Political Campaigns

#113: Data-Driven Political Campaigning in Germany, with Dr. André Haller and Simon Kruschinski

September 5, 2020 Academics

Dr. André Haller (University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tyrol) and Simon Kruschinski (University of Mainz) share their research into data-driven political campaigning in Germany. We discuss the key political, legal, and cultural factors that influence German politicians digital campaigning, differences in organic posts versus paid advertisements, and how social media platforms have been used by fringe political actors.

 

Here’s the research paper we discuss in the episode: Restrictions on Data-Driven Political Micro-targeting in Germany.

#110: Digital Media, Democracy, and the Retooling of Politics, with Dr. Andreas Jungherr

July 18, 2020 Academics

Dr. Andreas Jungherr, Assistant Professor for Social Science Data Collection and Analysis at the University of Konstanz, guests to discuss his latest book, “Retooling Politics: How Digital Media are Shaping Democracy.” 

 

We chat about the state of social media research in political science and political communication, and what we currently know about echo chambers, polarization, and election prediction. We also discuss how digital media is shaping political campaigning and the role it might play for campaigns in the future. 

#95: Political Advertising on Facebook and Television, with Prof. Travis Ridout

November 25, 2019 Academics

Prof. Travis Ridout, Distinguished Professor of Government and Politics at Washington State University, guests to discuss a new study examining American campaigns’ political advertising on Facebook and television in the 2018 US midterm elections. We break down some of the key differences between the two media in terms of who is more likely to use Facebook advertising, when and where online ads are most likely to occur, and how the topics and tone of ads across the two media differ.

Read the full study here!

#89: Fake News, Disinformation, and Social Media Campaigning in Norway, with Dr. Bente Kalsnes

August 25, 2019 Academics


Dr. Bente Kalsnes, Associate Professor of Communication at Kristiania University College, guests to discuss her new book “Fake News: Lies, Disinformation, and Propaganda in the Digital Public Sphere.” We also break down politicians’ social media campaigning in Norway, how this campaigning is changing ahead of the 2019 local elections, and look at some early Norwegian social media sites that predated Facebook

#84: Authentic Campaigns, Social Media, and Politics, with Loren Merchan and Jonathan Barnes

June 16, 2019 Digital Strategists


Loren Merchan and Jonathan Barnes guest to discuss the concept of authenticity and authentic campaigns in US elections. We break down the concept of authenticity, and discuss how digital and social media can be leveraged to make a candidate seem more authentic during a campaign.

Read more about Authentic Campaigns here!

#79: Presidential Campaigning, Digital Media, and US Elections, with Dr. Jennifer Stromer-Galley

May 12, 2019 Academics


Dr. Jennifer Stromer-Galley, Professor of Information Studies at Syracuse University, guests to share her research on American presidential campaigns and their digital media use since 1996.


We discuss her award-winning book, Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age, as well as its upcoming second edition, which includes a chapter on the 2016 election. Dr. Stromer-Galley breaks down how American campaigns’ digital strategy has changed over time, how it hasn’t, and what these practices reflect about democracy.

#78: Advertising and Fundraising for Political Campaigns, with Brian Lyle

April 29, 2019 Digital Strategists

Brian Lyle, Vice President of Digital Strategy at On Message, Inc., and AAPC 2019 Digital Strategist of the Year, guests to discuss his award-winning work during the 2018 US Midterms.

We discuss On Message’s approach to political campaigning – advertising, organic growth, and fundraising – and the role of digital media in each. We also break down differences in campaigning between challengers and incumbents, discover what makes a good campaign website, and talk about new forms of advertising like OTT and P2P texting.

#77: Ukraine Presidential Elections and Social Media Campaigning, with Mikhail Fedorov

April 13, 2019 Digital Strategists

Mikhail Fedorov, Chief Digital Strategist for Vladimir Zelensky, joins the podcast to discuss digital campaigning ahead of the 2019 Ukrainian Presidential Elections. We discuss how Zelensky, the election’s frontrunner, is using tools like Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram to grow a support base and coordinate volunteers’ canvassing efforts. We also talk about bots, trolls, and fake news in Ukraine ahead of the election, and how the Zelensky campaign is working to avoid information pollution on their online channels.

Be sure to check out the podcast’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube channels!

#74: Political Campaigning with Chatbots, Streaming Devices, and Social Media, with Adam Meldrum

March 10, 2019 Digital Strategists

Adam Meldrum, Founding and Managing Partner at Ad Victory, guests to discuss the cutting-edge trends in American digital campaigning. We look at some best practices and innovations from the 2018 Midterm Elections around ad buys, booking inventory, OTT campaigns, and Facebook Messenger chatbots. And of course, how social media fits into the modern political campaign apparatus.

#72: Digital Political Campaigning in Britain, with Dr. Rachel Gibson

February 10, 2019 Academics

Dr. Rachel Gibson, Professor of Politics at the University of Manchester, discusses British political parties’ digital campaigning from websites to social media. We take a longitudinal dive into the development of digital campaigning in the UK, and compare it to campaigning practices in the US. Then, we examine how citizens’ political participation is evolving through their use of digital communication technologies.