Meet BSD: Questions with Matthew McGregor

Matthew McGregor is the head of Blue State Digital’s rapidly growing London office. A veteran of the Jon Cruddas for Deputy Leader and Ken Livingstone for Mayor campaigns, Matthew spent several months in the United States following the 2008 election when he joined BSD at the end of the summer. In addition, he has worked on a variety of other campaigns including an an anti-British National Party campaign. Matthew was recently published in The Change We Need – What Britain can learn from Obama’s Victory.

1. What was your first political job?

The first campaign I got involved in was against the British National Party in my hometown when I was 15. They are racists who spread hatred. They really damage communities where they spring up. I am not sure I did much to change anyone’s mind, but I just wanted to do something to show that most people aren’t as far in the gutter as they are. It’s come full circle now, as one of our first clients in the UK is the anti-BNP campaign group Hope Note Hate. It’s a real honour working with these folks and I hope we can help them make a difference.

My first paid job was as a student union official. I organised campaigns for free education. During the course of which, I once handed a lovely Department of Education official a bouquet of stinging nettles at a rally (stop stinging students... Geddit?).

2. You worked with Blue State Digital on the Livingstone Campaign. What did you learn doing that helped you when you started working at BSD?

Being a client before working for the company has helped on the business side. I can see every possible issue from both sides because I've been on both sides. The big lesson I learned from the Ken campaign was that losing is incredibly unpleasant. Aside from that, there was a big take away for Labour - on the Livingstone campaign, we tore down the barrier between members and non-members and let anyone who wanted Ken to win take part in any aspect of the campaign they desired - organise events, join leaflet drops, take part in online actions. It happened only a tiny bit before Livingstone, but putting it all online meant that online organising took off. It made a big difference and Labour learned a lot from it.

3. You have worked on a variety of campaigns, which tools that BSD provide set it apart from other tools you have used/situations you have been in?

To me the big thing about BSD - what made me hire the firm on two previous campaigns and then jump at a chance of working here - is the strategic approach to engaging people online. But the tools are a massive and integral part of that. The phone bank is a tool that stands out for me - we used it on the Cruddas campaign to allow union activists to contact union members when that union had endorsed a candidate. The warm contact – which is so much better than direct mail or robo-calls - made a huge difference for us. And it might sound simple, but BSD's Mailer is such a significant step above anything else that is available to campaigns. That simple fact has made a big difference to clients. BSD has a mailer that delivers email very fast and doesn't fall over – while that may sound like a given, far too often it’s not for many campaigns.

4. Along with the Livingstone Campaign, you have worked on a variety of other campaigns - can you tell us about them and mention anything that stands out from those campaigns? What worked on those campaigns? What didn't?

Before the Livingstone campaign, I worked for Jon Cruddas, a Labour MP who ran for deputy leader of the Labour Party when Tony Blair and his deputy stood down in 2007. We ran a long campaign because Jon was not well known at the time. Labour has a complicated system for electing its Leader and Deputy, reflecting its history of having affiliated trade unions, a powerful Parliamentary party and so on.

When we launched his campaign, one journalist wrote "Jon who?" - and at the end we won the first round of preference votes. More importantly, we changed the terms of the debate, put long maligned issues on the table and focused the party on bread and butter issues that really matter. When Gordon Brown made his speech accepting leadership of the party, he announced that local council would be allowed to build new homes for people again - one of Jon’s signature issues.

5. Why did you choose Blue State Digital?

Wal-Mart Watch is where I first came across BSD. A couple of years ago I was working with a trade union campaign against Wal-Mart's UK arm, Asda, and I was put in touch through that. Over the last couple of years, I worked with BSD as a client a couple of times (with Jon Cruddas and Ken Livingstone) so it was a great fit when Thomas said the firm wanted a UK office. I won’t get all dewy eyed here, but it is a great firm to work for, so I am pretty pleased that some good has come from Wal-Mart’s rampage across the world economy.

6. You were in the United States for the 2008 election. What are some of the differences and similarities between running a campaign in London/Europe and in the United States?

You know, we're actually pretty similar. I was lucky enough to spend some time in the 5th district of Virginia in November ’08 doing some canvassing for Tom Perriello. The only thing I noticed that is really different from campaigns back home was the accents. And maybe the voters were a bit more polite! Even when one of the campaign volunteers I was with stepped on someone’s dog, they were very nice about it.

The biggest difference is in the attitude campaigns take toward volunteers. The structures of U.S. political parties are more fluid and it’s easier to get involved. When working on a campaign with Labour, I wanted to put each and every volunteer opportunity online, but some old hands thought it could be a problem - "anyone might turn up".

Labour isn't getting much credit for this, but despite the nerves, it’s opening itself up and becoming better at motivating people to join in, and managing the relationship when they do. It’s a great development.

7. What lessons did you learn from the ’08 election in the U.S. that you have taken back to Europe?

In Europe, there hasn’t been the focus on pushing the campaign’s message across through paid means such as TV or radio advertising like there has been in the States. That’s because it is banned in many countries over here. One thing I picked up from the U.S. is how the campaigns used Internet videos to both support their media messages, and also to engage with supporters. We can do a lot more of this in Europe to communicate better with a larger number of people than perhaps we do now – some of the videos made by the Obama team are just breathtaking, so it’s great we have some of those people on the BSD team now.

Don’t get me started on the political TV advertising ban in Europe though…

8. What are some of the misconceptions in the United States about politics in Europe? And the other way around?

Europeans often think of American politics as overly glitzy, negative, and devoid of values. I don't know if that was true in the past but it’s definitely not true now. I was struck by how good political ads are and how useful they can be to educate the public. We have a ban on political ads in many European countries - which is wrong. Having said that, we'd need to regulate and manage the introduction of such advertising so that it didn't undermine the strong street campaigning tradition we have.

My partner volunteered in a local Obama for America office - and really, we're not so different - when it comes down to it, its ordinary folks doing what they can to persuade their neighbours to agree with them, doing things because they really believe. That's the same in Europe or the States.

9. Those closest to you know that you have an obsession with American food. What is your favourite type of food you can’t find easily in London?

You can get most American foods in London, although it’s hard to find Mountain Dew. I took a liking to American food growing up with Americans from the local USAF bases in Norfolk. One particular memory from my early years stems from when a friend’s dad sat us down with Mountain Dew and Sloppy Joes to watch nose camera videos of USAF bombings of Iraq in Gulf One. Looking back, there were many things wrong with that moment.

There's nothing like a Five Guys, and you can only get that in the US.

10. Unlike in the United States, you are operating in a variety of different countries in Europe, each having a slightly different structure of governance. How have you dealt with that challenge?

We’ve handled the challenge, mainly, by hiring great people for the London office. We've got a team with a variety of backgrounds and a good understanding of the local political arenas. European politics has many national differences, with elections working differently, advocacy working differently and the like. But there are commonalities across the board too.

At the end of the day, the task is to work closely with clients on localising the work we do. The strategy and principles of engaging people online are pretty much applicable throughout the EU, it is tactics that vary. Working with clients day to day to apply those tactics is a challenge but we have the people to do it.

11. You have had the opportunity to travel quite a bit as you are starting up to London office. Tell us about some of the cool places you have been.

It has been hard work, but it is great fun. We have clients in Ireland, and Dublin is a great city. Oslo in the middle of winter is nice too. We have had work in Spain, France, Germany and Austria, with Italy and Portugal on the horizon too. Stockholm is still my personal favourite to visit – I worked there in 2003 when they had a referendum on joining the euro – and I still cant get enough despite having been more than a dozen times. It’s good to be able to travel to nice places, but it’s the different people that you get to meet that makes it really fun. About six years ago, I worked on a number of European focused campaigns, which has set me in really good stead.

12. When you are not travelling Europe for BSD, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I pretty much only travel around for BSD right now, but the thing in life bigger than politics is football. What Americans quaintly call "soccer."

I'm from Norwich, and have been supporting the canaries since age nine. When I first started going, we were a great team - getting the cup semis, almost winning the league, beating Bayern Munich. Being young, I just assumed that was what being a Norwich supporter was like. Year on year failure and pain for 15 years has just about set me straight now. I've been to 47 of the 92 football league grounds with City now. I have just bought a new season ticket for next year too so it’s either not too painful, or I'm an idiot.

13. Why is the British office the best office?

The British 'Office' is the best because it’s the original. Ricky Gervais is obviously great but the rest of the cast roster in the British version is deeper and the other characters, like Tim and Keith, make the difference. The American version of the office is funny, it’s just not quite up there with the original.

14. Well, I can’t disagree with you there – although, I think we are having a bit of a language barrier problem here, mate. BSD’s London office is new, why is it the best office?

London is a good place to work, although being from the countryside, I am not altogether a huge fan – a Norwich office was off the agenda apparently. London is still relatively small compared to the other offices. We have a good team atmosphere with everyone mucking in to get the job done. A great thing for our UK clients is that we work to spread work right across the company. We have Client Managers who know the British market inside out, but we are able to draw on people with experience in the States too. Mind you, managing the time difference is a bit tricky.