Communicating Third-Party Messages in a Two-Party World

1
Communicating Third-Party Messages in a
Two-Party World

• Brant Skogrand
• MBC Final Project
• December 15, 2004

2
Reasons for Research

• Green Party of Minnesota has seen significant
  increase in members and supporters
• Partys impact has been low
• Is partys message getting through to supporters
  so they can exercise political clout?
• We need to know if party is meeting information
  needs of two different audiences

3
Green Party of Minnesota (GPMN)

• Is one of two other political parties gaining
  clout in Minnesota
• Has approximately 4,000 people committed to the
  organization
• Gained a great number of supporters and
  members in the 2000 election

4
Current Communication Methods

• E-mail
• Web site www.mngreens.org
• Listserv
• Mailings
• The Sunflower newspaper
• Group meetings

5
Members vs. Supporters

• Difference is level of commitment
• Members signed a membership form officially
  stating that they are committed members
• Supporters contributed to the party
  financially, but are not members

6
Research Question

• Is the communication of the Green Party of
  Minnesota meeting the communication needs of its
  members and supporters?

7
Methodology

• Survey consisted of 39 questions
• Surveys distributed to 16 of members and 26 of
  supporters to obtain representative samples
• Most surveys were Web-based some by postal mail

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Results

• Response rate of 26 for members and 19 for
  supporters achieved
• Overall 22 response rate achieved

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Information Members Prefer and Receive from Green
Party of Minnesota
Prefer Receive

1. Invitation to GPMN membership meeting
2. GPMNs stance on issues
3. Information about environmentally-related events

1. Invitation to GPMN membership meeting
2. Information about environmentally-related events
3. Request for money

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Information Supporters Prefer and Receive from
Green Party of Minnesota
Prefer Receive

1. Invitation to GPMN membership meeting
2. Request for money
3. Information about environmentally-related events

1. GPMNs stance on issues
2. Candidate information
3. How to get involved

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Requested Information from Members and Supporters
Members Supporters

1. GPMNs stance on issues
2. Candidate information
3. How to get involved

1. Invitation to GPMN membership meeting
2. GPMNs stance on issues
3. Information about environmentally-related events

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How Members Prefer and Receive Information
Prefer Receive

1. E-mail (50)
2. Postal service (30)
3. Web site (6)
4. The Sunflower (4)
5. Phone call (3)

1. Postal service (83)
2. E-mail (61)
3. Phone call (41)
4. The Sunflower (33)
5. Other (4)

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How Supporters Prefer and Receive Information
Prefer Receive

1. Postal service (64)
2. E-mail (48)
3. Phone call (36)
4. The Sunflower (32)
5. Other (4)

1. Postal service (49)
2. E-mail (34)
3. Web site (9)
4. The Sunflower (3)
5. Phone call (3)

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Do you consider yourself a member of the Green
Party of Minnesota?

• Yes No
• Members 73 28
• Supporters 33 67

15
Have you visited the Green Party of Minnesotas
Web site in the last 12 months?

• No
• Members 50
• Supporters 64

16
Do you currently subscribe to the Green Party of
Minnesotas listserv discussion group?

• Yes
• Members 7
• Supporters 0

17
Would you be interested in having The Sunflower
available online?

• Yes
• Members 74
• Supporters 61

18
Is the communication of the Green Party of
Minnesota meeting the communication needs of its
members and supporters?Answer No
19
Recommendations

• Align communication being sent out with needs
• Turn supporters into members
• Explore opportunities for online delivery
• Transfer resources devoted to listserv
• Tie requests for money with desired information

20
Questions?