Political campaigns in the digital age: A Look at the Zohran Mamdani Campaign

First, I must state that I spent my summer as a social media intern for the I’ve Had It Podcast. After I moved back to Chicago for the school year, I continued to keep up with the podcast I interned for by watching their interviews, reading articles, and keeping up to date with news around the podcast. I remember I watched an interview my bosses did on the podcast with someone named Zohran Mamdani. In all honesty, I had no idea who he was or why he was being interviewed. However, today he is the newly elected mayor of New York City. I know a lot of people can relate to my story of not knowing the name Zohran Mamdani. This blog will go into the campaign of Mamdani from a PR perspective and how his campaign led to his success.

After Mamdani was elected mayor a few nights ago, I did some research on him because I was curious. I was asking myself questions like, how did he become mayor of New York City if a year ago, nobody knew who he was? What about him and his campaign were people drawn to? How did he secure such a high position in a short time? Through my never ending scrolling of his social media, I started to understand why. His campaign was one of the best I have ever seen as a PR student. His social media presence is incredibly strong, making him seem relatable, funny, authentic, and overall a nice guy. While his social media highlighted his charismatic personality, it also brought light on his experiences, abilities, knowledge (he posted several videos of him speaking different languages), and made him seem like he actually cares about the people of New York City. In his interviews and debates, he spoke confidently, passionately, and in a way where people connected with him. One specific moment I remember seeing was during a debate the candidates were asked if they have ever walked into a cannabis shop and bought something. The comments on this video were saying “you know this only makes him more likeable right?” and “this made me like him even more than I already did.” The response to his answer only showed me that people want a politician who is authentic, relatable, and seems like an actual human who does normal day to day activities. Now we will dive into where PR comes into play here. 

It seems his PR team and campaign team sat down and asked the most important question a PR person should ask, “what do people want from a politician?” And they absolutely nailed it. I am not saying that his PR team is to be credited for his election as mayor because Mamdani is clearly a very compassionate person with a strong personality that people like, and it wouldn't have been possible without his character. However, the PR team clearly knew what they were doing. Obviously their audience was New York City, but they also had multiple audiences within just New York City. I noticed first that the heavy social media presence catered to a younger audience. Some of the videos on his TikTok and Instagram were humorous and focused on his personality rather than his campaign, which was key to his success. However, he also used social media to reach other audiences, as mentioned before he posted a video of him discussing his key campaign goals in fluent Spanish, bringing in a whole new audience, Hispanics. When people see that their culture, identity, and values are being represented in a positive way, they feel more inclined to support a certain idea or person. Another thing that stood out to me was message consistency. Every video, photo, quote, or interview showed the public one core narrative: Mamdani is relatable, he is one of us, and he understands the city and the needs of the people to a ground level. As a PR student, we are taught over and over again that consistency is key, and if you don’t create your own narrative, someone else will do it for you. His team made sure everyone knew who he was and what his goals were. 

Another tactic that can’t be overlooked is the visual branding. Every post has the same fonts, colors, and overall tone, which made his campaign be instantly recognizable. His graphics were simple and clean, he used candid photos of himself, and that is what created the authenticity. 

If I can take one thing away from Mamdani's campaign as a PR student, it would be that people don’t respond to facts, statistics, or policy heavy messaging. Most, quite frankly, don’t care about that stuff. Instead, people want stories and emotional resonance. By building Mamdani's campaign around his personality, lived experiences, and immigrant identity, people were able to genuinely connect to him, believing he will make a change in their life. For my future career, I now know people want something that feels real. They want a candidate, organization, person, or brand that understands their values, culture, and identity. In a political climate where people are exhausted by the same polished but empty politicians where promises are never achieved, Mamdani’s authenticity, paired with smart PR, was exactly what people needed.