Election India: Online (Cyber) campaigning series 2

First- let me applaud the efforts and the open mindedness of most Indian politicians. They are always ready to embrace technology and try it out. It might take a lot of an effort to have them jump in with both feet but it is incredible that they willingly explore the options available.

Let us move to Bangalore- the technical hub of India. It is clearly one the most tech-savvy, affluent constituencies in India. As expected, from here came some of the most aggressive and innovative online campaigns for the 2009 elections.
Everyone was on Facebook- some very active, some not so active, some clearly with no clue about what to do next. From an onlooker, observer point of view- the profiles were there, the ‘friends’ turned followers were there- but the numbers- pathetic.

Youtube channel had 16 or 17 views.

Websites – sure saw some really good work there. Some of websites are very well done and updated regularly. Some even have lots of people interacting with each other. Special mention Congress website- did not work well, was too part oriented but a good effort. What I personally liked was the FriendsofBJP website that was put together by actual supporters and citizens and not just political leaders- much more effective.

Orkut- yes- the usual- go make a profile, make a community etc…. could have gone a bit beyond the basic.

Special mention- Orkut- at least some of the camps that had existing communities- had some traction. That said- a good percentage of the people who were on there, were not in India (USA, Australia being really active) and so not really the target audience.

Clearly traditional online approach was not working.

With two prominent, well read, well rounded candidates coming to heads, Bangalore went beyond that.

In the quest for looking for an effective medium to reach the masses, they found out that the cell phones (mobile phones) seem to be the logical answer. While many Indians live in poverty, they the use their cell phones, to learn about the world -bypassing the newspaper and TV. (Yes, there is that little issue of trust there as well). For example, they know who Obama is and are aware of the US and world recession.

Obama had used the Silicon Valley darling, Twitter, so it seemed to be logical to some candidates and they started paying special attention to it. Guess they thought- Twitter=Web + Mobile. One thing everyone one forgot to check- how many people on Twitter, were really on the mobile phone? And if Twitter on the phone actually worked. If it did- same problem- language- primarily English- or Kannada written in English.

The politician realized quickly that short ‘tweets’ or text messages wasn’t the ideal medium to reach, and possibly sway the voters as it did not carry that personal appeal, the charisma, the emotions that actually worked so well in India. Text really did not have the desired effect - where emotions really count…. Plus that would not be viral- would not help them reach more and more people. Would anyone show a text message sent by a politician to 20 other people?

Some of the leaders stopped and considered- computers may not be available. Broadband may be out of reach but India has a significant number of people with access to mobile phones that were capable of multimedia. Of these users, a good percentage, especially those with Internet access, rely on the cell phones to gain knowledge of world events, even in rural areas where mobile Internet access is limited.

For example, being in touch with the Indian youth on a daily basis for the last three years, I’m not surprised when a 19year old, from a small village in Bihar, asks me how I feel about Obama being President or another one in West Bengal comes up with issues like the US foreign policy. I am, at times, taken aback with some of the questions and the debates I get drawn in to and have to quickly turn on my laptop to find out about things I missed or haven’t had the time to get to. It does not surprise me that all their knowledge has actually come through – not TV, not newspaper or radio but rather a data connection on their phones.

It is this quality of the Indian population- the thirst to find out about what is happening beyond their immediate circle- that the politicians or for that matter any marketing campaign need to tap on. Yes, I consider Political campaigns a very sophisticated form of marketing. It is just that. The bottom-line is how many people you can get and market your plans or principles for running the nation with.

If there is anyone who understands what can make or break them, it is the politicians and the music industry. Just as the music industry understands that a Bollywood mega hit gives them the punch in sales- what actually keeps them going is the religious and yes, Bhojpuri tracks. Same goes for the Indian politicians. They know that the heart and the majority vote is rural India.

Right here, I need to stop and tell you that I have a new found respect for the political leaders. They are really smart people. They quickly figure what works and what doesn’t and what they need to keep feeding even post election. This is the first time I actually got the feeling that they wanted their supporters to stay with them during this election and then way beyond.

Now the desirable online campaign space really begins to take shape- to reach the masses what is needed is something that works on a mobile phone and can go beyond text- to audio and video. Using audio and video takes care of the language problem. You send an audio or video message and at the touch of a button, it plays. And hurrah you got something that is a winner! It has all the elements needed- no language barriers, multimedia- so much more appealing. Would definitely be something a group of people would ‘watch’ listen to together.

And that needs data or GPRS.

I know, I know - mobile data subscription in rural India is not that great but- here is the nugget- even if one person in the village has a data connection (not unheard of) the whole village reaps the benefits. Yes, they sit in groups and watch videos, audio and this is so much more effective than one person sitting alone at a computer. That guy with the data enabled phone- of course- is the classic ‘influencer’ a term used so often in social marketing.

The next important factor in creating a pool of dedicated followers and keeping it comes from the ability of the fans to be able to talk to the leaders. Get a feeling that they can reach them.

And more importantly for them to sign-up for the service.

Hmmm.. would anyone download an application that was being pushed by a political party? Sure- a few die-hard followers would. And they in turn could use it for the house meetings where the mobile phone video of the candidate would take center stage. Effectively- the message that was sent now can reach several other people. In reality, this in itself is not the right way to go even though it is a very good start.

Well- a first step was understanding the need to get the youth involved and keeping the channels of communication open as being an important part of the campaign. It took courage to actually leave a channel open for discussions, direct feedback. And to have those channels stay open even post election! The fact is that the leaders understand that coming election is important but really is just one election. They need to start working on online campaigning now to build those lasting connections and a loyal, relationship. Albeit, a little late in starting BJP’s AKConnect- a means to reach people on mobile phones with GPRS- is a step in the right direction. Hopefully Congress will also have some means of keeping the channels open.

Politics in India is changing. And open lines of communication are going to play a big role in all campaigns and so is transparency.

P.S.
I have no political ties. I have had the opportunity to observe the ups and downs and what went through the typical political party’s mind while toying with online campaigning for the India Election for this year as part of my work.

Ananth Connect: An interesting take on the part of BJP candidate, Ananth Kumar’s take on Mobile social networkin, AKConnect is a downloadable application for the supporters and friends of BJP and Ananth himself. It is interesting to see that Ananth at once saw potential for something that would take him beyond this election –possibly in to the next one and the next. He saw the power of the networking, possibly even spotting new leadership from the group interactions that could take the Party farther. Only- drawback being that it was ‘launched’ too close to the election to be properly leveraged for this time. Then again, the purpose of AKConnect was not to go full thrust, but rather to keep the momentum going until- next election and beyond. Let us watch and see how well they actually use this powerful tool.

The ‘beyond’ this election is the key to this year’s online campaigning. Watch the space mature well in time for the next one. (Watch for updates on RockeTalk blog)

My prediction- there will be a clear move towards using rich multimedia applications (like RockeTalk) and the WAP. With a large percentage of phones and data connections fully enabled, India will bypass the ‘computer’ online campaigning and leapfrog straight to the mobile phones- full multimedia.

And now- if only the mobile operators/carriers could keep a check on the cost of data. (Yes, they would still make money- maybe even more…)