• by Kate Kaye , May 31, 2004

Traditional media strategists still dominate the political market. Now, Internet technology firms are stepping in to drag the political and nonprofit establishment into the new media reality.

"It's not a trivial market," observes Vinay Bhagat, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Convio, in regard to the nonprofits and political clients his technology outfit serves, adding: "There is a genuine need here."

The bulk of Convio's clients are nonprofit organizations; however, the firm registered on the political radar through its involvement with the Dean for America campaign's Internet fund-raising success. In 2003, the Dean camp employed Convio's technology to enable online donations, email campaigns, and recruitment tools. The company was named to the 2004 Forbes list of private technology companies, as well as Red Herring's 2004 "100 Top Private Companies" list.

New York City Democrat Freddy Ferrer has signed on with Convio for another Big Apple Mayoral bid. The company also counts groups such as Easter Seals and Mothers Against Drunk Driving as clients.

Nonprofits and political clients "have a sufficiently distinct set of needs, both technical and organizational," says Ed Batista, Executive Director of The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN), an organization that assists nonprofits in using technology more effectively.

Attracting nonprofits and political clients takes more than translating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) from corporate- to political speak by substituting "constituent" for "customer." Batista believes that companies must take a soft-sell approach, instilling a sense of trust. Nonprofit organizations and political campaigns operate under tight budgets, so price is a major factor in choosing a tech vendor. Also, they typically have limited technology-savvy staff, which means that software must be easy to use.

"We're tailoring our approach by being very aware of their needs," asserts Andrew Weinrich, President and CEO of I Stand For, regarding his company's approach to wooing nonprofit and political campaign clients. Weinrich insists that by making the firm's technology available as a Web-based ASP, and integrating capabilities including video feed publishing, online donations, or commerce- and community-building strategies like blogs, I Stand For is providing a one-stop, simple technology option for its clients--including Air America Radio, Chris Dodd for Senate, and Eliot Spitzer for Governor.

Some companies in this niche are pure-play tech firms, offering little or no consulting services. I Stand For and Convio are among the more tech-centric operations--although Convio does provide some consulting services, and I Stand For plans to. Streaming video technology company Klipmart is another technology-focused firm that has recently embarked on an effort to win political clients. "Consultants are going to find themselves better off partnering...and using the tools that these other groups are perfecting," argues N-TEN's Batista.

Firms like Carol/Trevelyan Strategy Group (CTSG) and Grassroots Enterprise straddle the tech/consulting line by providing a broad suite of technology products and consulting services to clients. CTSG offers fund-raising, marketing, and campaign services as well as online advocacy, fund raising, and email technology. Grassroots Enterprise, a political communications and technology company led by former Clinton White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, offers ASP software for Web site development and email campaign management and reporting.

The Grassroots Enterprise Web site claims: "Grassroots Enterprise is non-partisan." The fact is, many political consulting firms ride one side of the aisle. But technology companies operating in the political sphere appear to be reluctant to take sides. When asked whether I Stand For has a party affiliation, CEO Weinrich responds: "We're a technology firm, not a consulting firm," explaining that the company is not partisan.

"It's a tough position to be in in D.C.," opines Rand Ragusa, president of Internet campaign management company Voter Interactive. "People want to know where you stand, they want to do business with people that are on their team."

But first, software vendors must convince political campaigns that Web technologies are worth the investment. "Because most media budgets are controlled by traditional media firms," suggests Ragusa, "these tech guys have an uphill battle in establishing the value of their services and establishing a benchmark on fees."