Simon Stocker in the Council of States
Council of States elections in Schaffhausen
On November 19, 2023, Simon Stocker created a sensation in Schaffhausen: in the second round of voting, he won by a margin of almost 2,500 votes against Thomas Minder, a well-known member of the Council of States throughout Switzerland.
In order to prevail against an incumbent member of the Council of States, Simon Stocker's campaign had to mobilize in a way that no SP candidate has managed to do in the last 30 years. This required a clear plan to build a committee of supporters, activate them and receive donations. By election day, over 1,600 people had taken part, the campaign was visible throughout the canton thanks to over 1,200 posters put up by private individuals, and over 1,400 individual donations made a campaign budget of almost CHF 250,000 possible. And 2,000 sausages and 120 carafes of beer were also distributed.
Winning the election with broad support
The experts were unanimous: the two current members of the Schaffhausen Council of States, Hannes Germann and Thomas Minder, would be re-elected - as they have been for the last 12 years. But things turned out differently: in the second round of voting, the SP candidate won by almost 2,500 votes over Thomas Minder, a well-known member of the Council of States throughout Switzerland, creating a sensation.
That was no coincidence. The campaign we designed and managed was launched nine months earlier on the evening of the nomination. And it ended with the biggest name advertisement that Schaffhausen has ever seen in an election. After the election, Schaffhausen not only has a new Council of States, but also an SP that is sustainably strengthened and significantly more capable of campaigning than it was a year ago.
Mobilization in the traditionally progressive city had to provide the conditions for this success. But even in the conservative countryside, the gap to the incumbents could not be allowed to become too large. We therefore aimed to ensure that the message and positioning worked for both. And right from the start, our focus was on increasing awareness and presence.
"With 5007 votes, Stocker achieved by far the best result in the rural municipalities that an SP candidate had achieved in the previous two decades. This comes as no surprise, as Stocker focused on the countryside right from the start of the election campaign, making his presence felt, including in the media, and trying to win votes through direct contact."
- Schaffhauser Nachrichten, November 22, 2023
Focus on commitment
Right from the start, we focused on involving as many people as possible in a low-threshold manner and thus motivating them to actively participate over the months. For the list building, we developed various participation opportunities aimed at a wide range of target groups.
At the nomination event, we started with WhatsApp broadcasts for a committee appeal, which was distributed by the campaign team and supporters. The first mailing with the same appeal was sent out that night.
For the mailings, we made sure to find the right communication channels for the various appeals - and to diversify them in order to maintain attention. The focus was on emails, post, messenger and SMS.
When it came to participation opportunities, we made sure that they were not an end in themselves, but had a direct visible effect on the campaign. For example, Schaffhausen residents who joined the committee using a form were immediately fed into a list where they could be activated - and immediately listed on the website for all to see.
Further measures were:
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For the campaign, we ordered sausage and beer from local producers five months prior to the elections. We sold these in the name of the three SP candidates for the National Council and Council of States under the motto "Elections are also your beer." The collection process was automated, and delivery was executed by the candidates alongside volunteers. This campaign successfully attracted a large crowd and generated significant revenue.
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A total of over 1,200 posters were ordered. In the first round of elections, we developed two variants with a local artist in addition to the classic political poster. In the second round, we opted for a new, eye-catching motif that focused on the message of the second round and with which we were once again able to actively involve people in the election campaign.
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In contrast to main rival Thomas Minder, who always appeared as a loner, we wanted to show Simon Stocker's broad support. That's why we collected names for the committee as early as the nomination stage, which we then asked for the name advertisement and at the same time asked them to encourage their friends and family to join in via WhatsApp. These calls (in the first and second rounds of voting) accounted for around half of all contacts made during the entire campaign.
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The committee members were asked to submit their testimonial using a simple testimonial form. In order to be able to process a larger number of participants quickly, the testimonials were automatically fed into the Wordpress site and only needed to be approved. This served as a further measure to involve participants in the campaign in a concrete and visible way.
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At the start of the second round of voting, Simon Stocker could already count on hundreds of people who had actively participated in his election campaign. This strength had to be exploited. We therefore planned campaign days in advance to show the breadth of support on several levels. First and foremost, posters were put up for visibility and thousands of flyers were distributed through letterboxes, while the presence of volunteers on the streets throughout the canton also conveyed the broad support. In two phases, around 190 volunteers carried out around 330 missions lasting 2 to 4 hours.
Participation leads to donations...
People who believe in a campaign are willing to donate. And: opportunity makes donors. The campaign never aggressively asked for money - in fact, we only sent out two donation letters in the entire campaign that didn't focus on another way to participate. However, we always consistently made a donation option available. This strategy worked: in the end, over 1,400 individual donations were received. From just a few to 1,000 francs. Together with the support of the party and the proceeds from sausage and beer sales, the campaign had a budget of almost CHF 250,000.
...and these also enable a presence in public spaces
Last but not least, we also wanted to be present in the public sphere with the campaign and communicate with a strong presence that the candidacy is serious. In doing so, we focused on the entire spectrum. The enormous support and successful fundraising allowed us to mark a strong presence in the OOH area as well as in the area of advertisements and digital ads.
For the media strategy, we also paid particular attention to the three local rural newspapers, which each report on one part of the canton and are frequently read by older people in particular. As early as June, we booked space for a column for several weeks in which Simon Stocker was able to set out his motivation and priorities. We also printed the name advertisements not only in the Schaffhauser Nachrichten, the cantonal daily newspaper, but also in the three regional newspapers.
However, the decisive and probably most valuable factor was the huge presence of posters on balconies, garden fences and garage doors throughout the canton. This not only ensured widespread attention, but also showed how broadly based the campaign was and how much support Simon Stocker had.
The result of the campaign was evident at the election party. In addition to a beaming winner, the pub was packed to the rafters with people who were part of the campaign.
"The almost 1,000 people on this evening have a common feeling: they have all somehow helped to drive this grumpy man out of Bern. A new slogan is emblazoned on the front of the screen: We are the Council of States."
- Schaffhauser AZ, November 23, 2023
The campaign not only won a seat in the Council of States, but also strengthened the campaigning skills and motivation of the SP Schaffhausen in the long term.
Thomas Leuzinger and Lorenz Keller are members of the "Stocker ins Stöckli" election committee and the executive committee of the SP Schaffhausen. They directed the campaign in these roles.
