Lamie for VA Senate
When John Lamie needed a website to run along with his campaign for State Senate in Virginia, he called on the Mack Crounse Group to direct the communications strategy, as well as provide direct mail support for the campaign. They then came to New Media Campaigns to design and build the site. We used HiFi, our own Content Management System, incorporating the Mack Crounse Group Strategy to make sure the site was perfectly consistent with Mr. Lamie's message in offline media and campaign platforms.
One of John Lamie's main platforms for his campaign is an emphasis on the economy and jobs--specifically, working hard to use his position to create and support jobs in Southwest Virginia. It was important that the website had a local feel; to that end, the background image on the site features the Appalachian mountains, and the sidebar features a Virginia state seal.
With any political campaign, calls to action are important, as they seek to engage visitors so that they can learn about each politician's campaign, their platforms, and how one might support their cause. In order to engage visitors from the outset and increase conversions, New Media Campaigns created a splash page with a form for getting onto the mailing list and/or contributing to Mr. Lamie's campaign. It also features a photo of Mr. Lamie for easy recognition/association with the candidate, his campaign slogan, and a few select quotes that highlight his platform.
The splashpage is designed to only display the first time someone visits the site, automatically bypassing to the homepage on subsequent visits. That way the splashpag encourages conversions without being overly annoying and obtrusive in the overall site design.
The whole site is designed around Mr. Lamie's campaign efforts, so it prominently features images of him in the community and also the various points of his campaign. Jobs were Mr. Lamie's centerpoint issue, and his platform is therefore highlighted both on the Issues page and in the blog. It was also important that the site be straightforward, fast to load, and easy to navigate. A website that is slow to load, inconsistent in design or message, or hard to navigate could easily lead to a more negative opinion of the featured candidate. As politicians are fond of reminding us, every vote counts!
We built the site using HiFi because it allows us, by its design, to build a site efficiently, and to customize it to each client's needs. Because HiFi's user interface is easy to learn and use, end users are able to regularly update the blog and content with news and information. Mr. Lamie's campaign has frequently embedded videos on his blog, which is easy to do with HiFi.
Mr. Lamie's website serves as a good example of how HiFi can contribute to a highly usable and navigable political website with its ease-of-use, customizability, and excellent use of efficiencies in coding and search optimization. The result is an attractive page that makes an immediate impression with visitors and invites them to learn more about the candidate. Once they get into the subpages,visitors can easily find the information they are looking for, and can subscribe to the mailing list or contribute directly to the candidate's campaign without difficulty. In essence, HiFi and the straightforward design of this website help "get out of the way" and emphasize and feature the candidate, rather than the prowess of the content management system.