{"id":9595,"date":"2024-07-31T10:25:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T10:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.headlandconsultancy.com\/international\/?post_type=insight&p=9595"},"modified":"2024-07-31T10:32:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T10:32:08","slug":"inside-labours-election-winning-machine-and-what-business-can-learn-from-it","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.headlandconsultancy.com\/international\/insight\/inside-labours-election-winning-machine-and-what-business-can-learn-from-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Labour\u2019s election winning machine – and what business can learn from it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The General Election, and the advent of a new Labour Government has produced reams of commentary on \u2018what business could expect\u2019 from Labour and \u2018how to engage effectively\u2019 with Labour. Less, however, have been written about what business can learn<\/em> from Labour, and in particular, the way it went about winning its historic victory earlier this month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through six weeks spent working as part of Labour\u2019s the election team, I saw first-hand how years of preparatory work culminated in a ruthless, efficient, winning moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built on solid foundations of deep primary research with voter groups, Labour built a machine that had all parts – comms, policy, field, digital, operations \u2013 pointing in the same direction, delivering tailored messages to the voters that mattered in a way they would consume them. The leadership of the campaign was single-minded in its focus and fostered a culture of togetherness, but gave teams the room to innovate and develop new techniques and technologies to deliver the election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what can businesses learn from this campaign? For me there are four lessons for corporate campaigners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Data and research are worth the investment <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Labour\u2019s win was one of the most efficient electoral victories in British political history \u2013 they reversed a trend in the party\u2019s recent fortunes whereby they would pile up votes in safe seats only to lose in more marginal areas. This time, they had an incredibly efficient vote, winning seats nobody thought possible. To be able to understand where these seats were, who the voters that might be open to Labour were, and what messages resonated with them, Labour had a years-long voter research programme consisting of focus groups, polling and modelling. They were laser-focussed on researching and winning so-called \u201cHero voters\u201d who, because they were mostly 2019 Tory voters, counted double if they switched to Labour. This did not come cheap but without it, Labour would not have known where to direct its resources, which messages to amplify or how to rebut opposition attacks. For businesses wanting to campaign, the same principle applies \u2013 investing early in understanding your audiences and targeting those who matter most will not only make the delivery of the campaign easier, but it will deliver more efficient results for the same investment. This early investment in understanding audiences can also pay dividends in times of crisis, allowing businesses to more accurately predict how different stakeholders will respond, and thus how to react. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Challenge old maxims <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the greatest strengths of this Labour campaign was its fearlessness in challenging itself. Some parts of political campaigns have been done for so long that they become routine \u2013 whether that is when certain voters are spoken to, how polling day operations are run, or the types of materials produced. For decades Labour activists have spent the short campaign identifying Labour voters and spending the last week \u201cGetting The Vote Out\u201d. This time round, Labour continued to speak to undecided voters right up to 10pm on polling day, something that clearly had an impact in some of the most marginal seats in the country. This caused consternation in some quarters because it is \u2018not what we do\u2019 but it was the right decision. For businesses, the same applies \u2013 just because your organisation has always done something, it doesn\u2019t mean it is the best approach \u2013 interrogate and challenge established traditions regularly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Allow room to innovate <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Whilst election campaigns are frenetic, exhausting exercises with hundreds of things that needed to have been done yesterday, this General Election felt different to others I have worked on. The calm and focused culture set by the leadership meant that not only could teams get on with their jobs unincumbered by drama, they could also innovate. Whether it was the building of new campaign tools for local parties, experimenting with social media content, using new ways of testing messaging at speed and understanding voters\u2019 reactions to the TV debate in real-time, or building brand new data models, teams had the space to try new things, many of which made the campaign more successful. Corporate campaigns should adopt the same approach \u2013 yes, get the fundamentals right but allow space to experiment whether that be with new content ideas, exploring the use of new platforms, developing plans to enhance output using AI or even looking at ways to enhance internal cultures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Culture is King <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all the innovation and experimentation, the thing that really set this campaign apart from any other I have worked on was the culture. Set at the top by the campaign leadership, it was a culture in which everyone knew the role they played, everyone knew why that role was important, and everyone knew they had the support across the organisation to deliver it. Communicated consistently and succinctly through internal memos, all staff calls and informal meetings, teams were encouraged to share their work across the organisation and were encouraged to break down silos to work more effectively and efficiently. Whilst it is probably easier to foster that culture of discipline and togetherness when you have a political rather than commercial goal, businesses should look at how their leaderships can set those cultures, empowering colleagues to deliver effectively and, above all, enjoy their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is often said that true campaign innovation only happens in American elections, and this in turn takes years to translate into corporate campaigning. But for the first time in many years, it is a UK election which has led the way in developing new techniques and advancing new approaches. The good news for corporates is that they don\u2019t have to wait years for those lessons to make their way across the Atlantic and can start deploying them now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more <\/em>Insights & News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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