November 5th, 2008
Robo-calls and elections
Now that the election in the United States has run its course, I can take a moment to comment on one of the more unpleasant tactics used by both the Republicans and the Democrats - robo-calls. These “virtual” telephone calls were meant, I’m sure, to encourage voters to vote (and think) a certain way by having a well known, hopefully respected, Governor, Senator or House member, “call” the voter.
These highly irritating calls seemed to always come around dinner time. In some cases, hanging up on them wouldn’t stop the messages. The call would tie up the line until the person picked up the phone again. I have to admit, my vote was swayed to the opposing candidate in several local races for this very reason.
I really don’t understand why politicians think this type of invasive marketing is going to do anything good for them. It certainly isn’t going to persuade someone who doesn’t have a positive view of the person who made the recording. Multiple calls that play the same recording of the same politician would tend to turn away even the faithful.
Political parties appear to ignore the “do not call” lists in which voters have stated the wish not to be called. So, in these homes, any call from any political luminary would tend to infuriate voters.
Did you get robo-calls at home? Did they sway your vote?
So, if the political parties are listening, please discard this marketing technique. It’s not helping your cause.
Daniel Kusnetzky is a member of the senior management team of The 451 Group. He is responsible for research and publications on a broad array of technology topics. He examines emerging technology trends, vendor strategies, research and development issues, and end-user integration requirements. You can follow Dan on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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