As Klaus entered the building, the atmosphere inside shifted to one of calm and focus. The soft glow of pendant lights created a comfortable and focused ambiance within the building. The reception area was designed with a clean and elegant aesthetic. A staff member with a friendly smile welcomed Klaus, asking him to sign the guestbook and providing him with a guest identification card.
He followed the directions to the campaign area, entering a hallway adorned with large posters featuring the confident poses of Richard Dickson and Jonathan.
The hallway led him to a spacious open room, where campaign staff worked diligently. Neatly arranged tables were equipped with computers, stacks of documents, and whiteboards filled with campaign strategy plans. A flat-screen television in the corner of the room broadcasted the latest political news, creating a sort of central command of information.
Klaus spotted a young man in a long-sleeved shirt and tie who stood out among the crowd. The man drew close to Klaus with a warm smile.
"Mr. Klaus, welcome to our campaign headquarters," the man greeted cordially. "I'm Max, the campaign team leader. Mr. Richard is waiting for you."
After a brief exchange, Max guided Klaus to a private meeting room at the end of the hallway.
The meeting room was adorned with paintings of the New York City skyline and several photos of the candidates with residents. At a large table in the center of the room, Jonathan Dickson sat examining campaign documents. In front of him was a man with a gold tooth—Terry Owen.
"Finally, you're here," Richard said firmly. "Please make yourself comfortable. The place is a bit messy."
Klaus took off his jacket and placed it on the chair next to Terry. Observing the expression of the man with the gold tooth, Klaus knew this man had been here for quite some time.
"We've appointed you as a campaign team consultant. I hope you came early. We couldn't start the meeting without you," Terry remarked.
"Thank you for your patience. I had to accompany my recently recovered relative. She was discharged from the hospital yesterday," Klaus turned to Richard. "By the way, where is Jonathan?"
"He's out campaigning in Central Park."
Klaus raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you ask him not to rush on the first day?"
"I did," Richard replied. "He's young. You know how these kids are nowadays? They're stubborn."
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"Hm, that can be a problem. People who take initiative are bad, and people who always obey are even worse. You must control him," Terry chimed in. He looked at Klaus. "Isn't that right?"
Nodding in response, Klaus didn't provide a definite answer. After all, he was the one who brought him here.
Walking towards the whiteboard at the end of the room, Klaus picked up a marker and began writing something. Richard leaned against a wall while Terry swiveled his chair, focusing his attention on him. Meanwhile, Max sat on the couch.
A map of New York was displayed on the whiteboard, showing the five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Each area had markings with different patterns. Only Queens was the only area without markings on the image.
Richard frowned when he saw the map. "What's that? An Electoral Map?"
Klaus snapped his fingers. "Exactly."
Electoral mapping is the process of using geographic data and spatial analysis to understand voting patterns and voter preferences within a specific area. The goal is to identify areas that support or oppose specific candidates or issues in a general or political election. By using this information, campaign teams can understand political trends in a region.
"Our expert team has prepared this plan," Terry said.
"So, what do you have?" Klaus asked.
"Explain it to him." Terry waved his hand, gesturing towards Max.
Max nodded. "Based on our research, we have the highest potential votes in Manhattan, 78%, and Brooklyn, 80%. So, we're focusing campaign funds on the other boroughs. We've reached out to several influencers and local figures to convince the residents there, and we've deployed our volunteers to distribute our merchandise. It aligns with our previous plan."
Klaus nodded. "Good plan. But you'll just be wasting campaign funds."
Naturally, Terry squinted his eyes. Similar expressions were shown by Max.
"Can you explain where I went wrong?" Max asked.
"You're not entirely wrong. Just one thing is missing."
Klaus then wrote something on the whiteboard. They squinted as they read it.
"Income," Max, Richard, and Terry muttered simultaneously. Of course, it left them puzzled, causing furrowed brows.
"How do we make money while we're campaigning?" Richard asked.
Klaus smiled. "We change our strategy. We won't just give away merchandise, but sell it."
"WHAT!?" Everyone was shocked.
In order to win an election, candidates need to conduct massive campaigns to make their names known to the general public, and to make that happen, they need to advertise their candidates; such as putting up billboards, distributing brochures, and holding meetings. They require significant funding to implement all of this. In other words, they spend money.I think you should take a look at
"Sorry, Mr. Klaus. The purpose of the campaign is to introduce our candidate to the general public. Encouraging them to buy merchandise might have a negative impact on our supporters," Max furrowed his brow, clearly disagreeing with Klaus's idea.
"Exactly," Terry agreed with Max. "We need their votes, not their money."
On the other hand, Richard didn't comment, but the glint in his eyes showed he agreed with his two colleagues.
Klaus chuckled. "You're jumping to conclusions too quickly. We won't just be selling our merchandise, but also our competitors' merchandise."
Squinting their eyes, they grew even more confused by Klaus's plan. It sounded increasingly ambiguous to them.
"Wait a second, wait. I hired you as a campaign team consultant to support me, not to help our competitors. I don't want a single cent to go to them," Richard strongly disagreed.
However, Klaus smiled even wider. "That's where you're wrong."
He began drawing a pie chart. Instead of creating election statistics, he created music sales statistics. Naturally, Richard twisted his face in confusion.
"Essentially, a campaign is marketing. It has a target audience. If, for example, a campaign is a concert, and our concert is a metal band, we'll surely sell tickets to metalheads. What if we sell tickets to classical music enthusiasts?"
"Of course, it won't sell," Terry answered.
"Exactly. Classical music enthusiasts will only enjoy classical music. They'll find it odd to hear metal music. The same goes the other way around. If we sell our merchandise to supporters of other candidates, will it sell?"
"No," Max answered.
"And if we sell other candidates' merchandise to their supporters, will it sell?"
"Yes," Max replied. Then, his eyes widened. He realized something important. "You want to raise funds from the competitors' supporters, right?"
Suddenly, Richard and Terry also grasped Klaus's plan. They began to show interest.
Klaus smirked. "Exactly. We'll squeeze money out of our competitors' supporters' wallets. Then use their money for our campaign."
He then began outlining his plan to them.
Klaus had already rented four factories for the duration of the three-month campaign. These factories would produce merchandise for all three gubernatorial candidates. Subsequently, the merchandise would be distributed to Golden Hammer Company outlets throughout New York.
To ensure their items sold, Klaus asked Richard to mobilize fake crowds for each candidate. They would be tasked with collecting the free merchandise distributed by the candidate's volunteer supporters.
The money from sales would be used to rent billboards and large banners all over New York City. The aim was to reach undecided voters.
Aside from generating income, sales statistics could also be used as analytical data, to determine the number of definite supporters for each candidate. With this, Klaus could pinpoint which borough needed specialized campaign attention.
That was only part of his first plan.
The meeting went on for a long time. Even as the sun rose higher in the sky, they remained holed up in the small room, while other candidates were out campaigning.
However, they were unaware that something was waiting outside the building.
Amidst the bustling crowd of people passing by, there stood a mysterious woman at the edge of the sidewalk, dressed in a black jumper that contrasted with the bright backdrop.
Her face was obscured by the shadow of the hoodie covering her head, leaving most of her facial features in darkness. However, the most striking aspect was the sharp eyes flickering beneath the shadow. She stared at the building with an intensity that was anything but ordinary, as if she could see deeper than the mere physical structure itself.
The energy surrounding the woman was so potent that it seemed to breathe life into her surroundings. Her black hair hanging in front of her face swayed in the wind, and the strange aura emanating from her seemed to instill fear in those who passed by. Some quickened their pace, sensing that something was amiss about her.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sound of an incoming message chimed. The woman took out her smartphone from her pocket and pressed it to her ear.
"Hello, Zee. Where are you?" The voice from the other end of the phone spoke.
"I'm at the spot, monitoring the target."
Standing there, the woman was on the phone for quite a long time.
"Alright. Understood." She ended the conversation.
After tucking the smartphone back into her pocket, darkness engulfed her form. In an instant, she vanished from the crowd.
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