ABOUT DECIDE CAMPAIGNS
We win campaigns.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek. Premier Alison Redford. Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
Gondek started with 5% name recognition, 2% voter intention and ended up with 45% of the vote. Redford had 19% of the vote with two weeks left in the campaign and won. Nenshi was at 2% with only 61 days until the election.
Decide Campaigns develops the strategy, executes the tactics and manages the candidates in order to create the winning scenario.
But what does that mean in today’s campaign environment where facts are as plentiful as opinions, bias changes outcomes, and values drive decisions?
There is no question that information is more plentiful than ever before. For the first time in history, how a fact is delivered is now more important than the fact itself. Experts, governments and corporations are all less trusted than at any point in modern history.
Campaigns must harness the power of social networks, or peer-based communications.
When the information has been received, it must then navigate our internal fallacies, biases and values. These are often subconscious processes our mind is barely aware of when decisions are being made.
When navigating a decision, it is the final action that matters. How your audience votes or which product they buy is the measure of success.
That action is ultimately determined by our engagement level in the moment. To select a different brand or vote for a different party or candidate than in the previous election requires a shift in engagement. This change in engagement has the power to spur audiences into action and shift the vote or purchase preference.
Decide Campaigns connects data to action through communication to create winning environments for our clients.
Our Team
Stephen Carter
President
Stephen is an innovator, always pushing the bounds of what is possible. Best known as one of Canada’s leading political strategists, he played a leadership role in the rise of Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Premier Alison Redford and Mayor Jyoti Gondek. The National Post, CBC and other political commentators have described him as a “political mastermind.”
Having spent decades learning how people think and make decisions, Stephen has concluded that, although we all “think” we make decisions rationally, the messy reality is that quite often we rationalize decisions that are full of hidden biases and blind spots. He shares his insights into decision making in his recently recorded TedX talk: Decision Making Deconstructed - Understanding the Role of Bias.
Stephen was the National Director of Campaign Strategy for Hill+Knowlton Strategies from 2012 - 2015. Now, as the President of QED Marketing, he leads strategic development of on-line campaigns to maximize the effectiveness of marketing opportunities.
Ian Anderson - RA2
Ian works to implement programs and technology that help local and international clients better relate to and engage with their stakeholders. Ian comes to the team with 5+ years in organizational management and optimization, as well as years of technical expertise in IT and customer relations management.
Ian is also a member of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce's GenYYC program.
RA2 is Decide Campaigns Data Analytics & Digital Advertising partner.
Cameron Raynor - RA2
Cameron works with a mix of non-profits, political campaigns and private firms to help them relate to their stakeholders through data and social network analysis. He is skilled in his application of programming, data analysis and communications skills to help clients develop political policy, improve communications, convene influential individuals, identify supporters and monitor public opinion.
He has engaged clients across North America, Australia, the UK and Israel. Cameron is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shaper community and was the 2017-18 president of the Canadian University Press.
RA2 is Decide Campaigns Data Analytics & Digital Advertising partner.