David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review 2023: Teach Campaign Strategy And Messaging
Last Updated on: April 9, 2023 by Aishwar Babber | Fact Checked
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We’ll talk about David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review. An unlikely pair David Axelrod & Karl Rove are teaming up, reaching, and teaching across the aisle about winning elections.
The political odd couple Axelrod was a senior adviser to former President Obama while Rove famously served under former President George W. Bush has put on their teaching hats to instruct a MasterClass on politics called “Campaign Strategy and Messaging,” ITK has exclusively learned.
Bottom Line Upfront: David Axelrod & Karl Rove,The political odd couple Axelrod was a senior adviser to former President Obama while Rove famously served under former President George W. Bush has put on their teaching hats to instruct a MasterClass on politics called “Campaign Strategy and Messaging,” ITK has exclusively learned.
The David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass is a go-to opportunity for every single one of you who are interested in politics.
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In this post, we have shared the David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review 2023 with the main aim of campaign strategy and messaging. Read about Davi Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Here!!
He was born on the 22nd of February 1955 and his place of birth is the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City but David Axelrod spent his formative years in the Stuyvesant Town area.
He is of American nationality as indicated by his place of birth and his ethnicity is white. His parents were liberal Jews engaged in professional jobs.
His dad’s name was Joseph Axelrod – a psychologist and he was an immigrant from Eastern Europe to the US at age 11.
David’s mum has been identified as Myril Bennett – she worked as a journalist at a liberal-leaning 1940s newspaper known as PM, later in life, she proceeded to Young & Rubicam where she occupied the position of an advertising executive.
However, his parent’s marriage ended when he was eight and his father is known to have committed suicide in 1977.
About Karl Rove
Karl Rove, full name Karl Christian Rove, had born Dec. 25, 1950, in Denver, Colo., U.S., American political advisor and principal architect of U.S. Pres. George W. Bush’s two presidential election campaigns (2000, 2004).
Rove was political even as a young child. Though he attended the University of Utah and other colleges, he did not receive a degree, and in 1971 he went to Washington, D.C., to become executive director of the College Republicans.
Two years later he with success ran for the post of chairman in a campaign managed by planner Lee Atwater, an early mentor.
During the 1970s Rove was involved with various Republican organizations and candidates, including George H.W. Bush. Involved in Texas politics, Rove worked on the congressional campaign of George W. Bush in 1978 and, in the same year, on the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Clements, the first Republican to be elected to the state’s highest office since Reconstruction (1865–77).
Rove shaped his own consulting business in 1981, with a list of clients that included Phil Gramm, elected to the U.S.
Career
Rove handled George W. Bush’s flourishing politician campaign in 1994, and he was given a lot of credit for transforming Texas from a Democratic to a Republican stronghold, with the party holding all elected state offices by 1999.
Welcome to David Axelrod & Karl Rove Campaign Strategy MasterClass Review 2023
The goal of this MasterClass is to get us to understand what’s going on within a campaign, because if we understand how difficult it is to run for office (whether you run for city council, state legislature, congress, statewide congress, or presidency)-knowing how to prepare and educate yourself with tremendous discipline for winning candidates, we will end up having more confidence
We discover that the message side of things will be handled by David, while Karl is more of a master planner.
First of all, the fact that what seems like a niche topic is endlessly applicable to so many different areas is the thing I love most about this MasterClass.
You might aspire to hold the office.
You might want to work on campaigns.
Or maybe, to be a better person, you just want to know more about the political system.
Whatever camp you fall into, you certainly have this MasterClass covered.
You should treat this MasterClass like a candidate Bootcamp if you aspire to hold office (does not have to be presidential, could be for city council or even school board).
You will have a clear understanding of what area your talents and temperament will ideally apply themselves to by the end of this MasterClass if you are considering a future in political campaigns.
And if you really want to learn more about the political system and understand more about what’s happening behind the scenes in recent elections, this MasterClass is certainly going to get that too.
What do you get in the David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass?
David Axelrod and Karl Rove are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, and yet, like a very well-oiled machine, they agree so much on how to organize a campaign and their teaching style works together seamlessly.
One of the reasons the two-man dynamic works so well, I think, is that you can really assume these two are good friends who have put a lot of thinking together in this class.
You will get 24 video modules with 5 + hours of content plus a workbook that is tightly structured to cover all aspects of campaign strategy and messaging, covering subjects such as:
Debates
Slogans and logos
Public appearances
The campaign message
Harnessing social media
Getting your message out
Budgeting and fundraising
Researching your opponent
You know this is going to be a phenomenal MasterClass right from the start when it kicks off with an exhilarating opening in which we learn where David Axelrod & Karl Rove got their first footholds in politics and how their unlikely friendship began.
We tend to demonize those on the other side because we don’t know them, but Karl thinks it’s strange that people think it’s strange that they’re friends.
Here that David will be covering the message side of things, while Karl is more of a master planner.
The aim with this MasterClass is all about getting us to understand what goes on inside a campaign because if we understand how hard it is to run for office knowing how winning candidates have to prepare and educate themselves with tremendous discipline, we’ll end up having more confidence in the system itself.
What is MasterClass?
Entrepreneur Aaron Rasmussen and film editor and director David Rogier started MasterClass in 2015. Based in San Francisco, it’s an online education platform for creative professionals.
Of course, you don’t need to travel to San Francisco to take a MasterClass.
You can watch MasterClass courses using your computer or phone and consume the materials at your own pace.
As a student, you can learn the art of comedy from Steve Martin, writing thrillers from James Patterson, dramatic writing from David Mamet, screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin, and lots more.
It is a great way of learning online from top creators you would not normally have access to.
Who is MasterClass For?
The MasterClass is for writers, photographers, artists, musicians, painters, and creative professionals. It’s ideal for students who are happy to learn at their own pace using a computer.
Unlike Lynda or Treehouse, MasterClass is suitable for writers, musicians, artists, and creative professionals.
This is an interesting niche.
Many of the opposite online courses I’ve taken facilitate students to learn business skills like promoting or additional sensible skills like writing or internet development basics.
The MasterClass isn’t ideal for people who thrive in classroom environments and prefer a more hands-on approach from teachers.
Crucial things to learn from this Masterclass!
Both Karl and David continue to link all their advice over and over again throughout this course to every possible level at which the view can be at-whether it’s presidential level, city council level, or even talking about running for school president-this data is helpful and applicable in all scenarios.
Starting a Campaign
Starting a campaign is all about the first lesson. Where you get to know that a story is your campaign, a narrative with a beginning, middle, and ending. So, what are the story elements you are going to tell?
David Axelrod & Karl Rove are on opposing sides of the political spectrum, and yet they agree on so much with how to structure a campaign and their teaching style works seamlessly together – like a very well-oiled machine.
I think one of the reasons the two-man dynamic works so well is because you can really tell these two are good friends who have put a lot of thought into this class together.
We learn not only how to inventory the elements of our story and the timeline in which we want to say them, but also how to inventory the various ways to convey them (news conference, voice, talk radio show, social media, or a combination of all).
Next, we learn all about evaluating the candidate (whether it’s you or the person you’re working on whose campaign). We’re getting into how to dig deep into the bio of your candidate (especially the hideous and dark sides).
Then we get into the elements of a clear message about where you want to go, a combined bio, record, and some projective language.
Great messages are inferentially contrastive
Great messages project those qualities that your candidate has that their opponent doesn’t have.
David gets into one of the biggest mistakes he made in a race – and why this is something you absolutely must avoid.
This was a fascinating strategy-building lesson on what to do about your weaknesses and how to be ready to go if they get attacked.
Thinking back over the last few presidential elections, it was amazing to put this stuff together, and remember seeing some of this (or the lack of this) in different areas of different campaigns.
You’ll really understand the Hilary-Trump face-off, for example, after this lesson in campaign strategy.
Political drama comes alive
Karl goes into a George W. Bush case study – the drunk driving one – in which they knew the information was out there and could hurt them but what they should have done is chosen a time sometimes after he secured the nomination in which they the party would have willingly revealed the information themselves, got it out there, and got it behind them – instead of having it revealed for them.
We then get into the biases that women and people of color must contend with but also we learn about their strengths and how they are positively perceived.
This part of the course really gets you thinking about how to take an obstacle and turn it into strength.
Know Your Opponent
The researching your opponent part of this MasterClass was also fascinating, not just for the content itself but looking at what the other students are saying in the student comment section.
People are finding this class electric, informative, dramatic, educational, controversial and passions are running high – the greatest and the worst emotions.
One thing’s for sure – there is not a dull moment in this MasterClass and no matter where you sit on the political fence, it’s going to stir you up.
Not only do we go into the how and why of researching your opponent but I personally found the section on the ethical implications of researching your opponent fascinating.
Then we get into the campaign plan itself. There are some great discussions about crafting a campaign around a message.
Also, nice bonus materials in the form of a downloadable Campaign Strategy Primer for a complete campaign timeline – not only is this stuff applicable for most fields but I think writers in the political thriller genre will find a ton of value in this course.
After you’ve got the details of the message, then it’s all about practicality budgets, timings, volunteers, media, etc.
Here we analyze the subtle characteristics of the environment in which the election takes place – looking at the possible factors that shape the lens through which people view the election.
Analyzing historical data
Then we get into analyzing historical data in order to pick up patterns and estimate how the future is going to go. How to determine floor votes and ceiling votes through past losing and winning candidates?
Looking for the swing. You have areas that are really red and really blue but you also have locations where swing voters tend to be higher.
Karl goes into how he determines to get to 50% of the vote.
You learn all about finding who the people who need to be persuaded are and who the people who need to be motivated are.
Candidates who succeed reflect their communities
It was also interesting to study your opponent’s portion of this MasterClass, not only for the content itself but to look at what other students think in the student comment section.
The remarks just demonstrate what I might already say halfway through the first class. People are finding this class electric, informative, dramatic, educational, controversial and passions are running high – the greatest and the worst emotions.
One thing’s for sure – there is not a boring moment in this MasterClass and no matter where you sit on the political fence, it’s going to stir you up.
Not only do we go through the how and why of researching your opponent, but I personally found the segment on the ethical implications of researching your opponent interesting.
Then we get into the strategy of the campaign itself.
There are some excellent discussions about designing a message campaign (funnily enough, I see this as beneficial and relevant outside politics. – brand building and product launch with an email list anyone?).
Also, nice bonus materials for a full campaign timeline in the form of a downloadable Campaign Strategy Primer-not only is this stuff relevant to most fields (obvious politics in particular) but I think writers in the genre of political thriller would find a lot of value in this course.
How to get a 24-year-old to the voting booth in the first place?
We go deep into the value of micro-targeting, which was extremely interesting and kind of terrifying.
In 2004, they found if you owned a pickup truck in Ohio you were a Bush voter, but if you owned a Volvo you were a John Kerry voter.
In 2012, the Obama campaign found that if you listened to National Public Radio, you were an Obama voter.
The cool thing about micro-targeting is being able to understand what the key issues are that will motivate individual voters.
No campaign can be one message but is a mix of several.
As always in this MasterClass, it’s very important to think about the various candidates in the last presidential election and think about what messages they chose and the ratios in which they combined them.
“Listening to David break down and discussing video instances of Reagan, Obama, Romney, Kerry, Bush, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy” framing spots “was riveting.
I enjoyed hearing about attack tactics, truly. People think attacks are effective, but more often than not, the counterpunch is stronger in politics than the attack itself.
The module for public appearances was another aspect of the course that was rich and intense.
With examples from Obama, we learn here about campaign launches and how to plan them, the basics of the stump speech, and cultivating your acts with an understanding that everything is under scrutiny.
MasterClass Pricing Plans
There are two ways by which you can purchase a MasterClass, a single MasterClass, and an All-Access Pass for any of the gurus on the platform.
Single MasterClass: $90
All-Access Pass: $180 per year
The All-Access Pass comes in real handy when you wish to take more than one MasterClass, so this means that there is no limit on the number of MasterClasses on the All-Access Pass.
A 30-day money-back guarantee is also available for any of the MasterClass packages you purchase and you will get a complete refund of the amount in case you are not satisfied with their services.
Access your MasterClass exercises anyplace quickly by downloading the MasterClass application for your iOS or Android gadget for free from the App Store and Play Store. Save exercises as top choices, modify the playback speed and watch them whenever you need to.
This MasterClass is about the elements of a successful political campaign while seldom broaching the ideology and morality inherent in politics. It’s how to run a campaign, never why.
Both of them offered good, general advice on how to win an election.
Rove is obsessed with micro-targeting constituents through advertising and thinks direct mail is an eternally good way to reach potential voters. Axelrod, on the other hand, preaches the gospel of conducting focus groups as a way to understand what voters are concerned about.
Whether you’re seriously considering a run for office – any office in any capacity – or you just want to understand what’s happening on The West Wing, this MasterClass is an absolute must.
David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review
The strategy of planning your message, predicting your opponent’s response and your rebuttal to that response was eye-opening. -Natalie P.
Great lesson. Most intriguing was the voter-venn diagram. This is way harder in multiparty states, but makes for a fun and useful analysis I believe. -Leon K.
FAQs | David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review
👍Who Is David Axelrod?
He is of American nationality as indicated by his place of birth and his ethnicity is white. His parents were liberal Jews engaged in professional jobs.
👉Who Is Karl Rove?
Rove was political even as a young child. Though he attended the University of Utah and other colleges, he did not receive a degree, and in 1971 he went to Washington, D.C., to become executive director of the College Republicans.
🤔What you get in the David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass?
You will get 24 video modules with 5 + hours of content plus a workbook that is tightly structured to cover all aspects of campaign strategy and messaging
🔥 Does MasterClass Have A Free Trial?
MasterClass used to provide a free trial in the past. However, back in August 2018, they stopped giving out free trials. And this is no longer available.
🤷♀️ How does the 30-day guarantee work?
Our goal is to make sure that you have the best learning experience possible. If MasterClass isn’t for you, then email us within 30 days of the date you purchase your subscription, and we’ll offer a full refund.
Conclusion: David Axelrod & Karl Rove MasterClass Review 2023
I really encourage you to try it out if you have the All-Access Pass already because you’ll get even more value from your membership. If you still don’t have a pass, what are you waiting for?
It’s incredibly good value, and I haven’t heard a single review, which was less than surprising.
This MasterClass is an absolute must if you’re seriously considering a run for office-any office in any capacity-or you just want to understand what’s happening on The West Wing.
David Axelrod & Karl Rove Masterclass On Social Media
“Yep, even Bill Gates turns to online learning…Gates revealed he is currently watching a MasterClass…[with his son] featuring David Axelrod & Karl Rove discussing how to develop a campaign platform and reach audiences with messaging”
Masterminds behind Barack Obama & George W. Bush presidential victories, @davidaxelrod & @KarlRove, are not only champions of the democratic process but know what it takes to plan & execute a campaign strategy. Introducing a bipartisan class on how to win elections at any level: pic.twitter.com/IRpGdyrVDb
Aishwar Babber is a passionate blogger and a digital marketer. He loves to talk and blog about the latest tech and gadgets, which motivates him to run GizmoBase. He is currently practicing his digital marketing, SEO, and SMO expertise as a full-time marketer on various projects. He is an active investor in AffiliateBay. You can find him on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.
