Repackaging the Message

As a result of the 2010 census, many congressional districts have been redrawn.  This often is an event that is met with a certain amount of antipathy by voters and seated members of congress.  For voters who suddenly find themselves in a new district represented by a person they neither know nor like, the solution seems apparent: Vote for someone familiar who shares their sentiments at the next election.
For the politician, the problem is more complicated.  In the state of Washington there are at least two congresspeople from different parties who share a common trait and problem.  Both are moderate and both were redistricted. While they carry different political banners, they are very ideologically similar and often vote in a way that does not toe their party line.  Such political figures never fail to gain my admiration because they seem to have convictions.  Now, I feel sorry for both of them because they will be facing elections in their new district.
These principled people share the common need to quickly learn their new constituencies and rebrand themselves to maximize their appeals. Politics is, essentially, a marketing project.  So, it becomes apparent that if you are going to sell a product called Congressman Jones, his workers need to understand the market and how to reach it.  If it were me, marketing Congressman Jones, I would look very closely at the census results. The new district has new cities and suburbs. What is the median age? Do people go to polls or vote by mail? Do people go to churches, mosques, synagogues, or sports bars? What is the average income? What is the poverty rate? How do the economic trends vary in different neighborhoods? What is the divorce rate? How many schools are there? What is the biggest employer? What is the crime rate? How many people speak a foreign language as the primary language in their home? These are the kinds of questions that should be asked city by city.  Based on the answers to these questions, campaign handlers get a feel for the advertising that might work best in different areas.  Clearly, one message does not fit all cities and it is good to know this because it is a winning idea to design more than one advertising product.
But, if Congressman Jones really wants to get a feel for the new constituents a more humanistic approach is needed.  He needs to pick up the local newspapers and read the letters to the editors everyday for a month. After 30 days of that, hang out quietly at the local Walmart or grocery.  Dress down, put on a baseball hat and glasses, and silently walk the aisles. Look at the faces of children.  Look at the weathered hands of the working men and the threadbare coats of young mothers.  Look at the food in the carts. Look at the movies and music and magazines that people buy. Really look into the eyes of the senior citizen who is subsisting on 89-cent bread so that she can buy her prescription, too. These are the real constituents.  Eventually, we all show up to buy something to eat.
Indeed, the voters appear as clean and factual statistics; but voters also are real people who sometimes appear to be at their very worst in public. So, Congressman Jones (and you too, Congressmen Black, White, Brown, and Green), when you recraft your message, please remember... The best advertising you could ever do would demonstrate that you are compassionately aware of the fact that we are all as human as you are and that we all just want to eat and go home to people who love us at the end of the day.  Find a way to help us with that and you will win anywhere you stand.