VOICE CAPTURE
Stones' Phones discovered the power of voice capture in the darkest days leading up to a close election. When a direct mail piece fell flat a week and a half before voting day, we had to figure out why, and retarget fast. With no time for focus groups, we designed a one question phone survey that recorded everyday people explaining why they intended to vote for one candidate over the other. These responses not only uncovered the problems with the initial mail campaign, they helped us find better ways to describe our candidate and articulate his message. We won the race, but more importantly, we realized that voice capture technology could help us garner information that others couldn’t. Recording everyday people helps discover genuine spokespeople perfect for TV and radio spots. Messages gathered through voice capture provide insight into the words voters actually use, and the issues that don’t show up in polls. We’re able to quickly learn about rumors and deflect them before they blow up. On the fundraising front, potential contributors are easier to identify and then engage.
In a world inundated by 24 hour news, advertisements, and talking heads, Stones' Phones realized that a familiar voice could cut through the chatter of traditional media. In 2010 we helped Clean Air Kansas (supporting a commonsense ban on workplace smoking) to record the incredible life stories of 5,000 Kansans. A preacher recalled a young man in his parish who died prematurely from second-hand smoke. A lifetime smoker described her deep regret at never quitting until she developed cancer. Stones' Phones organized these heartfelt messages by location, and then sent them to targeted legislators. The state senators and representatives were blown away: many recognized the voices of constituents they knew. Thanks to our use of voice capture, these state politicians could actually hear real people’s concerns over the lobbyists and TV commercials funded by Big Tobacco.
Stones' Phones didn’t stop there: by incorporating voice capture messages into websites and social networking outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, we can build powerful grassroots support. For the Clean Air Kansas campaign, the team created an online map where Kansans could log onto the internet and hear what people were saying literally down the street. Many quickly realized that support for smoking in the workplace wasn't as pervasive as Big Tobacco wanted
people to believe. By connecting neighbors through voice capture messages, Stones' Phones helped people realize that Kansas could make an important change, and ban workplace smoking for good. Since the passage of the bill in 2010, thousands of lives have been saved from reduced second-hand smoke and tobacco use.
As technology has evolved, Stones' Phones has pushed the vanguard of voice capture. Attendees at rallies can now share personal messages through mini-recorders imbedded into interactive greeting cards; these can then be mailed to legislators, or reproduced and shared among community members. We constantly brainstorm better ways to maximize the support found in real voices. Such groundbreaking approaches have put Stones' Phones on the cutting edge of voice capture, simply by empowering everyday people to speak up, and be heard.