EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
Name: Chris D’Aniello
Title: Director of Accounts
Location: Washington, DC
Bio: Born and raised in Philly (Trust the Process). Graduate of the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs). Hates the Packers (Fly Eagles Fly) but lives by Vince Lombardi’s words: “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” I’m usually at the office helping our candidates/teammates win, but when I’m not, I love going to see live music, traveling, or watching sports and criticizing coaches and players because I could surely do better. Underrated cook. Above average skier. Fairly well-rounded geographic past… Philly -> Athens, GA -> Atlanta -> Kansas City, MO -> Washington, DC.
What you do at Axiom/how you serve our clients: I wear a lot of hats but, primarily, I help candidates communicate their message and brand to voters. I work directly with campaign teams to interpret survey results or digest qualitative data about an electorate, and then help identify how the campaign should talk to voters. I craft voter contact plans (such as where and when our mailers should drop) and then execute them alongside our unparalleled design/creative team. No campaign has infinite resources, so it’s important to prioritize in both the targeting and messaging of your voter contact. You be you – we just help you IDENTIFY your brand, and give you the best, most effective megaphone on the market to tell your story.
How you got your start in politics: I had no plans to enter politics after college; I had accepted a job with a bank in Chicago. Then U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss retired. I had gotten to know Congressman Jack Kingston (his son was my roommate at UGA) and when he announced he would run for Chambliss’ seat, I started helping him get organized in my free time. I was never very political, and I had no idea this world existed. I was hooked. On a flight home to Philly from Atlanta, I started talking by chance with the guy next to me. I mentioned what I had been doing for Kingston, but that I’d already accepted a job at a bank in Chicago. Turns out, my seatmate had a nearly identical story. He graduated alongside his college roommate Bob Casey Jr. and had an opportunity to volunteer on the ground floor of Bob Casey Sr.’s campaign for Pennsylvania Governor. We talked about campaigns the whole flight. I called the Chicago bank from the airport when I landed. A month later, I graduated into a volunteer role on Rep. Kingston’s campaign where I was paid in Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and campaign merch. We lost that campaign by 1%… 8,532 votes. Axiom’s Jeff Roe was our General Consultant, and he invited me to work for him in Kansas City at the conclusion of the campaign. I’ve been with Axiom ever since.
What trends do you expect to see in the 2020 election? As the distrust of politicians and the media grows, 2020 will be a proving ground for new and creative ways to be/seem credible. Think about all the ads you’ve seen with torn newspaper clips highlighting opponents’ vulnerabilities – it’s a good way to show “This isn’t a political attack coming from me, it’s a fact coming from the Local Times.” But does that work if your persuadable voter doesn’t trust the source? This election cycle’s campaign teams and advertising consultants will be looking to develop and fine-tune methods to earn credibility for candidates’ narratives.