The Ontario’s Nurses Association (ONA) reached out to Stratcom to develop a texting program for the upcoming Federal election in 2021. For this campaign, 16 member organizers engaged in peer-to-peer texting to their membership using Prompt.io. The strategy was for member organizers to text into key target ridings to encourage their fellow members to get out to vote in support of their union’s health-care priorities, while maintaining a nonpartisan stance.
Though ONA had been a regular client and frequently utilized text messages in their past campaigns, ONA’s staff lead on texting programs had changed and it was the first time that they would lead a texting program with their membership. Stratcom set up and prepared ONA staff on the Prompt.io technology and platform while providing best practices along the way. Both staff and member organizers were trained and guided from the onset of planning the campaign through to execution.
Step 1:
Training on Prompt.io
Stratcom worked with staff and member organizers to set up their individual Prompt.io accounts and gave them tutorials on how to manage and respond to multiple text conversations all in one platform. The key was working closely with the staff to set it up by piecemeal, while also coaching them on how to relay the information to members.
Step 2:
Heading
Stratcom and ONA utilized regional targeting by breaking down 23 ridings across Ontario into 5 regions where member organizers were able to respond via text to members within their own region. The idea was that while the initial text was a mass broadcast, recipients could respond and have a personal peer-to-peer conversation with member organizers. ONA also developed the script and Stratcom helped refine the messaging according to best practices.
Step 3:
Delivery
The initial text was broadcasted to all members and as people replied, they were automatically directed to targeted member organizers as determined by their regions. The texts included a call to action, whereby ‘VOTE’ replies indicated that members were voting for their union’s priorities in the election. Members who responded with the ‘VOTE’ keyword automatically received a reply, which included a link to a page on ONA’s website that detailed how well each party’s platform addressed the priorities as well as further information on voting.
Our
Work
Step 1:
Training on Prompt.io
Stratcom worked with staff and member organizers to set up their individual Prompt.io accounts and gave them tutorials on how to manage and respond to multiple text conversations all in one platform. The key was working closely with the staff to set it up by piecemeal, while also coaching them on how to relay the information to members.
Step 2:
Strategic outreach via ridings
Stratcom and ONA utilized regional targeting by breaking down 23 ridings across Ontario into 5 regions where member organizers were able to respond via text to members within their own region. The idea was that while the initial text was a mass broadcast, recipients could respond and have a personal peer-to-peer conversation with member organizers. ONA also developed the script and Stratcom helped refine the messaging according to best practices.
Step 3:
Delivery
The initial text was broadcasted to all members and as people replied, they were automatically directed to targeted member organizers as determined by their regions. The texts included a call to action, whereby ‘VOTE’ replies indicated that members were voting for their union’s priorities in the election. Members who responded with the ‘VOTE’ keyword automatically received a reply, which included a link to a page on ONA’s website that detailed how well each party’s platform addressed the priorities as well as further information on voting.
Prompt.io is the ideal merger between a text based platform and a data gathering/analytics platform. With Prompt.io we have an endless capacity to communicate longer or more complex updates, build data collection tools, and create actionable events. Prompt.io has all the tools we need.
Molly Kraft
Labour Relations Officer,
Provincial Organizing
The Results
The results were exceedingly positive with close to 10,000 members being texted and received 1469 replies. Of those 1469 replies, 1280 members replied with the keyword VOTE, which indicated to the union the number of members committed to voting for their priorities.
A significant component of this campaign was the hands-on training that was highly customized to ONA staff and this particular campaign. Guidance, coaching and daily management was on hand to ensure members felt comfortable and confident speaking with the rest of their membership via text. In the end, ONA staff and member organizers were extremely satisfied with the texting tool and found it an innovative method of connecting with their membership.
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