Whether you are running for local office in Jefferson City or in Washington, D.C., savvy print marketing is the key to a successful campaign. Your social-media pages and your website are doing great work getting your message out about who you are and what you stand for to the people who are already interested. But in order to advertise widely, you’ll need to reach out to that section of your demographic who might not know who you are, or who may not be interested enough to visit your website or Facebook. You need to catch their attention as they walk down the street or pass by your sign in their cars. Here’s how to do that:
Logo Design
To reinforce that digital message, you’ll need to start with a logo design that works for your social-media pages, your website, apparel and your printed materials. Consider choosing a simple and colorful graphic to tie all your campaign literature together in the minds of your voters.
Working with a professional logo design team, you can find the image and colors that best convey your message. Patriotic colors like red, white, and blue are always safe choices, but remember that you do have other options. For instance, if you are running on a platform of environmental awareness, a vibrant green might reinforce that message. Your color and design choice should say something about you and your campaign. Once you have your logo identity, you can kick your campaign into high gear.
Yard Signs, Banners, And Car Magnets
As your campaign gains momentum, you’ll want to focus on both traditional means of advertising in political campaigns, like yard signs, and more innovative marketing techniques, like vehicle magnets. Depending on your local area and your driving habits, car magnets can be a great passive-marketing technique that never gets turned off.
Whether your supporter is at the grocery store or on their way to work, the car magnet provides a continuous opportunity for your brand to be seen. Much like your business cards, this is a chance to send potential voters to your website or Facebook page to get more information about you and your candidacy.
Vinyl banners are great for campaign events or for identifying your booth at everything from county fairs to a meet-the-candidates night. Traditional overhead banners can be paired with retractable banner stands to provide information about you and the things that you are promoting in your campaign.
Outfitting Your Office
Your campaign headquarters are another opportunity to reinforce your digital marketing message. You’ll want official campaign stationery to send out media releases, responses to voter inquiries and any other official correspondence. Having office note pads and coffee mugs that sport your campaign logo can also serve as a reminder to campaign staff what their focus is. Additionally, supporters may wish to purchase mugs as a means to demonstrate their support.
Your office will also need to be a supply house for volunteers and supporters. Whether it’s door hangers, bumper stickers or yard signs, your supporters will expect a variety of ways to make their candidate preference known. When you have canvassers out talking to potential voters, supplying them with imprinted tote bags to carry campaign materials in is another way to subtly increase your name recognition and direct people back to your digital marketing efforts.
Canvassing Voters
One of the hallmarks of campaign season is the effort of candidates to get out and meet voters. Whether it’s a personal appearance at the local senior citizens’ center, holiday parades, or an actual door-to-door campaign, you’ll need brochures targeted to that potential group of voters. Now is the time to explain your platform and voting record.
At large public events, chances are that voters will see a lot of different candidates. Your print materials should reinforce the messages that you gave at the event. They should encourage potential supporters to vote for you and even to donate to your campaign. At this type of event, imprinted bags that have been pre-stuffed with campaign literature can be one of your most effective forms of print marketing.
Large public events are also a good time to have buttons, magnets, and bumper stickers available to encourage supporters to help you get the word out.
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Reinforcing The Message
Whether you meet voters by sending out direct-mail postcards or by walking every block of your voting district, your print marketing has many purposes:
- Your print marketing should increase your name recognition by telling voters who you are.
- Your print marketing should provide voters with basic information about who you are, what you are running for, and why they should vote for you.
- Your print marketing should encourage voters to look for more information about you on either your website or on your social-media sites.
- Your print marketing should visually appeal to voters to help you stand out from other candidates.
- Your print marketing should provide you an opportunity to meet voters who might otherwise not know about your message.
And, while it is not a primary purpose of your print marketing, print marketing serves as the best keepsake from your campaign. Political junkies and collectors often invest in local campaign memorabilia, especially if this is your first campaign or if you’re running on a unique platform.
Certainly, as a candidate, your primary goal is to create a multi-faceted marketing campaign that attracts and informs voters. Still, never overlook the potential historic value of your campaign marketing materials. More than half a century later, imitations of the original “I like Ike” campaign buttons dot the Internet. Campaign memorabilia from both winning and losing candidates ends up in museums, underscoring the importance of both the existence of and the quality of campaign print materials.
Ultimately, the most effective printed campaign materials work in conjunction with the remainder of your campaign to attract attention, increase recognition, and win votes. Your print marketing should work hand-in-hand with digital marketing to make certain that people know who you are and why they should vote for you.
