Sidewalks are chalked, Web sites are up and Facebook group invites are flooding homepages as the three campaigns for Northwestern’s Associated Student Government president gear up for the April 15 election.
Monday at 12:01 a.m. marked the end of a pre-election moratorium on public campaigning and a quick start to campaign advertising efforts. In an age of viral communication, candidates have more options than ever for reaching voters across campus.
Even with the plethora of new media available, consistency in message across platforms remains the most important campaign tool, said Communication Prof. Jason DeSanto, who teaches a course in political communication and campaign marketing techniques.
“The fear is thinking so much about what new technologies can do for you that you don’t have a coherent message,” he said. “It really comes back to ‘What is the story I am trying to tell about myself?'”
Alex Sims, one of ASG presidential candidate Mike McGee’s two campaign managers, said the efforts to keep her candidate’s persona of “casual approachability” consistent are reflected in everything from the campaign’s logo to its Web site, both of which McGee designed himself.
“We went with using both the candidates’ first names,” the SESP junior said. “On the Web site it’s just a picture of Mike and Tommy (Smithburg, McGee’s running mate) walking and talking.”
Personality is paramount to who gets elected, DeSanto said.
“Candidly, on college campuses, humor is the most important thing,” he said.
Jack Eichorst, ASG presidential candidate Bill Pulte’s campaign manager, said bringing his candidate face-to-face with the public is a sure-fire way to get votes.
The third candidate, Luke Adams, is making his second run for president. He said last year he focused too much on meeting people and wants to instead try less conventional methods of campaigning. This Sunday Adams is hosting an Easter egg hunt at the Rock.
ASG presidential candidates have a $138 campaign spending limit, said Election Commissioner Paul David Shrader.
“We don’t expect them to be running high cost campaigns,” the Weinberg senior said. “We are encouraging them to be creative and use their resources well.”
All three candidates have Facebook groups with links to their campaign Web sites, hosted on the NU server. On Pulte’s site, users can watch him discuss his platform while McGee’s site links up to “Mike and Tommy in the News.”
“The challenge is to find as wide an audience through as many channels as possible,” DeSanto said. “The chief advantage of a Web site with videos is that it is inexpensive, and especially on college campuses, (voters) are more conversant in those technologies.”
The same thing goes for utilizing text messages and e-mails, DeSanto said. But there is still no substitute for “good signage,” he added.
“You want to make the candidates’ names sticky in voters’ minds,” he said. “That’s the most important thing.”
