Press Releases
April 1, 2010
Incumbent MP in Europe Holds Tele-Town Hall with District Voters. So What?
The following is a brief analysis of the impact of Tele-Town Hall based on verbatim feedback from participants in a recent Tele-Town Hall event conducted by an incumbent member of parliament running for re-election in a European country. The event lasted one hour, targeted voters in the MP's district, dialing 7,764 telephone numbers and reaching approximately 4, 700 through a live, telephone contact.
Numerous participants called in after the event to thank the MP for conducting the Tele-Town Hall and the opportunity to take part. Several of them also asked if the candidate would continue to hold Tele-Town Halls after the elections. Following are some of the verbatim comments:
"What a great thing that an MP called me at home!" - Male voter
"Finally, someone thinks about all those people who are not able to leave home to attend a town hall event but who have opinions and would very much like to talk to their representative."
- Working, female voter.
"We have a hard time moving around and almost never leave the apartment, so we really appreciate the fact that somebody called us at home and took the time and effort to listen to us."
- Retired couple over 80 years old .
"We're now up in years and have trouble with our eyesight. We were so glad for the Tele-Town Hall event because we feel quite cut off from the world and it helped us connect with it again."
- Retired voters.
On the day of the event and the morning after, the candidate received an unprecedented number of telephone voicemail messages, many congratulating him on the event. Experience to date with the Tele-Town Hall tool in European markets and participant responses suggest a few general observations about its effectiveness:
- They called me! Despite skepticism about making direct voter contact through the telephone, it works. According to those who participate in Tele-Town Hall events, the fact that someone has called them at home, especially an office holder or candidate or other notable personality, to respond to their questions, hear their opinions and talk to them personally has a significant positive effect.
- Finally I could participate too! It engages voters that other communication channels do not reach. Another frequently mentioned reason for positive participant response to Tele-Town Hall events is that it gives an opportunity to those people who otherwise never take part in public events. Many mention work or family demands, lack of transportation, age or other disability as a reason that they never attend public events like town hall meetings or rallies, but they are interested in public affairs and have opinions about issues of the dy and appreciate the opportunity to take part in a discussion about them.
- It's new but quickly embraced. Despite the fact that the Tele-Town Hall medium is completely new to Europe, and an unfamiliar experience for most voters, it is quickly embraced. This point is supported by the high participation rates - 64% on average for Tele-Town Hall events conducted in Europe - and the duration of live participation - 7.2 minutes average listen time. Compared with participation rates as low as 15% and average listen times of 4 to 5 minutes for political calls in the US market, that's remarkable.
- Politics is local - even in Europe. The overwhelming number of questions and comments raised by participants in Tele-Town Hall's interactive medium are about local issues - e.g., local development, local public security and public order, local traffic. Despite the oft-held view that voters in national elections cast their vote based only on party ID and national leadership, almost none of the interaction in these events with the candidates and office holders addressed national-level issues or personalities. The Tele-Town Hall medium creates an opportunity for the office holder or candidate to talk about issues that voters care about, thereby building favorably ratings and boosting voter support.
