Campaigning on a shoestring

On Friday, I met the future of Swedish politics---when I held a workshop for a group of passionate and driven candidates who are running for office (and launching their own “personvalskampanj” in the process.)

Like so many others, they were looking for inspiration from the Obama campaign. How can a candidate best tell their story, develop their personal brand, and build a grassroots coalition of passionate supporters? We explored these issues during a wonderful afternoon full of intense discussion and new insight.

It goes without saying that those who are running their own campaign in Sweden are often working with a shoestring budget. So here are some of the things you can do on-line right now to launch your own campaign---without it costing a penny (or krona!)

1. Yes, you can still go to Camp Obama , the training ground for young leaders in the campaign. The Camp Obama blog is still up and running and many of the sessions can be streamed on-line. The genius behind Camp Obama was one of my favorite professors at Harvard Kennedy School, Marshall Ganz.

2. Have you seen the incredible treasure trove of presidential campaign commercials maintained by the Museum of the Moving Image? This should give you plenty of ideas on what works and what doesn’t in telling your story, and what the other side might use against you.

3. Your essential reading list should include the book Learning from Obama: Lessons for Online Communicators in 2009 and Beyond from epolitics, which can be downloaded as a free PDF.

ELIZABETH WALENTIN

Elizabeth Walentin may be new to the blogging scene, but she's an old hand when it comes to strategic communications. An American with five years in Sweden under her belt, her areas of expertise include presentation training, media relations, and political strategy. She is a communications consultant and head of Education at JG Communication.





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