Meet BSD: Questions with Scott Zumwalt

Scott Zumwalt is a client manager at Blue State Digital joining in December after a successful stint as online director for Kay Hagan’s Senate bid in North Carolina. We took a moment to ask Scott some questions about his experience before joining BSD – especially about his work in the 2008 cycle for Vilsack, Clinton and Hagan – and his perspective on BSD as a client to an employee.

1. What drew you to Blue State Digital?
While I recently came on board here, I’ve known BSD since its Dupont Circle townhouse days. I was fortunate enough to work with the folks at BSD from ‘05-‘07 with Heartland PAC, Tom Vilsack’s political organization.

Being away from BSD for much of the cycle made me realize they really have it right -- in both the technology, but more importantly, in the people. Coming off the campaign trail I was eager to join a company where I can work with and learn from some of the best in the business.

2. What has been the most interesting thing that you worked on/done in your time at BSD?
Right off the bat it was getting involved in the Campaign for Disaster Relief at the American Red Cross. I was thrilled to join a team at the Red Cross eager to empower its online community to new levels of engagement and help change lives in the process. It was also ironic considering my work on my last campaign contributed to the ousting of Elizabeth Dole, one of the Red Cross’ past presidents, from her U.S. Senate seat.

3. First political job and on the ground campaign experience?
In college I interned for Congresswoman Nita Lowey’s office and was often tasked with giving tours to constituents armed with fanny packs and groups of undisciplined Boy Scouts.

But I wouldn’t be doing what I am today without getting involved with the Georgetown University College Democrats, serving as president for two years. It was at there when I had my first campaign experience…in South Dakota. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2004 a bunch of us flew out to campaign in a special election for a fellow Hoya, Stephanie Herseth. Herseth won by a mere 3,000 votes and the trip got me hooked on political campaigning.

4. What do you like to do when you’re not creating successful strategies for Blue State Digital clients?
I am rarely detached from technology, however in the past few years I’ve picked up on running and am looking forward to taking part in my first marathon this fall. I am an avid NY Yankees, Jets and Hoya basketball fan so that keeps me busy year round.

5. What are some of the most common mistakes you see made by other political organizations?
The biggest mistake is the assumption an organization can go out and purchase a top notch website with all the bells and whistles and assume people will flock to it.

Online success requires organizational dedication. The online department in a campaign or organization needs a seat at the table and must be integrated in all the organization’s activities. For example, the following questions should always be asked: “How can we amplify our offline efforts online and how do we augment them together?”

6. You joined the Tom Vilsack for President campaign from the very beginning, then when Vilsack left the race, you moved to the Hillary Clinton for President campaign and then joined the Kay Hagan for Senate race as online director. What were the differences between each campaign? And what did you learn at each that has helped you at BSD?
In short…surrender, defeat and victory. I am constantly reminded of that by my new colleagues, however I do believe I learned more from the first two. Of all three, there were a few crucial lessons:

Avoid ‘paralysis by analysis’ in dire times. In a campaign or rapid response setting online you have limited time to act. Delaying any action could prevent you from engaging volunteers or bringing dollars in the door. Nor should ideas be based on a whim. This means setting up a integrated structure, coming up with a plan and streamlining vetting procedures so you can be ‘lean and mean’ during execution.

Secondly, online outreach cannot happen in its own silo. The campaign website should serve three things: motivation, mobilization and money. You can’t successfully do these things without being well coordinated with the communications, field and fundraising departments. Nor can they perform at their best without you.

7. On your last campaign, your opponent aired what was considered the most negative attack ad of the cycle, calling your candidate “godless.” How did you respond online? Click here for more background.
It was purely an act of desperation. I think we’d all admit such “wedge issue” attacks could be a kiss of death, especially in the South. And because the attack was fabricated and offensive, we knew we had to respond clearly and forcibly. We were not going to let the same old dirty tricks win an election.

We had a great candidate and impressive team on the ground to respond quickly in a coordinated fashion. Our research and communications teams were front and center getting the facts out to reporters and engaging editorial boards. Our field team was armed and ready to disseminate the truth. And our media team produced a powerful television ad in just a matter of hours.

We used the Internet to serve as a loudspeaker to Dole’s strategic mistake both locally and nationally and it ended up being “Bachmann Part II.” From uploading a plethora of video clips to YouTube (GOPers lambasting Dole, news stories highlighting her desperation) to conducting widespread blog outreach, to sending out a series of emails, we amplified the backlash online. The emails we sent at the time were quick, simple and direct. We had already been ranked as one of the top candidates on ActBlue prior to the attack. By the end of the campaign we were the number one statewide campaign in the country.

The one thing I wish we could have done at the time was investing in attack-specific online ads. The race had garnered national attention and launching paid search ads would have brought us a great ROI.

But three days later we promptly went back on message -- talking about what Kay Hagan was going to do in Washington to help fix the economy. We ended up winning by a larger margin than expected, but the best part was it signaled a defeat to Karl Rovian “wedge issue” campaigning.

8. If you could give one piece of advice to a new online director for a politically related campaign, what would it be?
Be flexible. Your idea or solution will probably not be what eventually gets implemented. We all have ideal scenarios given best practices. We wish others wouldn’t butcher our emails. We wish we could tell someone “no” to an email send. We wish we could make a ton of YouTube videos or use Twitter. We wish we could speed things through vetting.

Pick your battles and work outside your online sphere – volunteer to do clips, help with events, etc. Show you are more than just a writer, blogger, facebook expert, graphical designer, etc. Perform well and you’ll eventually earn buy-in from other staff and departments to do more in your own sphere.

At the end of the day you have to remember the goal of your campaign is not the campaign’s online effort – it’s the organization as a whole. You won’t be able to do everything, but maximize what you can do and be flexible!

9. How has BSD's toolset allowed you to do innovative things for your clients?
We're seeing a lot of organizations struggle to raise money in this economy. Many have email campaigns and online ads but are looking for fresh approach. The Red Cross has been devoted to invigorating their online program. They enlisted BSD to make use of our grassroots matching tool to raise money from donors who have lapsed over the past few years. It was the first time we've used the tool outside the DNC and Obama campaign. The week long program resulted in a wave of contributions from donors who've been inactive for the past few years. Now that the list is acclimated, I look forward to using the tool again with a different messaging angle.

10. What are some of the differences in how you deal with an organization vs. a candidate-based campaign? What opportunities does it provide you as a strategist?
For political campaigns there is a constant sense of urgency and a universal end date -- Election Day. That's not the same for organizations as they each have their own unique timeline, audience and goals. These three key characteristics will determine which actions you take online.

Organizations give us the opportunity to think more outside the box. Political campaigns may be willing to use new innovative tools, however they are unlikely to launch an aggressive online campaign for fear of political backfire. Many organizations are much more willing to push the envelope to garner earned media. Some organizations are also more willing to let the online operation dictate the actual direction of the organization.

11. Best part of the ’08 cycle?
Driving over 15,000 miles through 22 states and meeting amazing people along the way. There was something exhilarating about packing your life in a car, visiting places you have never been before.

The instability of it all was strangely offset by the freedom of it all. It was a life changing experience and made me learn to live each day to its fullest.

12. Best campaign war story?
I think what is common is the pure number of times I was put in situations I never thought I’d be in: walking into a Dairy Queen in Grinnell, IA with Bill and Hillary Clinton; thinking I was going to die in Park City, MT when in the middle of the night sirens blasted across the town of 917 people; trusting a GPS to navigate myself and Kay Hagan up a windy and mountainous dirt road in the pitch black.

13. What is the best thing since sliced bread?
Diet Coke. Anybody who knows me knows my food pyramid floats atop a lake of Diet Coke.

14. Who is the public figure you most admire?
Derek Jeter. He’s as authentic as it gets and he never puts himself ahead of his team or the game. He never loses sight his goals and uses them guide his actions on a daily basis. Plus I think in politics we'd all like to be called Mr. November…

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