Mastering Integrated Marketing: Interview with Jessica Grounds

I recently had a chance to interview Jessica Grounds, Senior Strategist at Stones’ Phones, on her experience with integrated communications strategies.

Jessica's firm Stones’ Phones, a political phone consulting outfit, along with Bates Neimand, a political direct-mail firm, and Advocacy Inc, a political online consulting firm, were hired by a major labor union to create an integrated paid communications plan.  They were commissioned to design and execute a $5 Million program to target and persuade infrequent voting single women to vote for John Kerry for President.

Frogloop: How did you target your audience?
Jessica: To maximize the integration of all three mediums, we selected 1,000,000 single voting women between the ages of 22-45 in 11 swing states by starting with women that had email addresses.  By starting with email, we ensured that most voters would receive all three forms of communication: mail, phone calls and emails. We designed a detailed program in each state that combined messaging using these three mediums.

FL: What other strategic considerations did you have to take?
JG: The overall project thematic messaged to voters with language that referenced a “vote” as something that could “buy” the voter a better life.  For example, “A vote for John Kerry is a vote that will “buy” you more affordable health care.”  Understanding that single voting women are very consumer oriented, we felt that this kind of messaging would be more effective than the typical political messaging.  We wanted to communicate with language that was more meaningful and explained that their vote for John Kerry would help “buy” them a better life, but buying them more affordable health care, financial security, and an end to the war in Iraq. 

FL: What was the biggest benefit of conducting an integrated communications strategy (offline-online)?

JG: There were two major benefits:

1. Conducting an integrated program ensures that a majority of voters receive at least some of the messages we delivered to them.  If you rely on one medium you are limiting your penetration of the mass of voters we attempted to inform and persuade to vote for our candidate.  Our entire consulting team understood that voters are bombarded by tons of information everyday.  To help move through the clutter of information--we felt an integrated paid communications plan would help the message to penetrate into households.
2. Similarly, using multiple mediums allows you to support each medium by using the other mediums to do so.  For example, to start the program we conducted an ID program using an interactive automated phone survey and an online survey.  Using both mediums we were able to garner information about what issues these women cared about.  We conducted these surveys in our top targeted states. This helped us to pinpoint our message for further communication.  Also, we often reinforce messages by using two mediums together. For example a voter would receive a phone call telling them to look out for information in the mail.  The next day they would receive a mail piece that included information about why they should vote for John Kerry.

FL: What was the biggest challenge?

JG: The voter file select was difficult to pinpoint initially.  This was primarily because the database for emails is newer and it was harder to find updated files for all of our targeted states. 

FL: What top three pieces of advice do you have for nonprofits that want to implement an integrated communications strategy for fundraising or list-growth?

JG:

1. I would suggest not overly relying on online communications.  It is important to reach audiences that aren’t part of the online community.  This can be done with paid or volunteer phone calls.  This can also be done with some of the less expensive direct mail services.  There are new direct mail companies that allow you to add a high level of personalization to the mail that can help penetrate your message. 
2. Remember that not everyone is asked to be involved. Think creatively to reach out to new folks who are not already part of the non-profit world.  There are strategic ways you can reach out to groups.  To go along with this, I would suggest using already established networks to move your message.  This means there is already a basis of support for x, y or z and they might collectively be interested in what you’re doing.
3. Hire a fundraising consultant, if you can afford to.  Good fundraising consultants will help you to maximize your time and money.  You could even reach out to fundraisers to see if they’d be willing to be paid after they help to make you some money.

FL: How did you measure the ROI of your efforts?

JG: A major political public opinion firm was commissioned to measure the effectiveness of our program.  Post polling found that the email and direct mail were most effective in informing voters about the issues and phone calls were most efficient in getting people to the polls on Election Day.  The poll found that the integration of the different mediums helped to reinforce the messages by maintaining communication throughout a month and a half period before the election.
On Election Day, roughly 68% of single women voted for John Kerry.

FL: How did you handle the challenge of database integration between your offline and online efforts?

JG: To maximize the integration of all three mediums, we selected 1,000,000 single voting women in 11 swing states by starting with those women that had email addresses.  By starting with email, we ensured that most voters would receive all three forms of communication: mail, phone calls and emails.  Because was a political project, we could pull information straight off of the voter file.