There’s a small problem flying under the radar with an email sent out by Karen Handel the other day.
You may have gotten it.
The email text read:
Team,
In case you missed it, I wanted to forward along the email I sent last week as a quick reminder that today is the day I need your help to keep pushing forward in my race for Governor.
At midnight tomorrow, we face the first fundraising deadline of the campaign, and we are just short of the goals we set to show my opponents what they are really up against.
Please help me cross the finish line by making an immediate and secure donation to my campaign by following the links in the email below.
Team, I’ve got what it takes to meet Georgia’s problems head on, and any amount you can give today will be an investment in the future of our great state. As always, thanks for your support, and I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.
Your friend,
Karen
Sent from my iPhone
Let’s ignore the “Sent from my iPhone” part (iPhones cannot send mass emails). That bit made me actually think it was to me and I read the email. Nice touch, but cheesy.
Here’s the problem. Handel’s email went out at around noon on June 29th. At 10am on June 30th, the following email went out from Bill Haslam, running for Governor of Tennessee:
In case you missed it, I wanted to forward along the email I sent last week as a quick reminder – today is the day I need you to help me in our campaign to improve the great state of Tennessee.
At midnight tonight, we must report our first fundraising numbers of the campaign, and we are still just short of the goals we set to keep our edge.
If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll help us cross the finish line with an immediate and secure online donation to my campaign – all you need to do is follow one of the links in the email below.
Any amount you can give today will go a long way in making Tennessee a better place to work and live. I truly appreciate your support and I hope to see you on the campaign trail someday soon.
Your friend,
Bill
Sent from my BlackBerry
Both Handel and Haslam use a company in Washington, D.C. called Emotive to do their online emailing and web activities.
I know several of the guys at Emotive. I actually would highly recommend the company. But there was a significant screw up here.
I’m told that the account rep for Haslam liked the Handel email and chose to use it for Haslam’s campaign. Not a good idea. In addition to the text being similar, the emails look stylistically similar too. You can see them both here:
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Srsly, Why do you need to attack the Ox this way?
I’ll admit, the iPhone bit had me confused as well. Like you, looked like a personal email to me – though it WAS sent to the email address I set up to give to the campaigns, but it is also the address I gave sources close to the campaign during some discussions with them.
Regardless, it was a fundraising letter and I didn’t pay it very much attention.
Good catch on the other campaign using a similar email.
Yeah, see, in college you learn to actually write – not just cut and paste.
LIMH,
And then in real life you learn to cut and paste again.
Erick,
I think almost all marketting is cheesy. I got the same email and instantly knew it was a mass email and rolled my eyes. My wife said she got the same email a couple hours later.
Why does Erick have access to Joe’s email account? Who is this mysterious Joe?
These questions and more tonight on Unsolved Mystery’s.
I don’t really think anyone will notice this, mostly because it’s a fundraising email. But it really does show lazy work.
*Hip, trendy* politicians…
Sounds like this company should have crafted totally different versions of their canned “personal” email. Fail.
Oh, and I agree with Farris. This is an obvious and blatant attack on the Ox by Peach Pundit, the lib’ral media, Iran, N. Korea, Honduras, Martians, etc….
What a stupid attempt to look cooler than everyone else.
Posted from my Tandy TRS-80
The idea of a “cool” Republican doesn’t compute. “Cool” implies some awareness of the modern world. Racism, denial of global warming, fear of teaching “evolution”, satisfaction with Georgia’s pitiful status in almost every category can never constitute “cool”. Fuggedaboutit.
You are right BB.
It’s hard to be “cool” when we have to use facts and logic. You liberals are so much cooler relying on your “feelings”.
And their worship of Wicca.
Moral of the story: Use the Stoneridge Group.
the “sent from my iPhone” cracked me up when i got the email. how many people will actually fall for that?
Seth
This is an interesting website, however I’m wary of your true intentions, being that your parent company (Weathers Corporation) is probably calling all the shots.
Seth, you own a web design company. You’re more tech savvy than probably 99.9% of your average vote.
I got the same email from Joe. I was waiting to get a verification from some folks in TN regarding the Haslam email.
I do have more of a problem with the idea that both of these candidates sent out emails saying they were from their Iphone in Handel’s case and the Blackberry in Haslam’s case.
I covered on my blog here http://shepherdspoliticalpie.blogspot.com/2009/06/apparently-stupid-technology-tricks.html that while it is common practice in direct mail fundraising to make the piece look like it is addressed to that person and is “personal and confidential,” there is no reason to put “Iphone” or “blackberry” under the signature of the person except to be deceptive.
It is not “cheesy,” but a deliberate attempt to misguide people.
There is no other reason for it.
I don’t know if Karen personally approved of the email text, but the fact is, someone on the campaign did sign off on it. Someone on the campaign said, “Hey, let’s send this out and make people think that this appeal for money is coming from Karen’s own, personal Iphone.”
You put that up along with the nonsense about Brian Laurens editing Wikipedia to distract the Oxendine campaign during their last push, and you have to wonder.
You make a great point actually.
I’m seriously beginning to get EXTREMELY curious about exactly who did the editing on that wikipedia article (presumably Laurens, I really don’t have much reason to doubt Erick there, particularly considering the lawsuit danger if inaccurate) and more importantly, who that person worked for and whether the employer is either a campaign directly or a third party tied pretty directly to a particular campaign.
There is little lawsuit danger. Brian is involved in politics and in this case would have to prove that Erick did it with “actual malice,” which is a VERY difficult standard to prove.
Erick, having given it more thought, an iPhone can send a mass email. Just set up a list-server and send it an email from your iPhone. The iPhone doesn’t process the mass mailing, it simply is where it originated.
However, it is still a ridiculous thing to put in an email.
jason – agreed. it was stupid for them to randomly decide to make that up
i would bet my life that wasn’t sent from an iPhone
Campaign lies so early on?
i guarantee you their response would be that karen typed the email on her iPhone and forwarded it to someone to blast out. At least that’s how i would try to explain it
But you can’t given the other email from Tennessee.
Sure you can. The Tennessee email was from a Blackberry. Totally different.
Was that e-mail from Tennessee further north than the 35th parallel?
Looks like it came from Nashville, deep inside enemy territory.
Icarus, since Handel is obviously already working with our enemies, echoing their propaganda, almost word for word, how can I trust that she’s not some kind of Tennessee Manchurian candidate recruited to sap and impurity more of our precious, water resources? I bet he first act as Governor will be to sign over all of Dade and Walker County to Tennessee so Georgia has no claim on the water.
Thems fightin words! Who do I whoop?
I think it’s “Whom do I whoop?”
No, it’s “Of whom do I whoop?”
This has all the makings of a Southern-Fried Monty Python sketch, although I think it could stand to soak in buttermilk another day or two.
It is Uponst whom shall I whoop?
I beseech you to exercise patience whilst the question of whomst shall be whooped upon receives the scant attention befitting our inebriated status. And whatnot.
While you guys are figuring this out, whose ass can I cap?
cap? or tap?
I’ll let you know Icky as soon as you clarify per Doug Deal.
I can take care of the “tap” on my own, but I could use some help prioritizing the long list of folks who could use a cappin’
I actually don’t understand why people are upset about a mass campaign email, sent to people who signed up to receive them, that says “Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from my Blackberry.” Or why people are upset that the consulting firm used the same copy for two different clients who agreed to it.
The second one is standard practice in the political consulting industry, especially when dealing with candidates in completely different states.
The first one is, in my opinion, an innovative twist on a number of “personalization” direct mail techniques that are also just as obviously not true — but also work incredibly well at raising response rates.
This would be a much more interesting story to me, if we could get Emotive or the campaigns to tell us the response rates for these two emails, and how well they compared to other emails. But don’t hold your breath for them to release info like that, at least not until after the campaigns are over (then they’ll be proud enough to share).
P.S. Doug is correct, “an iPhone can send a mass email. Just set up a list-server and send it an email from your iPhone. The iPhone doesn’t process the mass mailing, it simply is where it originated.” I have sent mass emails for clients using this very process; however, I didn’t have that copy at the bottom, on purpose. Perhaps I should give it a try, see if it brings those response rates up a tick.
All of that being said, I can envision a situation where Karen actually did send the email, and (like I usually do) forgot that the iPhone tag line was even there.
Benefit of the doubt, and all that.
And with all of the recent discussion — what was the IP address of the message that Karen sent from her iPhone? Was it… THE SLOPPY FLOYD BUILDING??? [cue soap opera music]
Q: Uponst whom shall I whoop?
A: The political consulting industry
I hold all of y’all personally and partially responsible for the sad state of affairs in our Nation, our State, and our GOP. To candidates: You have the right and responsibility to “Just say NO” to your political operative (POLYP) when confronted with clever trickery.
Campaign funding reform, disallowing legislators to pick their voters vis a vis redistricting, and focusing campaigns on the many pressing issues are prerequisites to actual change. Instead of the ABSURD pap yammered about above.
Political consulting industry – Murky, costly, unregulated, unknown to most, and yet, a dangerous necessity to become a lawmaker.
Kingmakers, Inc. history will not treat y’all well.
All I can say at this point is, “Whoop!”
There it is.
Cute, Jason. Real cute.
I respectfully challenge you to be a part of the solution – Differentiate yourself from your competitors. Take a stand on using cheesy ‘dirty tricks, if you have not already done so.
I believe 9 of 10 active voters have NO IDEA about the ENTIRE political consulting industry. I also believe that a group with so much intellect, zeal to win, and understanding of issues ought to be beyond reproach. You folks HELP frame the issues, pick the battles, and create the ‘buzz’. And most voters haven’t a clue that a consultant is involved. Sort of like having a lawyer, undisclosed, running a case.
Why do some of the best and brightest in America choose to run screaming from the political process? Dirty, bloodsport, ugly are a few of the words used to describe politics. That will probably never change, at least it hasn’t since Roman times.
We must change by getting candidates involved in issues and not ‘dirty tricks’. Are we going to allow the Great American experiment to fail and blame the other Party in the process?
B Balz, I am a recovering political consultant, but have not done consulting professionally for about 7 years. However, with this economy, I may have to get back into the business a bit.
Fair enuff, but if you choose to get back into the game, make yourself an agent of change. Charlie knows how to reach me, if you choose to speak in real time,
Best,
BB
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