The other day, I saw an early sign of Spring: an election campaign commercial on TV. It was just a 30-second ad, but it did make me wonder how long it will be before more of them start showing up everywhere, even on streaming. With so many seats and offices at stake in this midterm election year, we’ll be bombarded with them. That’s why direct mail plays such a crucial role in modern campaigns.
As I’ve written before in other places, political mail cuts through that clutter in a way other channels can’t. It’s tangible. It’s unavoidable. And it’s delivered to every household, so there’s no ad blockers to worry about. It has just one job: to persuade a voter to take action. But before it can do that, it has to earn attention.
Mail has a built-in advantage. A well-designed piece consists of a strong headline, crisp, high-resolution images, and a focused message. It gets physically handled, read, and often saved. It doesn’t disappear with a click or get buried in an inbox.
That physical presence in the mailbox means a lot because it represents opportunities to reach your fellow citizens with your campaign. A piece I wrote for members in PRINTING United Journal offers ideas for printers on how to market to political parties and campaigns. Read on for some tips on strategy.
Start with Segmentation, Not Saturation
A big mistake campaigns make is trying to say everything to everyone. Everyone is not your audience, at least, not yet.
Instead, build your mail strategy around segments. Voter files and compiled data let you break audiences down by demographics, geography, party affiliation, and issues to match your candidate or party.
Read the rest of this article on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
