Campaign manager
Encyclopedia
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising
, advertising
, poll
ing, getting out the vote (with direct contact to the public), and other activities supporting the effort, directly.
Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader. However, modern campaign managers, particularly at the presidential level, are mostly concerned with executing strategy, not setting it. The senior strategists are typically outside political consultants
, primarily pollsters and media consultants.
Particularly for large, well-funded campaigns, campaign managers often manage a huge number of staffers
and volunteers
in a variety of departments, while also coordinating closely with the candidate and outside consultants.
In the US, increasingly, campaign management has been a speciality occupation. The top-tier of managers will move throughout the country working on a different campaign each election cycle. The challenges of building a successful operation from scratch in less than 2 years makes experienced professionals increasingly valuable.
In addition to their past experience, experienced campaign managers also bring with them knowledge of campaign management tools
and relationships with political consultants
.
Campaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
, advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
ing, getting out the vote (with direct contact to the public), and other activities supporting the effort, directly.
Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader. However, modern campaign managers, particularly at the presidential level, are mostly concerned with executing strategy, not setting it. The senior strategists are typically outside political consultants
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
, primarily pollsters and media consultants.
Particularly for large, well-funded campaigns, campaign managers often manage a huge number of staffers
Political campaign staff
Political campaign staff are the people who formulate and implement the strategy needed to win an election. Many people have made careers out of working full-time for campaigns and groups that support them, but in other campaigns much of the staff might be unpaid volunteers...
and volunteers
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
in a variety of departments, while also coordinating closely with the candidate and outside consultants.
In the US, increasingly, campaign management has been a speciality occupation. The top-tier of managers will move throughout the country working on a different campaign each election cycle. The challenges of building a successful operation from scratch in less than 2 years makes experienced professionals increasingly valuable.
In addition to their past experience, experienced campaign managers also bring with them knowledge of campaign management tools
Campaign management tools
In the past, political campaigns were conducted using traditional methods of personal contact, such as television and radio media purchasing, print advertising and direct mail...
and relationships with political consultants
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
.