The Power of Elizabeth Warren’s Scintillating Selfie Line
Up close and personal with the candidate who wants to hear from you.
It’s been on my mind since she started doing it sometime in early 2019.
But I got choked up after she spent 4 hours taking selfies in New York City, and when asked the next day by MSNBC about spending that much time, Elizabeth Warren responded: “Yeah, I was there in the selfie line 4 hours…but I’ll tell you what: so was the last guy in line.”
By March 15, 2019, she had posed for 9,500 selfies.
By June 14, 2019, 20,000 selfies.
Yeah, her team keeps counts.
Taking that many selfies with supporters is brilliant on many levels. At first, I thought it was a great tactic and brand identity element. It is, but it’s not a marketing stunt.
Even though all the candidates (sort of) do it, they don’t do it the way Warren does.
When CNN’s David Axelrod asked her about the selfies on August 24, 2019, Warren said: “That’s a chance for people to tell me what they want to tell me.” Axelrod came back with, “It’s a core element of your campaign,” to which she replied, “It’s a core element of democracy.”
She is redefining what it means to run a grassroots campaign and to be the people’s candidate.
It’s not a selfie drive-through…it was her idea and as she clarified to Axelrod she interacts with each person. Her campaign manager Roger Lau tried to talk her out of it, insisting that selfies take up too much time and would exhaust her, but she said “Roger, I trust you, but if there’s even a single person in that room that wants to say hello who wants to take a photo who didn’t get a photo, I will have considered this event a failure.” As usual…she persisted.
Personal Touch Selfie Magic
Almost all news outlets are talking about Warren’s selfie line, touting it as an effective strategy, but let’s look at all the moving parts that make this approach unique and possibly the best voter magnet yet. Not because it’s a trick, but because it isn’t…and it’s who she is.
Selfies Are Published Instantly
What are people doing with all those selfies?
Posting them online, of course, and texting them to their friends and family. That’s not news. But that’s the first step.
Warren instantly gets free advertising…even from those who have not yet decided who they’ll vote for.
If the opportunity presents itself a lot of people will go for the selfie, especially young people (you know, the ones who live online and have the most followers) And once they have their selfie, of course, they’re going to post it because why not show friends their selfie with Elizabeth Warren? Especially as she continues to surge in popularity.
The First Commitment
Her fans are willing to wait in the selfie line for hours…up to 4 hours to date. That’s commitment — both from Warren and from supporters. And with every passing minute, the commitment to a Warren vote deepens. That’s because after we’ve stood for hours in this endless line we almost have to convince ourselves that it was worth it. But that takes us to the next step in the conversion process.
Selfie Lines Connect People
What do supporters do while they’re in line for hours?
They talk to each other! They talk about Elizabeth Warren — their favorite plan for helping eliminate student debt or ending political corruption, her fearlessness and non-stop energy, her commitment to leveling the playing field to create equality.
This connection through conversations with others is uplifting — both because it’s fun and meaningful, but also the biochemical aspect of the oxytocin release related to social bonding.
No doubt the Facebook friend requests and new Insta followers flow freely while waiting. How many in the selfie line are now digitally connected? And able to continue their conversation online?
How soon will we hear of the first married couple who met in Elizabeth Warren’s selfie line?
Broadcasting from the Selfie Line of the NYC Warren Rally
In this fascinating September 19th episode of The Daily Podcast — we get a narrated tour of the New York City Warren rally, including interview segments with those waiting in the selfie line:
Warren’s Precision-Engineered Selfie Line
Elizabeth Warren’s selfie line system will blow your mind. If you have a New York Times subscription or haven’t used all your free articles this month, watch the video:
Here’s a description of the selfie process:
“First, a staffer takes your bag from you so that you’re not fussing with it during the photo. Then, the deputy national advance director will take your phone and pass it to Warren’s “body woman,” who will take (multiple!) photos of you posing with the candidate. She’ll then pass it to the national advance security director, who will return it to you, before a volunteer thanks you for coming and a senior advisor hands you back your bag. (Yes, this is only six people; two of the eight steps involve passing items from one staffer to the next.)”
Locked-in Vote
Once someone has a selfie with the candidate, their vote is essentially locked in. That may sound overly optimistic at first, but let’s examine the psychological elements.
While some voters might belong to the “candidate selfie collectors club” — and are still doing their research I think that’s a small minority.
A candidate selfie may not lock in a vote for every candidate, but since Elizabeth Warren’s Selfie System is much more than a snapshot of you next to a presidential wannabe, it has excellent lock-in potential.
When you finally get to the head of the Warren Selfie Line, after waiting hours, you are well-managed. Not by volunteers, but by her top-level staff who handle you with care in an efficient, effective manner.
You’ll have your moment — Elizabeth Warren’s full attention. You can tell her what you need to tell her. Ask her a question or slip her a note. You won’t have long but you’ll meet the candidate one-to-one and she’ll probably put her arm around you.
She Establishes Trust
Who doesn’t want a selfie with the President of the United States? So even those on the fence are likely to wait in line for a selfie with the person who very well could be the next president.
But the distinguishing factor here is that supporters learn that they can trust her word.
They can trust that they won’t be turned away…that she’ll stay until the last selfie is taken. Because she always does. She doesn’t go until she gets tired and turns the rest away. She’s made a commitment and she stands by it.
This keeping of a commitment has a political value beyond measure. How many politicians have a reputation for being true to their word? How many politicians have a reputation for being trustworthy?
New Campaign Volunteers
A candidate like Warren is not only likely guaranteed the vote of the person who stood in line for 4 hours, but there’s also a high probability they will become a volunteer who will actively campaign for her.
That’s because once they’ve gotten the selfie, they’re invested…they want this candidate to win because then they’ll have a selfie with the President of the United States.
But there’s more to it. In Warren’s case, she wins over voters and volunteers the old-fashion way — by talking directly to voters one at a time.
Filling a Need
Many of us are hungry for attention and affection. We’re moved emotionally when someone we admire or someone in a higher position pays attention to us, even for a brief moment. It has an emotional impact. It’s exciting, uplifting and satisfying. We appreciate it.
Warren is not only making a good impression but she’s filling a need. Her attention and the affection of her touching is deeply meaningful for people. And it hooks them. Political imprinting. They get attached to her.
See Me — Hear Me
During the 2016 campaign, DJT seemed to fill a need for certain kinds of people. He did it with loud-mouthed vitriol, and he kept his distance physically, but he spoke to a deficit in these folks that other candidates had ignored. The sad thing was that he conned them. He lied. Many believed him or simply wanted a candidate to finally pay attention to them.
Some DJT supporters even admitted to journalists that they knew he wasn’t going to bring back their coal jobs, but said: “At least he cares.” It made them feel like they had worth. Even with his nasty name-calling, dog-whistle comments and ridiculous claims, he made them believe he was on their side. Sadly they were wrong. And more sadly, they can’t bring themselves to admit they were wrong.
My theory is that admitting they were wrong would not only mean having to admit he was a liar but they’d have to admit defeat…and the most difficult thing of all is that they’d have to admit that this person who they finally thought “really cared,” didn’t. And who said he was “on their side,” wasn’t. And that just might be an unbearable heartbreak.
The Ghost of Selfies Past
Two days after Warren’s NYC appearance I came across this tweet by Victor Ng — a 2016 photo of Hillary Clinton with fans taking selfies by turning their backs and getting her in the background. They’re all lined up inside a fenced-in area with her on the other side, ten feet away standing on a platform.
Clinton is completely separated from her fans…up on a pedestal with secret service agents standing off to the side.
The minute I saw that photo I said out loud:
“And that’s why Hillary lost the election.”
I was half-joking (and she didn’t lose, but won by 2.87 million votes).
My exclamation was a reaction to the stark contrast between the Clinton and Warren selfie styles. To me, the difference speaks volumes. Hillary never had the warm personality or relaxed demeanor of Elizabeth Warren.
Let’s see…what would be my preference?
- A fenced-off selfie from 10 feet that I have to take myself in a short window of time as I turn my back on my candidate who’s on a platform?
- Or a personal moment with my candidate who looks me in the eye, listens, and puts her arm around me while one staff member watches my “stuff” and another takes six photos of us on my phone?
No-brainer.
A Kamala Selfie Story
The next day I’m talking to a friend at the #ClimateStrike rally and we get to talking about Warren. I tell her my theories about Elizabeth Warren’s selfie strategy as I described above. (and that was before I knew of Warren’s six-member staff selfie system and that she interacts with each person)
My friend then tells me her Kamala Harris selfie story. She and her husband attended a private fundraiser for Harris on Martha’s Vineyard. She told me her primary reason for wanting to go was to get a selfie with Kamala because her husband has a selfie with Obama.
She admitted that once she got the selfie she wanted Kamala to win the election because then she’d have a selfie with the president.
I was excited to hear confirmation of my theory. I then told her about the photo of Hillary Clinton with her fans taking selfies from behind a fence with their backs to her. (there’s something eerie about them all turning their backs on her…just sayin’)
My friend chuckled hearing about the Hillary photo and then described how Spike Lee (who was hosting the fundraiser) did the same thing. He kept Kamala separated from the donors and had people fenced off. Spike was trying to control things (likely trying to assure her safety). But, at the end, Kamala wasn’t having it and finally said “No, I’m going over there” and walked into the crowd for selfies.
That was a high-ticket private fundraiser and I’m sure there was plenty of security, so it was interesting to hear that she didn’t go into the crowd for most of the evening.
Quite the contrast -Harris at a big-money party at the home of a celebrity and Warren up close and personal with her arm around thousands of working people in Washington Square.
Warren has a sure-fire voter conversion system. Staffed by her top people and brilliantly designed for safety and efficiency.
But it’s not a manipulative campaign tactic.
It’s the real thing that was born out of Elizabeth Warren’s commitment to people and to democracy.
You can’t fake the interest and warmth that her supporters experience when they get that once-in-a-lifetime selfie. If a candidate tries to fake that connection and commitment, they’ll be called out on social media faster than green grass through a goose.
The real litmus test?
The little girls. Ya can’t fool ’em and they tell it like it is.
The Twitter post embedded above states:
“My daughter Adi met @ewarren (Elizabeth Warren)at the Steak Fry and afterwards said “Mom, she doesn’t take pictures just to take them — she actually talked to me and CARES.” Ladies and Gentleman, THIS is what politics should look like and feel like.” — Liz Skurdal @lizskurdal on Twitter
And this Twitter post above states:
“On the way home from meeting @ewarren tonight, my daughter — who wore her fanciest cardigan for the occasion — told me, “Mama, I feel like I met a real president tonight. Like, a real one.”
Yes, little one…you just met a real president.
A moment you’ll remember the rest of your life.
