By Adam Pagnucco.
Like me, many of you may have received a text from Council President Andrew Friedson on January 4. The text said:
Hi, I’m Andrew Friedson, honored to serve as President of the Montgomery County Council.
Reply YES to opt-in to receive updates from me on the most important issues before the Council.
Questions? Text (301) 900-5845.
By Authority: Friends of Andrew Friedson, Devin Ellis, Treasurer
Reply STOP to opt out.
Now I usually delete political texts within seconds of getting them, especially since most of them beg for money. But this one was a little different. When I replied YES, I was instantly sent a link to a welcome screen and a series of videos on biography, affordable housing, economic development, climate resiliency, supporting families and good government.
What you see when you enroll and click the first link.
The text contains an authority line and its link connects to Friedson’s candidate website. It’s financed with campaign funds and not tax dollars. Despite the fact that it’s a campaign activity, it does not discuss voting, contributions or political volunteering – at least in its initial phase. It also promises interactivity, which is different from the one-way nature of most political communications.
As a former campaign strategist, I was curious about this platform. So I talked to Jonathan Sachs, CEO of WUWTA, the company that developed the technology. Sachs is a familiar figure in the MoCo community as a county native, a University of Maryland graduate, a former public affairs director of the county chamber of commerce and a former vice president of Adventist Healthcare.
Following is a transcript of our conversation.
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Pagnucco: We all get political texts. How is this program different from what we have seen in the past?
Sachs: We feel that what’s missing in politics today is engagement from new voices. We are using technology to engage residents who may not show up to a committee meeting in the middle of the day or a candidate forum at night, but care about the community and want to have a voice in its future.
We use text messages and video content to guide residents along a journey of engagement with both candidates for office and elected leaders. Most text messages in politics today are one-way and episodic, usually with the sender asking for something (like money or attention). What’s the value in those interactions to the voter or constituent? What’s in it for them?
Our goal is to build two-way relationships where residents can engage in the political process like never before. Every step along the way – whether it be candidate/issue awareness, advocacy, fundraising, volunteering, or constituent services, residents receive personalized video messages and can share real-time feedback with any candidate or elected official about the issues that are most important to them.
Pagnucco: Give us an example of how a two-way relationship would work.
Sachs: A two-way relationship can happen in many ways through the platform. Here are just three quick examples:
1. A constituent can respond to a text message and the elected official, or their staff, can text them back, just like any other contact in their address book. Constituent responses can include questions, comments, or requests.
2. A councilmember can use the platform to send out satisfaction surveys after they resolve a constituent service request.
3. A candidate for office can use the platform to send out polls to their contact list, who can help them shape their platform.
Since the goal is creating a relationship, we’ve designed the platform with many opportunities for two-way engagement.
Pagnucco: What kind of analytics can a user get from your platform and how could they be used?
Sachs: Especially for campaigns, the analytics are powerful using the WUWTA platform.
When I worked on campaigns, I always wished there was a way I could know how many of the people that the campaign had been talking to were actually going to vote for our candidate on election day. In some races, like the last couple of County Executive primaries, even a few votes can tip the scale of the election.
WUWTA calculates an engagement score for each voter, suggesting who among the campaign’s list are the most engaged voters and most likely to vote for the candidate on election day.
In addition, based on a voter’s engagement, a campaign can segment a list for special messaging. In this case, a voter won’t receive messages about every issue, rather they would only receive messages about the issues they care the most about.
Pagnucco: This seems pretty labor intensive even with the advantages of the tech. After all, someone has to make the videos and someone has to respond to all the messages. How much time should a client and their staff expect to spend to get the most out of your product?
Sachs: Quite the opposite. The platform is designed to make communication as efficient as possible. We know many elected officials have limited budgets and small staffs. Most campaigns run lean too and rely on volunteers for some critical functions.
90% of the video content is pre-recorded. We work with the candidate or office to create their custom videos and help them craft the best messages. After that step, we record them delivering their messages for about 4 hours in a studio and load those videos into the platform.
It takes about 4 seconds to send a video message. Responding to a text message is the same as responding to an instant message like you would in google chat or slack.
We have a video recording feature built into the platform. So for a specific issue that comes up, the official can record a video right in the platform, drag and drop any other elements for the message, and send it to a targeted group.
Pagnucco: Suppose an elected official or candidate would like to use this platform. What must they provide and what does your company provide? For example, must the client bring a contact list or does your company provide one?
Sachs: With the goal of engagement and relationship building in mind, the WUWTA platform is completely malleable and customizable. We work with the elected official or candidate to customize their platform to their district.
We provide the draft scripting, studio space, and crew to create the custom video content in addition to giving access to the platform to send messages. We can upload any list and establish groups based on any demographic, language, preference, or issue area.
We can help furnish a list for the candidate, although it is best when they bring their own list. On the elected official side, many have been building their list for the years they have been in office – these are a great place to start. On the campaign side, we can upload their campaign list, a purchased list, or a list from another source. Our platform is compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), allowing voters and constituents on a list to both opt-in and opt-out of receiving messages.
Pagnucco: Last question. This product was originally developed for businesses and non-profits, right? Give us examples of who uses it and how they use it.
Sachs: The platform started in the medical space as a way to improve the patient experience. When I served as a Chief Experience Officer for a large academic medical center, I met Jock Putney, the Founder of WUWTA. The platform is his brainchild and addresses a significant pain point for patients. From the moment I saw it for the first time, I loved the product and was honored when he asked me to come over to join WUWTA as the CEO.
The platform is currently used by over 150 surgeons to help them guide their patients through the medical journey. At every stage from the moment a patient is referred to the practice through recovery, patients receive video messages from their surgeon guiding them through the process. We have seen the platform help to create better relationships between the physician and the patient, while also streamlining the operations of the practice and making them more efficient.
There are few real win-wins in this world and WUWTA is one of them. Patients get much more interaction with their physician and physician practices have better outcomes and can operate more efficiently.
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That’s a wrap with Jonathan Sachs. You can find out more about WUWTA’s system here.