• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, January 8, 2020

From the major campaign operatives to every party committee, from the major PACS even to a former RNC Chairman, MediaPost’s Marketing Politics series has featured all the major players in the field. But this time we go straight to the candidate’s perspective. The 2020 Presidential Campaign edition on Jan. 16 in Washington, D.C. will feature Republican contender Joe Walsh. The media-savvy former Illinois Congressman and radio host will share what he has learned about waging an insurgency campaign under the new rules and new tools of always-on media and always-wired electorate.

And, his campaign manager, Lucy Caldwell, will discuss how the campaign plans to allocate money for the run online and off.

For the sixth year in a row, both sides of the aisle will delve into a host of issues, including the many changes throughout the media ecosystem. "All the things we usually talk about are facing extreme challenges," says Steve Smith, Event Editorial Director. "TV as a platform is being challenged by data-driven online video, especially OTT video. It's a key topic."

And key operatives from both parties will again be in the room, on the same stage and sharing thoughts -- even on the same panels -- a rarity among events on the topic of political marketing. Speakers from nearly all the national, congressional, senatorial and gubernatorial campaign committees from both parties will be in attendance, identified by a slew of abbreviations, including RNC, DNC, DCCC, BSC, DGA, NRSC and DLCC. 

Interviews with the chief digital officers of the Republican and Democratic national committees are de rigeur at this annual event and they will be asked about how they use social platforms and what they see in their impact. "The news stories are that the Democrats are being wildly outspent," Smith notes, but the DNC leader has an interesting counterpoint; social platforms are not the only game in town. "The Democrats' job is to get their ducks in a row to hand over to the eventual nominee. They need to get their data assets in place and build an infrastructure."

The RNC's chief digital officer will be quizzed about the micro-targeting that was done in 2016, which is controversial and still questionably effective. "Blaming Fox or Facebook is not enough," says Smith.

A central panel discussion will focus on the tumult inherent in social media and how they are dealing with a moving target, wherein no one knows what the policies are going to be. They'll talk about whether official paid media ads actually matter and asking if it's paid media that drives power politically or if it's the sharing driven by users themselves or bad actors.

New this year will be a panel focusing on the minority voting blocs and how the various digital tools are being used to focus on swing blocs like Latinos, African Americans and the LGBTQ community.

BTW, YOLO so you'll want to get to D.C. for the 411 ASAP or face the FOMO. For more information, click here.