As coronavirus continues to batter the U.S. economy and the public psyche, once- reliable political donors are pulling the reins on giving to campaigns. This jolt to funding has campaigns across the country struggling to raise the money needed for their election – especially down-ballot.
Experts say the financial landscape will continue to look different in the foreseeable future and that candidates will have to adapt to many new challenges in 2020, including the venues through which they are so accustomed to fundraising.
Unable to hold in-person fundraising events, campaigns have been crippled during what is usually a big season of receptions, press conferences, handshaking, and door-to-door grassroots outreach. With elections quickly approaching, campaigns are urgently seeking new ways to fundraise and are strategically planning to work with more limited budgets.
Between mail-in-voting changes and less resources overall, the need for more reasonable – and more sophisticated – polling methods increase. Accurate, affordable polling has never been in higher demand. For decades, the approach to polling has not changed.
The old methods are not only increasing in cost but also becoming more difficult to conduct in smaller geographies. For now, live phone-only polling continues to be a gold standard for legacy firms, but it’s expensive and misses out on key voter groups that no longer answer the phone.
Campaigns will need an accurate, multi-mode approach that includes SMS, email, and online completes in addition to traditional phone calls. Additionally, campaigns should look to a comprehensive machine-learning driven analysis that scores every voter on a litany of factors – like propensity to vote by mail – predictive analytics allows campaigns to reach the right people with the right message through the right channel at the right time.
D.C.-based Cygnal is leading the innovation in today’s polling industry, especially on the Republican side of the aisle. We build sophisticated in-house technology to bring reliable polling methodologies through new means.
We have cracked the code on how to conduct probabilistic surveys through SMS, phone calls, email, online panels, and other emerging channels. Our internal structure and processes are built to accommodate quick turnarounds and requests. Script approval to complete reports can be finished in a few days.
Campaigns across America – over 1,100 to be exact – have been partnering with Cygnal for years to utilize our technology for the strategies needed to win. With limited budgets increasing, Cygnal’s accurate and affordable methods are a sure way to save time and funds in 2020.
“Colorado is notoriously challenging to survey, especially with the growing unaffiliated voter population. Cygnal pulled off a difficult poll on an untested population – and their results were exact, down to the percentage point. They even caught a trend within a congressional district and were the first to see a major upset.” -Tyler Sandberg, EIS Solutions
Asking for money during a pandemic is difficult. Paying big bucks for a poll should not be. With new economic factors come new innovative options. You don’t have to pick between polling and flying blind if you work with a firm that is focused on freeing up money to conduct more voter contact and win races. (Hint: You may already be on the website of one such firm…)
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Cygnal is an award-winning national public opinion and predictive analytics firm that pioneered multi-mode polling and peer-to-peer text collection. Cyngal was recently named the #1 private pollster and the #2 pollster overall by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, as well as the #1 most accurate polling and research firm in the country for 2018 by The New York Times. Its team members have worked in 48 states on more than 1,100 corporate, public affairs, and political campaigns.