The Insider: Political Mayhem

Written By Neha Patel

Welcome to The Insider – Amplify’s monthly newsletter where we discuss current events, industry insights, trends, and more!

Let’s Rewind: Milwaukee, Wisconsin hosted the 2024 Republican National Convention in July. Here’s our take on convention and what we expect to see this election season.

Last week, GOP leaders emphasized economic revival, national security, and individual freedoms, aiming to broaden its appeal while maintaining core conservative principles. Key speakers highlighted conservative values and policy goals, focusing on reducing government intervention, bolstering defense, and fostering job growth through deregulation and tax reforms. ⬇️

  • Economic Nationalism: Increased tariffs on imports and incentives for domestic manufacturing to prioritize American jobs and industries.

  • Healthcare Reform: Reduced government involvement, expanded health savings accounts, and interstate insurance competition.

  • Education: Greater school choice and voucher programs to give parents more control over their children's education.

  • Technology and Social Media Regulation: New proposals to curb perceived biases and ensure free speech online.

  • Environmental Policies: Promoting clean energy innovation through market-driven solutions rather than extensive government mandates.

With President Biden’s official withdrawal from this year’s presidential election, the Democratic Party is scrambling to put an end to their ensuing chaos. Letting their infighting fester, investing in GOP unity, and touting conservative legislative and political wins is the strongest path forward. Messaging on positive topics which bolster and support the GOP platform highlights the stark contrast between the two parties. Democrats may see a slight polling surge over excitement of a new candidate, but the party mayhem will take its toll on voters in the long term. It is time Republicans offer a foil to this disarray while providing promise of legislative advancement, a haven from turmoil, and an exhibition of sound governing.

The increasing national political tension, changing party demographics, variations in news sources are all key factors in this year’s political landscape and the understanding of these factors will remain crucial in staying ahead of the curve on messaging and branding in the months and years to come. Changing landscapes present new challenges for communicators to create relevant and worthwhile messaging. With the RNC at our backs and the DNC and 2024 general election to come, how can we best prepare ourselves for what’s next? More importantly, as conservative communicators, how can we analyze and understand these market truths to be more effective?

Conservative communicators must play a role in advancing these goals. The current political landscape is alienating an increasing population of the public. Voters are jaded, disengaged, and unwilling to seek out political messaging. This is especially true for younger age groups. Thus, we must meet them on their turf to control the narrative.

Reach voters’ phones to discuss your legislative efforts, how you’re working to achieve the community’s shared goals, and message on topics important to the electorate. Texting, robocalls and phone surveys, and telephone town halls allow you to get your ideas and priorities in front of voters while giving them the opportunity to provide feedback and responses to issues. These tools give our clients the unique opportunity to tailor future messaging points, gather first-party data for more accurate targeting, and provide their constituents with updates on the work their elected official is doing for them.

Older generations have been politically studied for years. We know how to reach them. However, younger demographics are taking the lead in electorate composition. Winning young voters is paramount to political success. Luckily, more are aligning with the GOP; it’s our job to take advantage. Millennial and Gen Z voters are online now more than ever before, and the youth vote is often left untapped. Digital advertising, particularly through social media, web-based display, and audio/video streaming platforms allow us to reach voters at the right place, at the right time, and on the issues that matter – even young voters.

  • 80% of Republicans see Inflation and Immigration as a big problem

  • 73% of Republicans agree strengthening the economy is a top priority

  • 65% of GOP voters are ages 50 and older (Pew Research Center)

  • Young men across all demographics have surged in support for GOP (Politico)

  • White Millennial and Gen Z voters have shifted away from the Democratic Party (Politico)

  • Minority voters make up 14% more of the GOP-electorate compared to 20 years ago (Pew Research Center)

  • 77% of Gen Z say they get their news from social media (eMarketer)

  • Video streaming accounts for 40% of Gen Z digital use (Statista)

  • Gen Z has an attention span of 8 seconds on social media. (Stibo DX)

See you next month!

The GOP’s convention is officially in the books as we look ahead to the Democratic National Convention slated to begin in less than a month. Be sure to follow Amplify on LinkedIn for more news and industry updates!

Neha Patel