Reinforcement and Crystallization in Campaign Ads

1. Describe the steps a political TV campaign strategist might make in order to maximize voter choice in terms of the reinforcement and crystallization effects on a target constituency.

In the media-savvy world of politics today, crafting and shaping a candidate's "brand" has become a serious and costly enterprise. Modern candidates will spend vast sums on consultants and focus group studies intended to maximize their likability and accessibility, to shape public opinion about them, and most obviously, to get a vote. Aside from flat-out conversion of your opponents' views, the best options a candidate has these days is to try to reinforce existing attitudes or crystallize vaguely held attitudes. A smart TV campaign is a great help in doing this.

The choice a voter makes once in the voting booth is a complex one, impacted by many factors. Although media in general and TV advertising in specific play just a part, their resonance can be strong and far-reaching. It has been noted that roughly two-thirds of voters have their mind made up before the campaigning even begins. So-called "conversion" of voters like these is very unlikely, even with a massive media attack, so many strategists don't even bother. Rather, they concentrate on two other concepts that may have a better chance of directly influencing a vote: "reinforcement" (validating or strengthening existing opinions) and "crystallization" (bringing into sharp focus some subconscious or vague belief).

An example of how a strategist might use the reinforcement theory is as follows: Let's say you are a Republican, but you don't know much about the Republican candidate, Jane Smith. Without a positive reinforcement from candidate Smith, you may be susceptible to being swayed by a coercive message from her opponent. Smith, via her team of researchers, may find out that the pay level of the local school board is an important issue to many Republican voters. Hence, she will...