
Campaign Trend Podcast
The Campaign Trend Podcast brings you into conversation with professionals who drive the business of Politics. Hosted by Eric Wilson, Executive Director of the Center for Campaign Innovation.Visit CampaignTrend.com/podcast for more.
Latest episodes

Apr 23, 2025 • 22min
Navigating Complex Media Buys – Lara Aulestia (1060 Advisors)
Lara Aulestia is founder and CEO of 1060 Advisors, a paid media strategy, planning and buying company serving the public affairs and political industry. She has an extensive background in political media buying with past roles at iHeartMedia, Resonate, Xandr, and Warner Media.In this episode we dig into the need to layer media buys across platforms to achieve our desired reach and frequency objectives.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Apr 9, 2025 • 24min
How Capitol Hill Staff Get News – David Tennent (Capitol CNCT)
Our guest today is David Tennent, founder of CNCT, a platform to centralize social and professional opportunities for political staffers. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

11 snips
Mar 26, 2025 • 25min
How Campaigns Can Actually Use AI – Maya Hutchinson (BattlegroundAI)
Maya Hutchinson, Founder & CEO of Battleground AI, dives into the exciting world of AI in political campaigns. She unveils how local campaigns can creatively engage voters through affordable AI tools. The conversation touches on the ethical implications of AI, emphasizing transparency and the importance of adapting to a tech-savvy electorate. Maya also discusses the challenges of breaking down data silos to leverage AI for effective local strategies. Additionally, she highlights how AI is reshaping SEO dynamics, necessitating fresh marketing approaches.

Mar 12, 2025 • 23min
Inside Senator Dave McCormick's Winning Campaign – Mark Harris (ColdSpark)
Our guest today is Mark Harris, Managing Partner of ColdSpark, a boutique advertising and public affairs firm that specializes in political campaigns and issue advocacy.In our conversation, we discuss lessons Mark and his team learned from the victorious 2024 Pennsylvania Senate campaign for Senator Dave McCormick.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Feb 19, 2025 • 29min
How To Get Confirmed By The Senate – Arnold Punaro
Our guest today is Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Reserve Major General. For decades he served on Capitol Hill, including as the Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Today he runs the Punaro Group, consults for a broad array of Fortune 100 companies, and has been recognized by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential individuals in US Defense. He’s also the author of “If Confirmed: An Insider’s View of the National Security Confirmation Process.”In this episode General Punaro takes us behind the scenes of the confirmation process from short lists to nominations to vetting to hearings and Senate votes. So if you want to survive a Senate confirmation hearing someday, take notes!Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Feb 5, 2025 • 20min
Latest News on Tech and Politics
On today’s episode, I’m joined again by my friend Adam Belmar from Advocacy Content Kitchen who produces the Campaign Trend Podcast and we’re discussing some of the latest news from the world of tech and politics. We dig into political ad spending on X, the Left’s X exodus, what’s going on with TikTok, and more. Stories discussed in this episode:X sold over $25 million in political ads in 2024These progressive groups left X for Bluesky. Was it a mistake?The 2024 election exposed Republicans’ worst weaknessMeasuring Political Preferences in AI Systems An Integrative ApproachSubscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Jan 22, 2025 • 19min
How To Build A Campaign Volunteer Training Program – Abigail Sigler
Our guest today is Abigail Sigler, Vice President at Baker Group Strategies and the former campaign manager for Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. In this episode we’re talking about a unique initiative from Senator Blackburn’s re-election campaign known as “Campaign College”, a training program to train volunteers across the state in the various components of modern campaign strategy from canvassing to analytics.How Marsha Blackburn used campaign to train new generation of GOP activists (Axios)Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Jan 8, 2025 • 26min
Inside the Podcast Election with Stephen Aaron
Our guest today is Stephen Aaron, founder of Perspective Strategies. He is also the founder of a voter turnout initiative in 2024 called Vote4America that worked to activate social media influencers and podcasters.In this episode we dig into the mechanics and strategy of working with social media influencers with an eye towards how everyone - not just presidential candidates - can incorporate this into their campaigns.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Dec 31, 2024 • 13min
2024 Year-in-Review
In this episode, we look back at the key themes from the world of campaigning with highlights from some of our best episodes in 2024. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

7 snips
Dec 18, 2024 • 22min
Polling Insights: Where Voters Are and How to Reach Them – David Kanevsky
David Kanevsky, from 3D Strategic Research, dives into crucial insights from the 2024 Post-Election Survey. He reveals a alarming decline in local TV news viewership, with only 35% of voters tuning in daily, while social media, especially TikTok, has surged as a primary news source. The rise of podcast listenership, now at 32%, showcases a shift in how voters consume news. Kanevsky emphasizes the importance of adapting campaign strategies to connect with diverse electorates and highlights the potency of personal recommendations in voter engagement.
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