V. PRESS AND DEBATES
The press (or journalism in general) is one of the communication channels with greatest influence over public opinion, and in several countries it's also the most credible one. Moreover, it's free - although it must be won.
Consequently, press management is an essential area in every communications campaign, be it political, electoral or institutional.

Debates between the main candidates in a campaign offer the voters a chance to compare the contestants in a balanced atmosphere, and that's why they are very popular in most countries.

It's a proven fact that a candidate's impression on the public during a debate can have a significant impact on the electorate's opinion, even if it doesn't actually determine their vote. Hence debate preparation is very important and must be carried out by experts in the field, in order to ensure that the candidate is well prepared, at ease and self-confident.


VI. FUNDRAISING
"In order to win a war, you need money, money and more money"
Napoleon Bonaparte.

A campaign without funds, or without the adequate funds, has very few chances of winning. That's why fundraising has to be one of the main axis of a campaign and it must be done professionally, so as to guarantee the necessary funds from the start of a campaign until election day.

Since it's a delicate area, fundraising must be the responsibility of people who enjoy the candidate's full trust and at the same time must have experience in this field. Fundraising must be carried out in an orderly, organized fashion, following a plan and proven methods. Moreover, it must fit into the campaign's general strategy, in order to be as coherent as possible with the campaign.


VII. ISSUES AND OPPOSITION RESEARCH
In an age where information equals power, the more information a campaign can gather about the opposition and the context of each campaign, the better prepared it will be to face different fronts.
Opposition research consists in unearthing all the possible information about the different candidates and parties in an electoral campaign, including one's own.
The information obtained generates a very valuable resource for the campaign, particularly for the communications area. The final objetive is to provide a campaign with ammunition to attack the opposition in its weakest points.
Opposition research also allows a campaign to develop early response strategies to potential attacks from the opposition ("vaccinate itself"), avoiding surprises that could be lethal in some cases.
Issues research is used to investigate and define pressing issues within the electorate. In that sense, it offers valuable information for decision taking in different areas of the campaign: issues development, calendar, targeting, advertising and fundraising.


VIII. DIRECT MARKETING
The aim of direct marketing is to mobilize potential voters based on specific issues that are beyond the trends in voting intentions.
Direct marketing can develop a relationship between voters and a campaign based on issues. These issues must be accepted by the campaign's electoral base and by the undecided voters, in order to ensure that the base voters consolidate their decision and that the undecided gravitate towards the candidate, regardless of their political sympathies or voting records.

Mail, telephone and the internet are the main elements used in direct marketing, and they have three distinctive advantages over other communication channels:
a. Precision (targeting)
Direct marketing enables a campaign to deliver a specific message to individual voters and hence it's a highly selective communication channel.
b. Repetition
Communication pieces can be sent several times to the same audience at a relatively low cost.
c. Discretion
Direct mail is known as the "silent murderer", because it's very difficult for the opposition candidate to find out when a campaign is sending communication items and to whom it is sending them. Thus it's very difficult to respond to negative direct mail pieces.
In order to obtain this level of precision, specialized research must be done to identify undecided voters who could swing their votes over a specific issue.
Direct marketing is effective only insofar as the mailing lists used are accurate and the chosen issues mobilize the recipients of the message that has been developed.


IX. EVENT ORGANIZATION
Events are a core part of a campaign's communications program. They offer a candidate an opportunity for personal contact with voters, and they also propagate the campaign's general communications strategy. Campaign events aim primarily at reinforcing the message.
To this end, campaign events must have strong visual impact, for they generate valuable raw material for campaign advertising, that can be used in the production of TV spots and other audiovisual communication pieces.
The organization and the design of campaign events must take into consideration the impact that the events will have on the press, particularly on television, and maximize this oportunity for massive communication.

To this end it's very important that events, be they large scale meetings or small gatherings, fundraising dinners or meetings with special interest groups, always reflect the campaign's general strategy. This ensures a coherent campaign in all of the communication areas.


X. OPERATIONS AUDITING
A campaign audit consists of an external and objective revision of what is taking place at a strategic and operating level in a campaign that is already underway, in order to control and adjust, if necessary, the development of the campaign.

Areas that are generally included in a campaign audit are strategy, organization and planning; follow-up of operating areas; quantitative and qualitative research as well as advertising material and other communications items.


XI. ELECTORAL ANALYSIS
Electoral analysis consists in evaluating information obtained from previous elections in order to compile segmented voting records. This targeting task offers a campaign the possibility to fine tune and direct its communication to certain segments of the electorate, through direct mail, telephone and the internet. Targeting is a particularly useful tool to identify and profile undecided voters.
The development of existing technologies and the growth of available voting records enable campaigns to access increasingly sophisticated and accurate electoral analysis. This means that persuasion material used in communications to reach voters becomes more cost-efficient and effective in winning elections.


XII. INTERNET USE
Political campaigns have incorporated the internet as an additional communications tool, as part of their fundraising efforts and also as an important organization element.
Given the rapid growth of internet use in Latinamerica, the relatively low costs of web sites and the wide-ranging reach it enjoys, campaigns must take the greatest advantage possible of the benefits provided by the internet.
In order to be effective, a campaign web site must respond and be fully integrated to the overall strategy. Hence, the web site's aims must fit into the campaign's general aims.
Internet use in electoral campaigns:
• Communications: issues, candidate's biography, last minute news, government plan, calendar of candidate's activities, etc.
• Fundraising
• Volunteer recruitment