual
organizers and online activists
– Will be built out our increasing our membership rolls and our
online community outreach
– Targeting efforts and proper message will incentivize people to
join the campaign and get involved
COMMUNITY

5. Current State of Site
 People are on the dock but they’re missing the boat:
– August – 8000 signups through website
– September – 2000+ signups through website
– Flash Sign Up last week: 844 views, 420 converts (49.76%)
– Volunteer Sign Up last week: 950 views, 210 converts (22.1%)
 What this tells us:
– Sign Up page Intimidates
– Asking for too much information
– Asking for things people do not want to give
– Not driving traffic properly from homepage
– Signup box in issue screen not effective (losing people)
– Signup not promoted within site effectively
– Sign up mechanic confusing

6. So…what’s the plan?

7. Guiding Principles: Culture
 Internet in integral in all areas of campaign
– Candidate is best ambassador for website and vice versa
– All departments involved in the networking and communication
 Visitors to site are as important as guests at a rally
– Treat them like customers and serve their needs
– Then ask for details – permission marketing principles
 Provide “connection” to candidate and campaign
– Virtual access makes customers happy if they learn more
 Empower the “Citizen Soldiers” but provide virtual
leadership

8. Strategies
 Drive new visitors to site
– Use all media channels to increase exposure to site
– Offline through earned media, JK, field, printed materials
– Online through adverts, community building, blogging
 Treat the visitor as a customer
– Give the visitor what they want rather than what we want
 Make it easy to get the information (KISS)
– Redesign the site for accessing the desired info
– Issues, News, JK, TH-K, MeetUp, Blog
 …then engage in ASK in exchange for information
– Higher quality signups and donations
 Continue relationship building through desired email and
alerts to drive them back to johnkerry.com

9. Strategy
State Pages
Issues/
News
JK/TH-K Bios
Internet
KBase
MeetUp
blog
Contribute
Sign Up /
Volunteer
 Drive traffic to the site
– PR, Events (earned media)
– Internet Advertising
– Offline Advertising
– Surrogate (WOM)
– Email
 Make it easy to
get to the content
 Drive users to signup and
contribute AFTER giving
what they
want!
 Continue the courtship
gently… Personal
Email
Courtship

10. Driving Traffic to the Site
 Multiple methods of driving traffic, but the most effective are:
 NB: these are direct drivers, not multipliers (like community) which
help grow the base of traffic…at a low cost!
PR – Earned
Media
Internet
Advertising
Offline
Advertising
Candidate/
Surrogates
Email

11. “Free” Advertising
 The best method for driving traffic is free advertising via
– PR and Earned Media
– JK mentioning “I have a plan for peace in Iraq that can be found
at my website www.johnkerry.com” on media shows
– Stunts like “Waffle Powered Howard” with the website listed
– Offline Advertising
– Any adverts – in all mediums (TV, radio, newspaper, cinema) –
need to have the website listed
– Surrogates / Word of Mouth
– In JK’s stump speech, he mentions the efforts of his MeetUp and
how the MeetUp supporters are helping the IA/NH efforts
– Field organizers and photo bank volunteers mention the website
for “more information” or to join “Kerry MeetUp” community
Free can drive up to 1MM visits a month...
which can result in $500K in additional contributions!

12. Offline Promotion
 Offline promotion needs to ensure collateral promotes
website
– Word of Mouth
– Work with field team to promote talking points
– Events
– Takeaways, backdrops, signage – all needs to INCLUDE the web
address!
– Direct Mail: web team reviews online and email sign up call to
action
– Include an insert with website events
– Telemarketing: web team reviews scripts’ online and email
sign up call to action
– In script, caller offers info to be found on “johnkerry.com”

13. Win Candidate’s and
Surrogates’ Hearts and Minds
 John Kerry himself needs to promote the website
– In stump speech, on TV shows, in dinners – driving people to
learn more about his positions on the issues!
 Let web community know he cares about them
– JK voice communicates via multiple channels – he wants to
connect – first amendment once again
 Actions:
– Ask Andrei Cherny to incorporate web call to action into stump
speech
– Use “web local color” in stump speeches
– People from the blog or Portraits of Courage
– Provide JK with success stories from Internet Team
– Growth metrics on users, online donations, etcera
 Encourage surrogates and endorsers to build awareness of
website

14. Paid Advertising
Internet and Email
 To “prime the pump” and increase site visibility, paid
advertising drives awareness to a greater web universe
 Internet Advertising
– Can drive traffic immediately to the site – but will not benefit
until site offers what the visitor wants – and then we ASK!
– Takes time to generate the optimal ad campaign – at least four
weeks to see how ads perform and where the best placement
is
 Email Campaigning
– Useful for building up the relationship rather than driving new
traffic – but could be used as a viral medium to attract other
friends in a network
…but this effort has a cost in terms of dollars!

15. FLIGHT
Placement Link START END
AOL - Entertainment - AOL Movies - All Main pages NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - Network Programming - Mail In Box - NH/IA, Adults 55+ 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - Personal Finance Module - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - People Connection - Chat Room - Arts & Entertainment - Miscellaneous - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
Run of AOL Network - Adults 55+ - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - Run of Entertainment - TV - Morning & Evening - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - Run of Games Channel - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
AOL - Women - Run of Horoscopes NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
CNN.com FLIGHT
Placement Link START END
Run of CNN.com - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
Run of CNN.com - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
CNNMoney.com FLIGHT
Placement Link START END
Run of CNNMoney.com - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
Run of CNNMoney.com - NH/IA 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
New Hampshire & Iowa FLIGHT
Placement Link START END
The Union Leader / http://www.theunionleader.com/ & http://www.newhampshire.com/ Local News / Sports / Weather 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
Des Moines Register / http://desmoinesregister.com/ Local News / Sports / Weather 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
KCCI-TV / http://www.theiowachannel.com/ Local News / Sports / Weather 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
WMUR-TV / http://www.thewmurchannel.com/ Local News / Sports / Weather 11/1/2003 12/31/2003
Sample Media Plan

16. After we drive them to the site:
 Increase Conversion
 Improve site to give users what they want
 Improve community and increase retention and frequency
 Court the user so they become a member of johnkerry.com
community

17. Conversion Targets
 Improve the look-to-book ratio
– Target donation conversion rate – 1%
– Q3 conversion rate – 0.3%
 Improve the signup ratio
– Target signup conversion rate – 5%
– Q3 conversion rate – XX%
 To improve the conversion ratios, we need to meet the
customer need:
– Number one page – List of Issues (1/5th drop off)
– Number two page – About John (1/10th drop off)
– Next pages – Health care, Iraq, Jobs (1/20th drop off)

18. Give them what they want
 Improve the homepage to reach customer needs faster
– Too many links to too many things – need to simplify
– Need to have some of campaign’s initiatives
– Contribute, volunteer and community – part of courtship
 Improve content on site
– Needs to repurpose content in web style, not briefs
– Offer elaboration via other content forms and cross-link for
interesting content within site, blog, community
– Clean up Press Room and interior pages
– Printable pages, Send to a Friend
 Improve access to community and tools
– Drive enthusiasts to community – create their own “access”
– Better collateral for community building – download center

19. Now make the ASK
 After giving what they want, ask for their help
– Bottom of pages, we extend the ASK to volunteer and/or
contribute
 Improve the form submission
– Simplify the process – get only what we need – then ask more
after initial data capture
– Gather more info on future conversations
 As the relationship improves, ask for more involvement
– Suggest invite a friend, tell others, etcera
 Results:
– High conversion rate, better quality volunteers, improved L2B
and donation conversion

20. Build the Relationship
 Once we have the permission to connect, need to nurture
the relationship

21. Customer Service
 Need to have a two-way conversation
– Email CRM needs to reply within two days to assure
responsiveness
– Provides quick straw poll on what voters are concerned about –
can drive how content is presented on the site and what JK will
talk about
– Should rely on community to self-support
– eCRM Team should be second line support to community efforts
– Provides distributed

22. Community Programs
 Goals
– Build John Kerry network of supporters, volunteers, activists
and contributors
 Why?
– Keep people invested in campaign between traditional events
– Community results in higher quality traffic, drives others to site
and increases long-term value of donor
 Community Components
– Meetup
– Blog
– Yahoo Groups
– Online networking groups
– Affiliates

23. Community Programs
 Goals
– Build John Kerry network of supporters, volunteers, activists
and contributors
 Why?
– Keep people invested in campaign between traditional events
– Community results in higher quality traffic, drives others to site
and increases long-term value of donor
 Community Components
– Meetup
– Blog
– Yahoo Groups
– Online networking groups
– Affiliates

24. Community Programs:
MeetUp
 Meetup - What will it do for the campaign?
– Drive people to web site
– Generate contributions
– Build pool of volunteers in un-staffed areas
– Lay on the ground foundation for future field staff
– Work on delegate/opinion leader projects in target areas
 What MeetUp needs from campaign
– Drive traffic via website and Yahoo! Group(s)
– Encouragement/publicity from field and political staff
– Materials – t-shirts, signs, bumper stickers
 Desired Goal:
– Q4 target: 40 states, 150 cities and 25K nationwide
– Currently activists in 29 states, 61 cities with 12.8K nationwide

25. Community Programs: Blog
 Blog
– The weblog connects John Kerry supporters with campaign
– Increases supporter traffic to website
– Builds sense of involvement and creates activists
 What it needs from the campaign
– Entries need to have links to other relevant websites and blogs
– To increase awareness, need to contribute to the community
– Submissions from campaign and field staff
– Provide “real” access to the campaign – “k street”
– Audioblog recorded message from John Kerry
– Need links to pages within johnkerry.com site
 Goal:
– Increased traffic to specific website pages
– Increased relevance in blogsphere community drives traffic

26. Community: Yahoo Groups
 Yahoo Groups
– Moderated Group – Organizing tool for JK activists
– Access to campaign, information and resources
– Communication with and among leaders and the campaign
– Kerry Groups – Growth tool for website and MeetUps
– Geographic and issue oriented groups sharing campaign info.
– Large pool of untapped supporters
 What Groups needs from the campaign
– Moderated - Direction/tasking from field and communications
– Kerry Groups – Communications direction
 Goals:
– 120 activists in the group by end of quarter
– Currently 47 activists in one moderated group

27. Community: Online
Networking
 Online Networking groups
– Websites which reach out to others in the online community
through common business and social interests
– e.g. Ryze.com, Friendster.com, tribe.net, linkedin.com
 Affiliate Sites
– Friendly sites linked to johnkerry.com to increase our web
presence.
– e.g. toughenough.com, wafflepoweredhoward,
independentsforkerry

28. Courtship
 Our website visitors are JK envoys
 They come to us for information; it’s our job to convert them
into donors, volunteers, “sneezers” and activists
 Guiding principles:
– Website is 2-way medium; not an online press release
– Don’t blast users with constant email
– Monitor site traffic to make sure most popular pages are
optimized
– Listen to online community for suggestions
 Target: improve email open and click thru rates
 Target: improve site stickiness and user frequency

29. Opt-In Email Plan, Q4
 Goal: Make Our Emails Valuable to Users!
 Weekly newsletter
 Monthly fundraising campaign
 “Media Alerts” for noteworthy news or JK appearances
 Opt-Out programs:
– “The 99 Lies of GW Bush”
– “What Bush Would Learn if He Read the Paper”
 State emails
 Vertical groups:
– E-cards and issue based mailings

30. Appendix: Supporting Slides

31. Political: What Use?
 Internet activities complement targeting and fundraising
– Increases the overall effectiveness of all aspects of the
campaign
– Adds more individuals to unified database
– Online recruits can be integrated into traditional activities
 Extends reach of all activities
– Brings in new donors
– Provides greater visibility for the campaign
– Delivers higher volume of contacts across wider area
– Increases turnout for events
– Provides info for media
– Allows online volunteers to assist in other geographic areas

32. Internet PR Plan
 Create 2-4 Internet-specific PR programs per month
– Linkathon – web-specific stories
– Monitor blog and community for human interest stories with
jk.com angle
– JK appearances online, special events or breaking news
online
 What is the critical path to achieve our goals?
– Work with Communications and feed them possible web-
based story angles
– Monitor blog and wider JK community
– Target Internet-friendly media and establish relationship
– No budget elements

33. Stunts
 Virtual Kerry- “Max JK”
– Flash movies, on-site
– Clips of JK on key emotive issues
– Users play clips on demand
 “Why” Campaign
– Creative for online advertising campaign
– “Why Kerry?” “Why now” use video clips optimized for web to allow
voters to access quick Kerry clips on issues they care about
 Video Games
– Where’s JK?
 JK Takeaways: calls to action to visit website
– Business cards
– Baseball cards
– Iron on t-shirts to download

34. Stunts (contd)
 “Bushman says a lot of things” Flash viral piece
 JK Personals: women’s appeal
– “Personal” ads on online dating sites
– “Caring, compassionate man seeks women who want to make
sure their (civil) liberties are protected…”