A Step-by-step Guide to Planning a Perfect Political Event

Political campaigns are expensive! We all know that the 2020 Donald Trump Political Campaign was by far the most expensive in the US. He spent around $2.2 million on a single rally! Generally, in-person events like rallies, fundraisers, virtual events, and administrative gatherings are high stakes. They give an excellent fundraising opportunity, mobilizing the voters and setting the tone for media coverage. Therefore, political event planning becomes pertinent no matter how big or local an election you are contesting. By taking the help of campaign consultants, you can plan a successful political event.

In this article, we have covered a few steps to plan the perfect political event along with an actionable checklist that will be extremely helpful –

What is vital in political event planning?

If the political event is conducted using perfect political campaign strategies, you can get a successful fundraising, mobilization, and image-building opportunity. The process sure is very complicated, but when you have the vital elements in place, you can start working towards them. Following these will make political event planning successful.

Below listed are a few vital actionable elements that will make your political rally, fundraising, or virtual event successful.

Make a list of events that are organized

The first step for planning a successful political event is to finalize its type. This entirely depends on your choice of outcome. For example, if you want to raise funds, then your event should bring together strong supporters, make a strong case that will compel them to donate.

When you are outlining your event type, you need to cover the below-mentioned pointers.

• The nature of the event

• Speeches, addresses, the appearance of the candidate and your sponsors

• A proper itinerary for the opening act, the main event, and the encores

• The desired outcome

• Location of the event

• Characteristic of the attendees of the event – demographic factors, big donors, and vocal supporters

• Desired size of the attendee

• Desired attendee size.

  

Budget of the event

Having a proper budget during the initial stages of the event gives you an estimate of the amount that needs to be directed from the existing funds. It also gives you an idea of the additional amount of funds that have to be raised for the event and the expected tangible or intangible outcome – the awareness, support, etc. when you calculate these 3 factors you can get a clear projection of this event.

Keep in mind the below-mentioned pointers.

• You should have a clear demarcation of the things included in the budget of the event.

• Figuring out whether the event marketing and communications will be accommodated in the decided budget.

• Compare the budget of previous similar events with the current projections

• Cater to the current mood of your supporter’s ad then plan the event accordingly.

• Have a 10 to 15% margin on top of your expense projections.

Get your sponsors on board

No matter what the budget is, every event planning gets successful when it is backed by a solid sponsor. Below mentioned are some tips that will help you get the sponsors onboard with your political events.

• Show PACs and community organizations how your views match with their causes. You must ensure that your event will get them the recognition they deserve.

• You can get corporate branding on your merchandise or decor. If you give them visibility, they will shoulder the costs.

• Include products from local businesses in your events.

• Dig in the existing sponsors and get them to finance this event.

Hire dedicated volunteers

Your volunteers will be the backbone of your political event. Without them, no matter what planning you do, everything will go flop. Hence you must recruit dedicated individuals who will be the face of your campaign just after the candidate. This can be done with the help of campaign management firms. An ideal event volunteer should have the following qualities.

• They should be dedicated to your cause and the campaign.

• Be very enthusiastic.

• They should have experience in political field organization and crowd management

• They should be well trained by your team.

• They must be patient and be assertive in high-stress situations.

When you need a huge team, getting the right kind of campaign volunteers can be very challenging. Here is one such way you can overcome this challenge – Text message

Text messages are now a preferred mode of communication for a lot of people. When you are at the stage of planning a political event, you must be ready with a responsive SMS contact list. They will be your dedicated supporters and be an excellent pool of volunteers.

Political event planning checklist:

Here is a political campaign planning checklist for you

Finance –

• Budget of the essentials

• The budget that is required to rise

• Confirmation received from the sponsors

• Funds received from the sponsors

• Buffer and Petty cash

• Advance payment is done to the vendors

Promotions and marketing –

• Event messaging

• Boards, hoardings, online posts, and advertisements with candidate branding

• Marketing channels have displayed shortcodes, numbers and displayed keywords

• Campaign literature copies are 20% more as compared to the expected turnout

• Sponsor brandings are aligned with the contacts

• Press releases were sent out.

• Personal messages are sent to the media

• Press attendance confirmation received.

• Reminders sent to confirmed press attendees

• Marketing strategies employed.

• Marketing strategies are tracked.

• Event sign-ups received from marketing channels.

Volunteers –

• Appeals sent to the volunteers

• 15% more than the required count have signed up

• Volunteers have undergone the necessary training

• Passes and notices for the event has been distributed

Logistics –

• Security personnel has been arranged.

• The venue is booked.

• Venue permissions acquired and contracts signed.

• Insurance is in place.

• Catering vendor finalized (advance payment done).

• Furniture rental vendor finalized (advance payment done).

• Candidate accommodation sorted.

• Candidate and chief staff travel sorted.

• Staff and volunteer accommodation sorted.

• Personal communication and invites

• Personal texts sent to contact lists

• Follow up with non-respondents

• Reminders sent to confirmed attendees

The Bottom line –

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