Rapid Response
The capability to detect, verify and answer an attack within hours.
Short answer
What is Rapid Response?
Rapid response is a standing campaign function combining continuous monitoring, verification, a pre-cleared statement library and a defined escalation protocol, enabling a considered public reply within hours of detection.
Definition
Rapid response is a standing campaign function combining continuous monitoring, verification, a pre-cleared statement library and a defined escalation protocol, enabling a considered public reply within hours of detection.
Why It Matters
The first six hours decide a crisis. Campaigns lose them to internal debate about whether to respond, by which point the opponent’s framing has become the accepted account.
Example in Indian Elections
A campaign with pre-cleared holding statements can issue a considered reply in under two hours; one without spends that time deciding who is authorised to speak.
Related Terms
- Message ArchitectureThe structured hierarchy of a campaign’s core promise and supporting arguments.
- BridgingAnswering a hostile question honestly and returning to your message.
- FramingChoosing the terms on which an issue is debated.
- SurrogateAn authorised supporter who carries the campaign message publicly.
- Polling BoothThe individual polling station where a defined group of voters casts their votes.
- Form 20The statutory ECI document publishing booth-wise vote counts after a poll.