Winning Connections helps advocacy groups, trade associations, lobbyists and public affairs consultants advance their public policy agendas. Our strategic vision and technical expertise ensure that our programs are integrated into our clients’ overall campaign in a way that amplifies the effect of every other component, including face-to-face lobbying and media. Our in-depth experience in the federal arena is buttressed by our extensive work at the state and local levels on a wide range of issues. We are experts at communicating our clients' messages across a wide spectrum of issues, including health care reform, energy and conservation, gaming, taxes, and national security, among others.
In order to tailor our programs to meet the needs of each client, we work hard to profile the target audience. Using polling, focus groups, and other research, we analyze how voters, stake holders, and elected officials engage with an issue. Our research shows that form communications are generally ineffective in getting through to decision-makers. So, we vary our mobilization messages and make sure that each caller we patch-through to a lawmaker’s office is prepared to deliver an informed and passionate message, one that is fundamentally their own.
"Winning Connections worked wonders. The legislative situation changed daily, and Winning Connections was always ready with the right message, helping us mobilize consituents in over a hundred congressional districts. Their excellent work helped make higher CAFE standards a reality."
- Cathy Duvall, Political Director, Sierra Club
The most effective way to mobilize constituents is through an outbound patch-through calling program, where we reach out to individuals, coach them on how to talk to policymakers, and seemlessly patch them through to the officeholder. Our operators will recruit, screen and train callers and then connect them directly to the target office. We can also set up a toll-free number for activists to call. Both of these phone-based programs can be directly integrated with e-mail and other communications. We can also deploy surveys, collect e-mail addresses, and send automated messages to mobilize people.
Winning Connections offers a versatile mobile platform that can be completely integrated into a campaign’s online, calling, and field programs. A mobile SMS campaign can be used efficiently to and recruit and manage new members and volunteers, provide supporters with localized GOTV information, share urgent information, receive feedback, fundraise, and perform text-to-call patch-through campaigns.
A critical feature of every SMS text effort is that users must opt-in to the list. Each Winning Connections Mobile Text Campaign includes a web widget and Facebook application to collect online sign-ups and a variety of off-line strategies to reach out to potential supporters and convert opt-ins. We can run campaigns using shared or unique shortcodes. Each campaign also includes real-time monitoring and reporting, and the ability to have real conversational interactions with any user.
Text messaging is a great way to communicate urgent or insider messages to your supporters. Smartphone users are the fastest growing segment of the online market. Text messages reach them on their own terms, and can include a link to your website or an article, or a phone number to call.
Once your list is built, we can geo-target users to federal or state legislative districts. Because people often have cell numbers that don’t correspond to their current address, our programs include a double confirmation step to ensure that we connect each activist to the correct lawmaker. A patch-through text campaign gives users the opportunity to respond to a recruitment SMS message by clicking on a link to a phone call. Each activist receives coaching and confirmation before being connected to their Senate, Congressional or other office.
We can publicize our mobile list online and offline, and incorporate our shortcode and keywords into all of your campaign materials. Once people sign-up, text messaging is a fantastic way to alert them to local campaign events, volunteer opportunities, and the contact information for your field office and organizers.
Non-profits with 501(c)3 status can accept donations via text through an agreement with The Mobile Giving Foundation. These donations will appear on a donor’s phone bill. We can also manage text-to-voice fundraising programs that connect a donor to a call center. These work for any sort of organization or campaign. A text message can also include a link to a fundraising website. Studies have shown that making a fundraising ask with a text message also helps improve the response rate to other solicitations, be they on email or a live phone call.
Large events offer a great opportunity to use text messaging as a medium for two-way communication between the audience and the stage. We can use scoreboards and jumbotrons to recruit people to our text list. But we can also create a response stream on the screen. This gives people an opportunity to text back answers to whatever a candidate might ask for: hopes, priorities, hometown, etc. Each person who participates in an in-event activity like that can be reached out to again later as an activist.