That’s the score when it comes to the number of presidential campaigns employing text message-based mobile outreach strategies. (We’ve counted Edwards, Clinton, Obama and Kucinich.)

Last night, Kevin Bertram spoke at Mobile Monday DC’s September event. The topic was success factors for mobile marketing in a presidential race. Kevin’s company, Distributive Networks, runs the Obama campaign’s mobile program, which launched this summer.

Kevin gave us his Top Ten Lessons for running a mobile campaign for political candidates:

1. A dedicated short code is imperative. You don’t want your supporters to accidentally receive messages from companies who might be assigned the same shortcode. Splurge on the extra cost ($1,000 vs. $500) for your own shortcode.
2. Timelines and relevance are key. When the Obama campaign used text messaging to remind its supporters about a debate at Howard University, some of the recipients told the campaign that even though they attended Howard, they didn’t know that there was debate.
3. People like to feel empowered, so use mobile technology in a way that allows them to talk back to you and take action. One example Kevin cited was asking your volunteers to text you about their experiences canvassing.
4. People like free stuff, like ring tones, bumper stickers, and wallpaper. And when you ask them where to send their loot – like bumper stickers – you can collect their mailing addresses as well.
5. Segment your lists by zipcode/area code, events, and issues. People should only receive text messages about events in their area and issues they care about.
6. Stay away from complicated.
7. Tests your assumptions. Sometimes what you believe about mobile technology, such as the myth that only young people use text messaging, is proven inaccurate.
8. Dedicated customer service is important. Make sure work with a company that has a dedicated staff ready and able to answer your supporters’ questions.
9. Knowing and following the Mobile Marketing Association’s rules is imperative. Check out the MMA website.
10. Don’t ask for money. Early gratification equals retention, and mobile is still a tricky medium when it comes to fundraising.

Kevin also left us with a delicious tidbit about using text messaging for get-out-the-vote. In a study conducted by Allison Dale and Aaron Strauss (we found it on MobileActive), the authors found a 4% increase in voter turnout when text messaging was used. There was no backlash, and each vote only cost $1.56, compared to $19 per vote using a phone back.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 7:12 pm and is filed under 2008 Election, Mobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.