What Does a Campaign Manager Do?
A campaign manager, whether in politics or marketing, is the main "go to" person. Campaign managers are responsible for overseeing all aspects of promotional campaigns. Campaign managers for politicians promote a candidate to gain supporters, while marketing professionals use promotional skills to sell products to their target markets. Both types of campaign manager are senior leadership positions.
Effectively managing a team is an important part of campaign management. A campaign can be defined as a series of strategies taken to achieve a competitive objective. Political candidates race against each other to win an election, while marketers promote their products against competing brands to get a larger market share. A campaign manager must delegate tasks to other people to accomplish these competitive objectives.
Political campaign managers, who may hold the only paid jobs in campaigns, look for supporters of their candidate to complete needed tasks. Those volunteers who want to support the political candidate receive instructions from a political campaign manager. Their required tasks may include phoning residents in the area to ask if they would be willing to place a campaign sign in their yards. Overseeing the printing of brochures and organizing volunteer canvassers to deliver them to neighborhood homes are common responsibilities of campaign managers.
Unlike political campaign managers, a marketing manager usually delegates tasks to paid staff. However, marketing campaign managers may also work with unpaid interns just beginning their advertising careers. For example, creative department interns may work on the copywriting or graphic design elements of marketing campaigns planned by the campaign manager.
Marketing campaign managers test the effectiveness of marketing campaigns using computer software programs. Political campaign managers may also use software to track voter responses during speeches by the candidate. A political campaign manager often travels to events to publicly support the candidate during speeches and other election events. Marketing campaign managers may also travel as part of their job — especially those who work in head offices in large corporations.
Delegating and accomplishing objectives while adhering to a set budget is a crucial responsibility for campaign managers. A political campaign manager must keep track of donations and use them wisely to cover expenses. A marketing campaign manager has to create the best return on investment (ROI) for the company during advertising campaigns. For instance, if the campaign to promote a product is too expensive, even a good sales response won’t really matter because the profit will be too low after the expenses are deducted.
Written by Sheri Cyprus
