2018! It's finally "midterm election" year and DemLabs is geared up with some New Ways to Win! We are excited to introduce you to a new tool that will help you power up your messaging.
Effective story telling is key in any campaigns. But how can this be done on a tight budget, with fast moving news cycles? This father's video about his daughter in the Alabama election, which got over 5 million views provides a clue.
Personal stories told by the people affected are often far more powerful in moving public opinion than factual analyses. DemLabs is now making available a very inexpensive app ($29/month) that makes it remarkably easy for both big and small organizations to quickly collect grassroots video stories on an issue by email or social media. It takes 10-15 minutes to send out a request for stories in the form of a 'link' which can be shared by email, Twitter or Facebook.
Recipients are prompted with background information and a question in the link. They record their own video clip from an internet browser on a laptop or with a free mobile app on their phone. Supporters can share their video clips with friends through social media. The recordings are automatically upload to a site where the campaign can curate them and decide which ones to amplify further, often within the same news cycle.
This short video shows how easy it is to use to create a Link to collect videos for your campaign.
This new tool exemplifies DemLab's approach. Work closely with campaigns to identify key needs. Identify existing software solutions to meet those needs. Lower costs by re-using existing software rather than developing new programs. Test the solution with other campaigns to make sure it works well. Share the best practices and train other campaigns, PACs and political organizations on how to use the new tool.
Events
DemLabs trained 80 attendees on this app at a workshop in DC recently with the NEA and AAPI Victory Fund.
It was also shared with select partners at the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) in LongBeach.
It was also shared with select partners at the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) in LongBeach.
We will also be presenting it at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC) in Las Vegas in February.
Upcoming Training
DemLabs will be at the America Votes conference in DC in late February. Prior to the conference we will be hosting a hands-on workshop with the AFL-CIO on applying video story telling to campaigns and how to to geographical information systems (GIS) for better targeting and campaign management. You can learn more about this workshop by emailing info@thedemlabs.org
Let DemLabs help you shine your light!
Deepak