Ahhhh… the formuliac birthday note from the candidate’s spouse..
Guilty. I’ve sent them. I just thought it was funny that I got two this week - an email from Bill Richardson’s campaign yesterday and a blog post from Tom Harkin’s campaign today.
Ok, there’s nothing wrong with the tactic. Nothing at all. The real reason for this post was to point out that we really need to step back and remember that we aren’t the audience for the appeals. We all know that, but we forget - like I did today. How many non-internet professionals are paying attention to the online outreach of Richardson and Harkin? Richardson supporters in Iowa, I guess… At any rate, just remember - what we think is lame, or tired doesn’t matter. Pay attention to your data. If something works, keep doing it. If not, change. If you are just doing it because EVERYBODY does it (like the message from the spouse) then you should rethink your strategy.