Mobile Campaigns for Country/Advocacy OutreachApril 25, 2012

Summary

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Benefits of mobile campaigns

• Rapid dissemination of messages and lower response time

• The ability of text messages to deliver “call to action” messages and invite further contact through the Web or email

• Young people attracted to advocacy campaigns are generally very comfortable using mobile phones

• Mobile phones can be used in highly targeted ways to recruit supporters by using specific venues such as rallies and events with the help of announcements, flyers, etc.

• Mobile phone advocacy communication allows organizations to recruit participants as permanent supporters

Text messaging in the U.S.

African-Americans: 780 texts/month Hispanics: 767 texts/monthWhites: 566 texts//month Asians: 384 texts/month

American women: 601 texts/monthAmerican men: 447 texts/month

Teens: 2,779 texts/monthAged 18-24: 1,299 texts/monthAged 25-34: 592 texts/month

Best Practices

6 Steps for a Successful Mobile Advocacy Campaign 1. Set goals and plan your mobile advocacy campaign2. Identify a vendor to run your mobile advocacy campaign3. Develop a marketing plan to reach your mobile constituency4. Craft the mechanics of your campaign and your mobile

messaging steps5. Set-up your system to get your mobile data into your in-house

database6. Decide on your campaign closure and evaluation activities

Key Ingredients • Call-to-Action• Benefit Statement• Special Considerations• Terms and Conditions• Branding

Potential Drawbacks• Few Standards• Privacy and Permission• Questionable Navigation• Network Problems• Cost• Data Caps• Ease of Use

Case Studies

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Advocacy Haiti Earthquake 2010: Following the Haiti earthquake in 2010, $43 million was raised via text donations. For 74% of these donors, the Haiti campaign represented the first time they have made a charitable contribution through a mobile device and three-quarters of them did so on the “spur-of-the-moment” without undertaking much research.Other examples: International Fund for Animal Welfare 2006, Last Call at the Oasis

International Political CampaignsUganda: Fraud was decreased by 26% when people using cellphones took pictures of posted local election tallies and sent them to a central clearinghouse.Other examples: Arab Spring (Middle East Uprisings), New Zealand

U.S. Political CampaignsBachman Congressional Campaign 2012: People who attended the Minnesota State Fair in 2010 and had a smartphone received targeted ads on their mobile devices from Michelle Bachmann’s congressional campaign informing them that her opponent supported food tax increases. Other examples: Obama Presidential Campaign 2008, Gingrich Presidential Campaign 2012, Obama Presidential Campaign 2012

Next Steps: Public Affairs Practice

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Public Affairs

• Recommend optimizing websites for mobile access display, given higher proportion of mobile Internet access.

• Upon establishing social media channels or landing pages, integrate opt-in text alert functions for followers to receive updates and notification of news, media events, appearances, etc.

Country Work

• Deliver call-to-action messages including physical and virtual organization/assembly around key events, media appearances, discussions

• Encourage recruitment and cross-promote mobile campaign on social media platforms, especially Facebook

• Establish “text to donate” or “text to tweet” programs for supporters

Appendix: Mobile in Jordan and Indonesia

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Of the 95% of Jordanians who said they own a cell phone, 63% said they send text messages.

Of the 55% of Indonesians who said they own a cell phone, 96% said they send text messages.

Jordan’s mobile phone penetration reached 120% by the end of the third quarter of 2011, with 7.465 million subscribers by the end of September, of whom 6.7 million are prepaid card users (meanwhile, internet penetration reached 45% by the end of September, with 2.813 million internet users in the country).

In Indonesia, mobile phone penetration tripled in the past five years to 54%; much of this growth is being driven by teens, with more than 70% having a mobile phone connection. 63% of Indonesian Internet users have adopted mobile Internet, placing the country at the top of Southeast Asia's mobile Internet penetration.