IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
By: Daniel Hickey and Lou Desmond
We’ve seen it all too often this election cycle. Political candidates – especially on the presidential front – have made huge mistakes in the digital sphere. While their campaigns are often launched with flashy, sometimes over-the-top websites, some campaign teams are missing one vital aspect: the power of the domain.
When Carly Fiorina launched her presidential campaign, her website, CarlyFiorina.com, transitioned from a personal website to a campaign website, a common move by politicos. What her team failed to do was purchase any domains that could be associated with her or the 2016 presidential campaign. Someone who opposed her running purchased the Carly2016.com domain and used it to expose how many jobs Hewlett-Packard allegedly lost while she was CEO.
Earlier today, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faced the same problem. His team failed to purchase ReadyForWalker.com, which ultimately redirected visitors to the Planned Parenthood Action website, because of his stance on abortion.
This is becoming a common occurrence, especially in the world of politics. When someone looks at running for local office, we always advise them to purchase domains that could be associated with him or her, the position they’re seeking and the year(s) they’re running. When campaign teams fail to think ahead, they’re ultimately launching themselves into a public relations nightmare. Not only are they dealing with brand damage, but they could also be forced to address issues they would otherwise strive to avoid.
Once the media got a hold of the domain mix up, we saw Fiorina defend her record as CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Now, more than likely, we’ll see Walker defend himself as being pro-life. Both of these instances could have been avoided by having a digital communications team that was more detailed and thorough in the planning process.
It’s vital for candidates – and businesses – to buy domains they want, as well as domains that could potentially cause them harm. Digital directors not just think about the here and now, but also future campaigns. They need to ask themselves: Will my candidate run in the future? What position is he or she looking at? Based off those questions, campaign teams should purchase the usual .coms and .nets, but also the less popular domain addresses, like .biz and .info. In the Internet age, it’s always better to be preventative rather than risk going into damage control.
Daniel Hickey is the Director of Creative Advertising at Hickey Marketing Group, LLC. Lou Desmond is President of Desmond & Louis Public Relations.
