4 Messaging Lessons from the 2024 U.S. Campaigns

 

Campaign rallies have been the hallmark of any election season in democracies all over the world and the U.S. is not an exception. Organizing rallies in different cities, counties, and towns is traditionally the best opportunity for candidates to communicate their agenda to their potential voters. How candidates communicate to their constituents, individually and through their teams, determine their success on the ballot box and overall, the success of the nation when they win. Verbal and non-verbal communication techniques employed by the candidates have been used throughout the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign and a couple of observations have been made along the way on political communications 101.

Thank you for your time
Political rallies in the US elections are well-organized solely out of respect for people’s time. Time taken to plan, stand in queues, sometimes for hours, and attend the rallies. That’s why it is commendable that American political candidates’ campaign teams are not shy to ask the locals to volunteer their time in helping to organize the rallies to prove that they value the time and safety of the rally attendants.

The plan is to book the venue and send a delegation of volunteers and organizers days in advance to oversee the preparations. They will also send out online announcements of the upcoming rally with location details like the venue city, town, and premises names, date and time, and then they will open it for individuals to book their seats in the hall.

They will alert the local law enforcement officials and emergency services like fire and emergency medics with standby ambulances to be present on the day. When the day comes, they will arrange for attendants to form queues and then they will open the gates to the point where all the seats are filled. In the case a person has to leave the venue, they are replaced with the next person on the queue outside. When the venue is full and the event has started, the remaining attendants outside will most likely be turned away to watch the rally elsewhere.

While huge rallies have been a test of popularity throughout the campaign, how they are run is a hallmark of a culture of good organization. Organizers, volunteers, and attendants are openly appreciated because of their time and you will often hear the candidate give a vote of thanks during the keynote speech. “You could have been somewhere else attending to other important matters but you chose to be here,” they’ll say.

1.   Stick to the script

The keynote speeches in the US campaigns have been well-written, rehearsed, scrutinized by the campaign communications team, and shared over and over again with the voters. The objective of a planned speech is to share the candidate’s vision of their goals and targets that they will tackle if they win. Another objective for the speech is to convince all who are listening that the candidate has the best of their interest at heart.

The scripts are well-timed in order to get everyone’s attention. And while there were other speakers before the keynote, candidates will mention in their speech that they are aware and appreciate the crowds for waiting for them for hours sometimes and they are sensitive to the ones who might be tired or sickly but have also taken the time to attend. 

No mentioning names

There has been a secret code among candidates when attacking their opponents and defending their record. They have steered clear of naming some of the people who are linked to their opponents. Instead, they have laid the attack and responsibility squarely on their opponent and neglected to going any further into naming names.

For instance, by accusing Trump of appointing the Supreme Court judges who later used their numbers to overturn the judgement of the case involving women reproductive rights popularly known as Roe v. Wade, his opponents in the Democratic party have steered clear of mentioning the names of the judges appointed by Trump to the SCOTUS. Instead, they have laid the responsibility squarely on the former president. Another example is how the candidates have steered clear of mentioning, or criticizing each other’s children, spouses, or any close family members.

Hearing it through their own voices

Last but not least on messaging is inviting persons of interest to the rallies to endorse a candidate and speak on what they care about in their own voices. For example, on the matter of reproductive rights, the Democratic party have invited women who have been in emergency situations with their pregnancies to speak about the importance of passing laws that protect their health in emergency situations. It would send the wrong message if a candidate excluded women when arguing for reproductive rights for women.

Another example of good messaging through endorsements is when a candidate holds a rally at a certain town or city and includes the local candidates and leaders in the schedule of speakers. Excluding the local leaders would be a sign that a candidate is out of touch and out of favor in the community and it would be hard to convince the voters that the candidate will deal with issues that matter to that locale.

In conclusion, messaging during the US campaigns have been a model that many democracies around the world can emulate. The opinion poll on democracy as a system of government has struggled in recent years, but the U.S. campaigns have proved that when applied through a committed citizenry, it can work for the good of all.