BEHIND THE DIGITAL CAMPAIGN An exploration of the use, impact and regulation of digital campaigning Andy Williamson, Laura Miller & Freddy Fallon Acknowledgements Authors: Dr Andy Williamson, Dr Laura Miller & Freddy Fallon The Hansard Society would like to thank all the interviewees for their contribution and their time. Thanks also go to Beccy Allen, Karishma Desai, Jonathan Goodstone, Tuga Alaskary, Daniel Baldwin, Nicholas Phillips and Virginia Gibbons for their assistance and support. Hansard Society, 40-43 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1JA Tel: 020 7438 1222. Fax: 020 7438 1229. Email: [email protected] Copyright © 2010 Hansard Society. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, without the prior permission of the Hansard Society. For more information about other Hansard Society publications visit our website at www.hansardsociety.org.uk Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................iii Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 1 Methods and Approaches...................................................................................................... 2 The Mediation of Political Life...................................................................................................... 4 A General History of Internet Campaigning .......................................................................... 4 Is the Internet Equalising or Power-Enhancing? .................................................................... 5 The Emergence of Online Campaigning in the UK...................................................................... 7 Segmentation......................................................................................................................... 8 Brand Management versus User Generated Content............................................................ 9 The Perpetual Campaign ..................................................................................................... 10 Online Membership ............................................................................................................. 11 Mobilisation ......................................................................................................................... 11 Independent Websites......................................................................................................... 12 Social Networks.................................................................................................................... 13 Representatives.................................................................................................................... 15 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 15 The Online Presence of MPs and PPCs...................................................................................... 17 London Mayoral, Local and Parliamentary By-elections ............................................................ 20 UK Elections to the European Parliament.................................................................................. 22 An International Perspective ...................................................................................................... 24 Mobilising Support: Citizen-Led Digital Campaigns in Developing Democracies............... 24 Top-Down Strategies in Contexts of Low-Proliferation........................................................ 26 Online Campaigning Styles and Regulatory Issues in Advanced Democracies................... 27 Canada......................................................................................................................... 28 New Zealand................................................................................................................ 29 Australia ....................................................................................................................... 32 United States ............................................................................................................... 33 France .......................................................................................................................... 35 Japan ........................................................................................................................... 38 South Korea ................................................................................................................. 40 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 41 Regulatory context and the need for change ............................................................................ 43 Hansard Society Behind the digital campaign | i Online donations.................................................................................................................. 43 Spend on online campaigns ................................................................................................ 44 The perpetual campaign...................................................................................................... 44 Communication.................................................................................................................... 45 Imprints ................................................................................................................................45 Third parties ......................................................................................................................... 45 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................. 46 Appendices ................................................................................................................................48 Appendix A – Glossary of Terms.......................................................................................... 48 Internet/Mobile Platforms............................................................................................ 48 Electoral Terms ............................................................................................................ 48 Appendix B – Suggested Reading....................................................................................... 49 Regulation.................................................................................................................... 49 Mediation of Politics .................................................................................................... 49 Online Campaigning.................................................................................................... 49 Notes.......................................................................................................................................... 50 ii | Behind the digital campaign Hansard Society EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Digital campaigns are increasingly significant in electoral contexts and are being used by political parties, candidates and citizens to raise awareness and garner support. Although some believe that they level out the political playing field, we believe that the reality is somewhat different: Whilst digital media makes it easier for individuals and organisations to mobilise support on low budgets, online political campaigning is, on the whole, a professional affair. Once the preserve of citizen activists and the political fringe, this report highlights how the internet has now been adopted by mainstream parties, well-resourced candidates and third- party organisations. Citizen-led campaigns are still an important, emergent, part of the political landscape but it is mainstream political parties and their candidates who are emulating the style, format and delivery of earlier issues-based collectives, with varying degrees of success. Indeed, campaigns that engender (even if they do not necessarily emanate from) grassroots activism appeal more to a population seeking change and resonate particularly well with younger audiences, the group least likely to democratically engage in traditional ways. Much is made of the lessons to be learned from the 2008 Obama campaign but, as we will show, online campaigning works better in some contexts than it does in others and this is particularly true for personality-led or issue-based campaigns more than it is for party-led campaigns. Online campaigns particularly benefited presidential elections fought in France and the US. They have lent themselves less well to legislative or parliamentary polls, such as those seen in Australia, Canada or in the UK for elections to the European Parliament. Online fundraising strategies work best where there is a well-established culture of personal donations to political causes or parties and a strong candidate to coalesce around. Such strategies appear to be less relevant in countries that rely on established systems of state funding or on party-based campaigns. Expenditure on online tools does not necessarily predict outcome: just as it is virtually impossible to assess the cost of candidate (or MP) websites, the impact of political campaigns depends more on the message than on the delivery medium. Where spending figures are available, global indications