
Editor’s Note: I am very pleased to introduce a new contributor to Research Access – Matt Simon. Matt will be writing regularly for Research Access about political marketing and research topics. He worked in Washington, DC, for 23 years as a political writer, magazine editor, and producer, including eight years as producer of “Face-Off,” a national daily debate program featuring US Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain. He is founder of the Seattle-area Eastlake Digital Group, which specializes in social media marketing. Matt can be reached at mattsimon@q.com.
Don’t Hurt Me?
Envy not political marketers—particularly those connected with the 2012 US presidential race. Why? Well, before we get to the specifics of 2012, I’ll start by confessing that my many years in Washington, DC, made it physically difficult for me to type the phrase “political marketer.” I was instantly visited by three ghosts from workplaces past, all with very nervous stomachs, who peered over my shoulder at my screen and said, respectively, “You’re off message!” “Don’t say ‘marketers’!” and, “We’re ‘advocates for a secure tomorrow’—I think. Let me get back to you on the exact wording.”
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