Voting With Your Apps

The Republican National Convention generated over 4,000,000 tweets throughout its duration.  That high number of tweets may have had something to do with the new apps that iPhone and iPad users can download that allow them to stay up-to-date with the campaign.  These apps also allow them to also sync their Twitter and Facebook accounts.  Here are some of the more popular presidential campaign apps:

Obama for America: This app helps a person learn more about and help campaign for Obama.  It allows users to take action by finding campaign events near their location that they can attend to help support and rally for Obama.  It also gives suggestions on how users can campaign on their own time, such as door-to-door and supplying photos of flyers that can downloaded and printed out.  The app can be synced Twitter and Facebook handles so they can share their actions and breaking news stories about Obama and his campaign.

Romney-Ryan: This app works very similarly to the Obama for America app.  Users can view the personal bios of both candidates and breaking news stories about their campaign.  Supporters can also find events near them to show their support for Romney and Ryan.  This app can also be synced to app users Twitter and Facebook accounts.

CNN/TIME Convention Floor Pass:  CNN & Time magazine have teamed up with the best political experts to bring the political conventions to supporter’s iPhones.  This app allows a person to feel like they are on the convention floor with breaking news stories and opinions from political experts.  Keeping up with the trend, this app can also be synced to the user’s social media accounts. 

Both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention also have apps that can be downloaded that are similar to the CNN/TIME app, but are dedicated strictly to either party.

During the last presidential election in 2008, Apple announced that 11.6 million iPhones were sold.  During 2012 so far, 98.1 million iPhones have been sold, showing the increase in the amount of iPhone users and how these apps reach a much more extensive audience.  These apps have a featured page on iTunes under the category Election 2012 and can all be downloaded for free.  

What apps do you use to stay up to date with the 2012 election?  Let us know!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jackie Grillo.

Election 2012 as a PR Learning Tool

Whether you’re a political news junkie or someone who has never really had interest in Washington, as a PR student it is important to pay close attention to this election season. So many skills we use in PR will be put to use by candidates over the next seven months, and it is important that we are able to pick up on them. Here are a few things to look out for along the campaign trail:

The Language of Persuasion

PR rhetoric and political rhetoric have a deep rooted bond when it comes to persuasion. The goal of both is to identify and capture audiences, then eventually get those captivated audiences to act on their opinions and beliefs.

Watch the next GOP debate and focus on one candidate. Get familiar with their beliefs and policies, then watch that same candidate speak at a college or at a small town hall meeting. Notice how drastically the language changes. The key ideas are the same, but the rhetoric is totally different and tailored to the specific audience.

Crisis Communication

Let’s face it--blunders, embarrassing mistakes and misused words are inevitable and expected in presidential campaigns. Every GOP candidate has been under fire for one thing or another throughout this campaign. It’s not necessarily what happens but how it gets resolved. Most slip-ups are forgotten about a week later, however if they’re handled poorly they never go away.

The next time a candidate has something negative surface from their past, watch how they handle the crisis. Do they spin the story into a new, positive idea? Do they own up to their past and move on? Think of how you would handle the situation, and how you would advise the candidate to move forward.

Get Your News from a Variety of Sources

This is the most important aspect to keep in mind during an election for everyone, not just those in PR. The only way to fully understand an issue is to hear both sides of the story. If you’re politically conservative and only watch Fox News or politically liberal and only get your information from MSNBC, you aren’t seeing the whole picture. Listen to an opposing view-- it could allow you to see an issue in a completely different light or could ultimately strengthen your own original beliefs.

What other PR tactics have you been paying attention to this election season?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

Spotting Persuasion Tricks This Election Season

As election season looms, there are ads and debates everywhere telling us which person is better suited to run our country. Many Americans watch these ads and tune in to the debates, but they don’t really see what is right in front of them. Politicians have been stereotyped as tricksters, and it might not necessarily be untrue. Every politician uses persuasion tricks in one way or another, and it’s important to be able to pick out these instances in order to form a well-rounded opinion. Here are some typical persuasion tricks that politicians use regularly that everyone should keep an eye out for.

Intensifying and downplaying
It makes sense that politicians want to intensify their own good qualities, but they always want to intensify their opponent’s poor qualities. On the flip side, politicians want to downplay their own poor qualities, while at the same time downplaying the good qualities of other politicians.

Emotional appeals
A great example of an emotional appeal is the ASPCA commercial with Sarah Mclachlan. The sad animals in that commercial trigger an emotional response from viewers that ideally causes them to donate to the ASPCA. Politicians prey on people’s emotions in the same way. They might not use cute animals but they use things like guilt, patriotism, and fear to generate certain emotions from voters to make them agree with their political opinion.

Nonverbal persuasion
Every politician uses nonverbal persuasion in a different way. Some politicians change the way they dress depending on their audience. If they want to seem like “one of the people” they might neglect to wear a tie or roll up their sleeves so they seem like any ol’ regular person.

Argumentation
Every politician is an expert at forming an excellent argument. This can be seen especially during a debate. One politician might ask another question after question until their opponent is backed into a corner, unsure of what to say next. This is a perfect example of how politicians twist argumentation to their advantage.

These things might seem insignificant in every day life, but when it comes to politics, it is it is important to be knowledgeable. Every politician uses persuasion tricks, to some degree, but many politicians take it over the top. In order to make a smart choice this election season, watch out for these tricks next time an ad or debate comes on TV.

Have you noticed any of these tricks in politicians lately? What’s your opinion? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member London Faust.

Compromise Ahead of Elections? What's the catch?

The United States House of Representatives and Senate passed a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut last Friday, Feb. 17, marking another legislative victory for President Obama ahead of the 2012 elections. Want to know the best part? The bill was passed through with bipartisan support and a hefty helping of compromise. Crazy, huh?

The payroll tax cut, which was temporarily extended last fall, was packaged with an extension of federal unemployment benefits. The $143 billion economic package will reach over 160 million workers. A big reason the bill garnered bipartisan support in both houses was because of two conservative-leaning provisions: one reducing the time that individuals can stay on unemployment and another helping to support doctors who treat patients on Medicare. Both Democrats and Republicans hope that it will help sustain the country’s economic recovery.

But if Obama supported the bill, why did it pass? It turns out, voting yes (or in some cases, voting no) to a bill before an election can give candidates great PR ammunition.

Obama is likely to tout this bill as his latest effort to boost the economy, a subject that will dominate the upcoming presidential election. He will use this bill, along with the American Recovery and Investment Act and the recent drop in the unemployment rate, to take credit for moving the economy forward post-recession. If this is properly communicated to target audiences (think American’s unemployed, underemployed and the middle class) it could result in a big boost in public opinion for Obama.

Democrats are likely to piggyback on Obama’s economic messages, a strategy that worked well for them in 2008. They can add this to the list of legislation that they voted for to help the economic recovery. This makes them look like strong advocates for the middle class, a powerful position in the wake of the Occupy movement.

Finally, Republicans who voted for the bill might choose to promote their bipartisanship in the promotion of economic growth. This could work well if Obama has a high approval rating in their states. Republicans who voted against the bill can position themselves as strong advocates of the conservative, top-down approach to macroeconomic policy. However, the corresponding messaging might appear insensitive to unemployed or underemployed individuals.

Whichever way you want to look at it, the payroll tax extension was a strategic vote. Only time will tell if it pays off, and for whom.

Santorum to Receive the Thrash Metal Vote?

“You take a mortal man

And put him in control

Watch him become a god

Watch peoples’ heads a ‘roll”

Those are the lyrics of Megadeth’s front man Dave Mustaine, who also happens to be Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s latest fan.

Mustaine wants to put Santorum in control.

The Megadeth front man endorsed Santorum to MusicRadar.com a little over a week ago. Social and traditional media has finally picked up on Mustaine’s endorsement and has been having a field day, another case study of the PR ramifications of a questionable endorsement.

@TheTweetOfGod, a popular spoof account, tweeted yesterday, “Dave Mustaine Endorses Rick Santorum. Pro-life, meet Megadeath.”

@HuffPostHill tweeted, “The Gwar endorsement is really going to tip the scales http://bit.ly/zvADSD”

Campaigns are no stranger to these negative endorsements. Opponents of the Obama campaign tried to associate him with some of the more radical teachings of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in 2008. Obama’s campaign was forced to go on the defensive and deny contemporary connections between him and Wright.

Mustaine’s endorsement of Santorum shouldn’t rise to the level of the Wright endorsement. If it does, Santorum’s staff should release a statement thanking Mustaine for his endorsement but making it very clear that Santorum does not share the same values as the Megadeth front man.

Whatever Santorum does, he probably shouldn’t publicly lay claim to the thrash metal vote. I’m not sure if that would go over well with his religious conservative base.

Election Media Coverage Goes Digital

Any student in public relations knows, or should know, how important it is to keep up with news. So in the face of a current election year, it is that much more important to be in the know. Some students, maybe even professionals, may have found it hard to keep up with every single aspect of past political campaigns; however, in this “age of technology,” it is easier than ever.

Using the power of new media during a political campaign is not a new tactic; you may recall when CNN and YouTube held a joint debate in which the public sent in videotaped questions. Politicians have since caught up on the trend, using outlets like Twitter and Facebook to be engaged with the public 24/7. This election season, not only have politicians been deploying digital tools in new and innovative ways, the media outlets and journalists covering them have been doing the same.

Besides individual journalists and news outlets tweeting and uploading photos, the 2012 battle for the White House is the first time that web apps dedicated to political coverage have been introduced. These new and innovative apps are allowing readers to have unprecedented access to all things related to the election. Online features such as these are changing the name of the game in political journalism.

Here are a few other ways in which media coverage of the election is going digital:

1. Election Centers: Major news sites like CNN, MSNBC and Fox are featuring online election portals in which visitors can learn about the candidates and their stances on the issues that matter, access links to candidates’ social media profiles or find out more about their financial backers.

2. Interactive Maps: NBC has actually teamed up with Foursquare to map the campaign trail. Other news sites like CNN are offering calendar like maps to show visitors where and when upcoming primaries and caucuses are being held. Politico actually takes this map concept a step further by telling visitors not only where, but why candidates are doing particular events.

3. Social Debates: This idea isn’t new for 2012, but it has become more mainstream. Fox News used to Twitter to get instant opinions from the public on each candidate’s performance in a debate. Facebook and NBC teamed up to co-host a Republican debate in which viewers asked questions via the social networking site.

Have you seen other unique digital tools used in this year’s political campaign? Or, do you find one of these tools extremely beneficial? If so, let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlyn Sutton.

Political Cannibalism

“Eating or defeating your own is a form of sophisticated cannibalism.”

Former Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) famously said that in his farewell speech to Congress, originally referring to the surge of the Tea Party and the corresponding rise in partisanship and disparaging rhetoric directed towards traditional Republicans. Unfortunately for the candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination, Specter’s words have not resonated throughout his former party as he intended.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, the two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, are on the verge of cannibalism.

The two Super PAC-backed foes are slamming each other with political attacks and negative campaign ads. Both candidates are pouring millions of dollars into TV commercials like this anti-Gingrich ad, which attempts to link Gingrich’s employment with Freddie Mac to the collapse of the housing market.

The Gingrich campaign has been actively attacking Romney for everything from his business ventures to his time as a governor. It even launched a series of robocalls accusing Romney of forcing Holocaust survivors to eat non-kosher food.

The two heavyweight campaigns are effectively cannibalizing each other with these vitriolic attacks. President Obama will be able to weave a familiar narrative with the thread of these attacks to use against whoever wins the primary. My advice to the republican candidates: play nice or get you’ll get booted out of the sandbox.