EFTA01115086.pdf

DEWG RANGE CONSULZING • SOF MARE • COMMUNICAHONS INTERNAL CAMPAIGN MEMORANDUM Extremely Confidential To: President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Jeffery Epstein From: James P. McGee, Newgrange Consulting Group Date: November 30, 2012 Re: Preliminary Survey Research and Campaign Message Development EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This memorandum has been prepared to cover some of the preliminary steps that the Waheed Campaign should be undertaking to begin the process of researching the current political landscape in the Maldives and begin the development of some of the campaign's early messaging operations. The previous Newgrange Memorandum of November 24, 2012 covered the initial development of what we would classify as the "mechanics of the campaign" where we covered the development of the overall campaign organization and the infrastructure that would be used to deliver the "on the ground" campaign as well as the large scale data collections efforts that will come from the day to day campaign operations. This memorandum is focused on the steps necessary to begin collecting, analyzing, and fine tuning the messaging research necessary to create an effective and wining campaign message for you. The process of gathering information and preparing a tailored message to voters has become very sophisticated and nuanced over the years and there have been many tools developed to do this job extremely effectively. We would suggest that the Waheed Campaign utilize several of them for this campaign. What follows are breakdowns of some of the operations that should be developed now so that the campaign is able to develop a very clear picture of the mood of the electorate in the Maldives as quickly as possible and begin tailoring our message in a way that is going to attract voter support. Ne ran a Consultin Group • N2 Innovations • Newgrange Strategies • The Newgrange Foundation • • nww.newgrangegroup.com • EFTA01115086 Background Research & Report Prior to any significant action, a through and independent analysis of the current landscape in the Maldives must be completed. Researching the "lay of the land" is critical in determining the right course of action and steps that should be taken. In performing this research, it is important that it be conducted without any preconceived notions or biases. Once completed, this analysis can and should be compared to what is already known by and from local experience in the Maldives. What is presented that was not expected? What was missed through the analysis? These are important questions to be answered if we hope to gain a proper understanding of the environment in which we are going to operate. This analysis and report will examine the daily life of Maldivian residents, the levels of engagement and penetration of various modes of communication, and begin to map the points of view and perspective of the average citizen of the Maldives. Public Opinion Research & Data Gathering No single tactic can be used to present the entire picture of attitudes, concerns and priorities of a given population. To accurately gauge public opinion a multi-channeled approach should be engaged to test the opinions and to refine the critical nuances of these opinions. Through this approach, we will be better positioned to craft a messaging roadmap, enabling the Waheed campaign organization to focus on the issues that truly matter in a context that will generate and solidify support for our efforts. The two primary tactics for Public Opinion Research to be engaged are Survey Research (Polling) and Focus Group Research. It would be recommended that we oversee this research program by first engaging in a broad baseline survey of the citizens of the Maldives. This will give a high level picture of the general attitudes and priorities. The survey will then inform a series of focus groups that could be conducted to refine our understanding of the issues, to target and test differences both regionally and demographically. EFTA01115087 The third step would be to take the information collected through these tactics to develop a detailed messaging plan that focuses on both earned & paid media coming from: • The Waheed Presidential Campaign directly • Surrogate third party validation entities already aligned and established in the Maldives • When appropriate from the Presidential Administration, or other official agencies of the government. Survey Research /Polling One of the very first things that need to be done to is a thorough round of preliminary baseline polling survey research. This operation will be used to establish and understand voter attitudes when it comes to the current political environment as well as identifying the most important issues affecting voters today in the Maldives. Island environments additionally require a nuanced approach to collecting survey data due to the fact that although the major over-arching issues might affect all the islands, there are always smaller, island specific issues that need to be factored in and they are just as important to identify as the larger scale issues. Focus Group Research In addition to the baseline survey research data we collect, we will need to establish a number of focus groups to further refine the issues and positions we are going to have the campaign promote during the election. Focus groups involve putting a number of people from various target demographic groups in a room and having them discuss the issues and positions that have been identified in the baseline research and polling data. These discussions tend to present nuanced and subtle differences in individual understandings and attitudes towards particular issues and help to refine the final message that will be presented to the electorate by the campaign. EFTA01115088 Based on the data gathered in both the baseline survey research efforts and the focus group research data we will then have a very good view, a landscape if you will, of the political and social issues most affecting the Maldives electorate and allow us to tailor the overall Waheed Campaign messaging to have the maximum positive effect with that same electorate, ultimately leading to a successful overall campaign result. Media Outlet, Communication & Message Delivery Assessments Television and Radio Media Assessment While gathering the necessary baseline data information and developing the core messaging of the Waheed Campaign, we need to also conduct an overall assessment of the television and radio coverage in the Maldives. As we began to detail in the previous memorandum, we need to understand the penetration depths of both radio and television in order to finalize both a media strategy and budget into both mediums. We will need to identify any / all local Maldives Television based news and information networks as well as any televised Government Channel coverage. What is needed is to not only understand the islands' overall television coverage but also specific penetration data to show us the correct advertising route for budgeting purposes with respect to how many points the campaign is going to want to secure for optimal penetration of its messaging message. Similar to the analysis and assessment of the television medium, the Waheed Campaign needs to also review and analyze the effective radio affiliates and coverage including penetration depths and effectiveness of same said medium. Once the overall depth and effectiveness of these mediums has been established, a television and radio media budget can be developed with specific levels of points that will provide the coverage and penetration needed to be effective. EFTA01115089 Local, Regional, and International Newsprint Media Assessment As we noted in our previous memorandum, it needs to be recognized that this election is absolutely going to be watched from an international perspective. For that reason we are going to have to have a dual track internet and print media strategy that takes this into account. The development of both a regional and international press operation and strategy needs to be developed immediately and will stay in place for the duration of the campaign. We need an inventory of all media outlets, foreign and domestic that have been, or will be, covering the Maldives and the upcoming presidential election. We will also need an inventory of the various social media sites and operations currently in play in the Maldives and then need to develop the Waheed's Campaign social media infrastructure and operations. As we have already covered, it is essential to acknowledge the impact on the younger voting demographic of those thirty (30) year old voters and younger, and even those adults between thirty (30) and sixty (60), who interact via social media for their news and opinion today. We hope that this memorandum and the areas we covered are helpful as you assess your current campaign operations and begin to build out those essential elements that will help lead to your future success. Once again, please be sure to email me back with any questions that you, or your team, may have and even more importantly, please be sure to communicate the progress of your campaign's development especially on the areas that were reviewed and outlined in this memorandum. Thank you, Jim McGee EFTA01115090