In this first edition of the #RealTalk series, we asked our very own Editors and Co-founders, a PR specialist and a netizen from Reddit to answer the political question of the week: Ano ang dapat gawin ng Oposisyon para manalo sa darating na #Eleksyon2022? (What should the opposition do to win the #Eleksyon2022?).
“A winning message.
A winning message that will inspire, if not animate, the voters. It’s not just a campaign slogan like “Erap Para Sa Mahirap” o “Kung Walang Kurap, Walang Mahirap”. Kwento sya ng iyong kampanya at rason bakit ka kumakandidato.
You need a hero in that story. The hero is not the candidate but the voters. Importante na sila ang bida sa kwento ng kampanya mo para bigyang-pansin ka nila.
Sa mensahe ng kampanya dapat malinaw ano ang mga suliranin ng bida ng kwento ang nais mong solusyunan at ano ang mga plano mo para dito.
It’s also important to identify an enemy or causes of your hero’s problem. It need not be the opposing candidates. It could be intangible like corruption or apathy. You also need to emphasize what is at stake in that election.
Lastly, the message must not only for asking the vote but for the voter’s engagement. Lalo na ngayo’t pandemya, di na pwedeng boto lang ang hihingin mo kundi ang pakikilahok nila sa iyong kampanya.
Every election is unique, different and game-changing. Your message must be able to adapt with quick changes in the campaign.”
–Jan, Editor/Co-founder, Politixxx Today
“The clearest “peg” I can think of here for the Candidate as a reference is how Stacey Abrams won Georgia for the DNC. When she lost the race for Governor in the election prior to the 2020 US Nationals, Ms. Abrams didn’t go into “try again” mode.
Instead, she made sure that Democratic and Progressive voters in the very much Red State of Georgia were registered to vote, kept them hyped for the elections, and made sure each and every one of them would be able to cast their vote on Election Day. The results speak for themselves.
This is a part of the campaign I would prefer to have been done sometime ago, like a couple of months or even a year after the 2019 Midterms. It takes time to set this up properly, and there’s your concerns in places where you not only have to deal with corrupt LGUs but also the bandit group known as the CPP-NPA who WILL demand you pony up the cash for their “tax”.
But the idea is to set up an operational setup for you that covers the entire “voter’s journey” (like a “buyer’s journey”), from getting them registered to vote all the way to Election Day. The Candidate must be able to ensure that each of his voters can do so (by being legally registered) and will do so by showing up at their designated precinct on Election Day.
Even this late, there should be time to set something up, whether on your own or by tapping local organizations and groups.
Obama and Biden both assured their victories on the strength of the ground game of their respective organizations. They had people and allies who made sure their voters were registered and would show up on election day (or submit their mail ballots properly in the case of Biden). In the same way, the Clinton campaign failed because they didn’t have a proper ground game to ensure that people who disliked Trump would vote for her and not Jill Stein or “Abstain” by staying home.
Most of the PR push for the Candidate will probably come from two main modes: social media and local radio. These two have, at least to my mind, the widest reach and deepest penetration with their respective audiences. Both also rely on the rapidity of spreading the message of and increasing awareness on the Candidate.
Local radio is noted here because not everyone even in this extremely-connected country has access to social media channels and even if they did it’s probably the FREE version so you have no assurance that your best digital collaterals are getting seen and/or heard.
Local radio, though… as my radio mentor at the Ateneo said, you can be sure that there is a radio set in some far off mountain village. Add to that the fact that the Lower C, D and E demographics get exposed to this medium perhaps more than anything else in their daily lives because, again, their access to the usual social media channels and digital entertainment is either non-existent or severely limited. PUV drivers – especially taxi drivers – listen to AM Radio, so with barbers who aren’t in those 200 PhP-per-cut barber shops in malls, fisherfolk out in sea, or the tindero and tindera at the local wet market. These can act as carriers of the Candidate’s message whenever said people interact with members of the general public, enhancing the reach and penetration of the Candidate.
From an operations and campaign standpoint, the Candidate will probably spend the next few months leading into Q3 with Awareness activities. The word must be sent out without making it look too obvious that the Candidate is running. The important part is that prior to the filing of candidacy in Q4, the Candidate must be confident that there is enough groundswell to merit pushing with the filing.
Because, again, national electoral campaigns are brutal and very expensive, the latter not even accounting for bribes and other corruption-related activities. And the fact of the matter is that the Candidate is starting late against a field that has quite the head start with many of the participants having backers with substantial war chests; at least one of those rivals is even being backed by an entire country.”
– Rob Ramos, PR and Advertising Specialist
“FIRST POINT: Kailangan sipatin kung sino o ano ba ang “Oposisyon”? Does it refer to the liberals, progressives, the civil society network, the Catholic Church or the NDs alone? Or does it include anyone except Duterte, Marcos and Arroyo? ie. traditional politicians like Yorme Isko Moreno, Grace Poe, Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson, Sen. Gordon etc.
Mahalagang alamin ng “Oposisyon” at mga supporters nito ang lawak at hangganan ng kakayahan at kagustuhan nilang makipag-alyansa sa iba’t ibang anyo at kulay ng pulitiko at power brokers tulad ng mga malalaking negosyante at lokal na “power elites” sa Pilipinas.
SECOND POINT: The 2022 election is pivotal. It has immense implications in our health, economy, the power equilibrium in our local politics, and geopolitics in South China Sea.
Sa mahigit limang taong panunungkulan ni President Duterte, marami syang interest na sinagasaan. Nandyan ang mga Lopezes, Ongpings, MVP, Ayalas, Barrientos etc. There is also the United States who sees the Dutertes as a political risk. Hahayaan ba ng ibang political power elites ng Pilipinas na patuloy na ma-monopolize ang kapangyarihan at kurapsyon sa mga Duterte, Davao Boys at mga alipores nila? Will the United States risk the South China Sea with another pro-China Duterte-aligned candidate?
THIRD POINT: Marami pang pwedeng mangyari between the filing of candidacy this October and the actual election day next year. Filipino voters are malleable. They want drama and spectacles. They don’t vote based on continuity. In fact, the only post-EDSA admin candidate who won the Presidential race was President Ramos.
LAST POINT: Hindi ko sinasabing mataas ang tyansa ng oposisyon na manalo sa darating na #Eleksyon2022 because obviously the odds are not in their favor, but one thing is 100% clear for me, this would neither be an easy or sure battle to win for the Duterte admin candidates. It will be messy and bloody.
–Emil, Editor/Co-founder, Politixxx Today
“Having Data people in the Candidate’s organization will allow for better messaging and finer targeting. Makakatulong sila para mas magamit ng maayos at wasto ang kakarampot na mapagkukunan ng rekurso.
A good Data team should give the organization an accurate snapshot of preferences among the country’s electorate. Hindi masasayang ang pagsisikap na makakuha ng boto sa mga lugar na walang pag-asang maipanalo o mga lugar na magbibigay ng mas malaking lamang na boto.
A good Data team will also provide the Candidate’s organization with accurate monitoring of the electorate’s pulse. Do not rely on the survey companies: surveys and polling, despite their scientific grounding, are marketing tools used to influence decision-making for target audiences. To use them as the campaign’s bellwether for electoral sentiment would be problematic.
Kung makakakuha ang kandidato ng maayos at magaling na mga tao na magpapaliwanag ng mga datos, mas madali, mabilis at malinaw na maiaangkop ang mga aksyon ng kandidato para mas pumulso sa gusto ng tao.”
– Jeff, Chief Data Specialist/Co-Founder, Politixxx Today
– belabase7789 from Reddit
Catch us next Saturday for another edition of #RealTalk. Next week’s political question is: “Will the Marcoses make a successful comeback in Malacañang next year?”
Share your thoughts with us at articles@politixxx.today or send us a message in Politixxx Today Facebook Page for a chance to be featured in this column.
#RealTalk is a weekly column that features the “hot takes” or insights of Politixxx Today’s editors and writers, guest respondents and netizens on pressing political issues in the Philippines in relation to #Eleksyon2022.