Communications Manager
From November 2010 up until Election Day on May 2, 2011, I worked as communications manager on the campaign of Liberal candidate Omar Alghabra in Mississauga-Erindale.
In the previous election, Alghabra lost to his Conservative opponent by just 397 votes. In an attempt to differentiate Alghabra’s campaign, we put a heavy emphasis on social media, viral videos, and media and community outreach. We also relied on the traditional methods of disseminating our message, with press releases, media advisories and campaign literature.
While the national political scene conspired against us, our local campaign was heralded on all sides as a breakthrough in ground tactics.
*****
Our irreverent videos (How to Pronounce Omar Alghabra and Who is Omar Alghabra?) went viral, increasing name recognition and gathering national media attention in print, online, and on TV.
*****
We created a smartphone app to help voters keep up-to-date before and during the election campaign. With a newsfeed and social media links, Mississauga-Erindale residents could stay informed about the riding and the candidates. Volunteer, contact, and donation pages gave voters a chance to play a role in the campaign. That got us some early press coverage to increase pre-writ name recognition.
*****
We used Google AdWords and Facebook ads and invitations to direct engaged voters to our site. Whenever a person searched for any of Alghabra’s opponents via Google, they saw Alghabra’s name at the top of the results. Our Facebook ads targeted primarily young people in the riding, including those studying at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus.
*****
We also relied on old-fashioned news releases and media outreach before and after events to get the candidate’s name in the local and ethnic newspapers and on their websites as often as possible. Whether launching a new video or welcoming high-profile Liberals to the riding, we’d issue a release and photographs, knowing resources at niche news organizations are stretched thin and they are always looking for election content.
