Thinking about running for office? It’s time to strategize. Whether you’re running for city council or waging a major national campaign, you’ll need to get your name out there and build support among voters and volunteers. While you’re likely to rely on a variety of digital and print sources to get the job done, printed political campaign materials are a great place to start.
By creating assets such as trackable direct mail, campaign signage, and promotional items, you can get the word out about your campaign and build rapport in your community. Whatever campaign materials you choose to create, your brand consistency and target audience are key. In this article, we’ll show you the benefits of creating diverse, quality printed materials to get your political campaign off the ground and in motion.
Start with trackable direct mail. Skeptical about the role of direct mail in your campaign? Thanks to advanced technology, you can track the success rate of each delivery, so you know exactly who you reached and how successful of an impact you made.
Your mailing list should include specific demographics and geographic areas of interest based on your target audience. You can use an existing voter list or purchase a mailing list to get started. By defining your target audience according to income, age, and voter registration, to name a few, you can be strategic in the way you market your political campaign materials to each audience.
Match technology maximizes exposure of your mailing list on social media so that voters receive targeted ads before your physical piece arrives in the mail. Monitor the complete rollout of your campaign, which shows delivery of mail and response rates to calls to action in real time.
People often overcomplicate the types of printed political campaign materials that will be most effective. However, something as simple as campaign signage, such as yard signs, can actually prove to have the greatest impact. The same is true for other highly visible, everyday branding materials such as vehicle wraps, bench wraps, and banners.
For one, campaign signs, including yard signs, build name recognition. This word-of-mouth advertising scheme has the power to influence trusted friends and neighbors or to cause the same people to, at minimum, to research the candidate in question.
Signage also offers general exposure and increases your presence in the community. As your campaign wages on, you can distribute signage to your volunteers and supporters. Whatever path you take, it’s important to remember that some cities may have special ordinances about how and where yard signs are placed.
Get creative in the ways that you advertise your campaign and, therefore, your brand. You can use promotional items such as apparel, rally gear, stickers, buttons, magnets, and hats to increase awareness and support of your campaign. Consider the opportunities for giveaways, freebies, prizes, and tokens of gratitude for support throughout your campaign.
Promotional items not only help you to spread the word about your campaign but also help to boost camaraderie among volunteers and supporters.
So, now that you have a plan for what types of political campaign materials you would like to create, what’s your next step? The key is looking for a printing partner who can help you strategize and execute without losing valuable time or going over budget.
Distributed printing allows you to scale geographically and to expand your operations, even at a local level, as your campaign picks up steam. Southeastern, for example, has a footprint in different regions of the U.S. to strategically service customers on a national scale. Choose from printing options such as wide format printing to help you get there.
Thanks to services such as digital personalization, political candidates can leverage one-on-one messaging to cast a stronger impression on voters. Overall, this method delivers messaging with higher accuracy and better security.
If you’re looking for one of the fastest and most accurate methods for producing campaign materials, consider digital web printing. With digital web printing, experience an increased speed to market, more precise targeting for better engagement, and process efficiencies for a lower cost.
How can you ensure your printing practices are ethical and stand for what you stand for as you refine your campaign? To find out, you’ll want to partner with a union printer. Southeastern, for example, has been a union printer since 1975.
Lastly, look for a printing partner who offers automated workflows, speedy turnaround times, and punctuality. Southeastern has made investments in paper supply and is well stocked to handle high-volume print and mailing jobs, which is especially important as supply chain delays persist on a national and international scale.
Ready to launch your next campaign? Find the right partner to ensure your success. Southeastern can help you cross the finish line and win big at the polls.
Contact us to learn how you can get started today.