The Campaign Workshop Blog

Candidate Messaging Can Win Your Campaign

As spectators of political debate and electoral politics, we’ve all seen it before. Our favorite candidate takes a turn and ends up going on either a rant, long tirade, or ultimately veers far off the path of his or hers intended candidate messaging. As spectators we can only watch in horror as this trainwreck happens.  In the world of social media, these moments are captured more often than not.

Truthfully, whether Republican or Democrat, there’s nothing like a completely crazy statement from a candidate that will send a shill up your spine.

Developing your brand and candidate messaging is extremely important, but sticking to it and staying on message is even more crucial. There is nothing worse than back-tracking a statement, correcting a statement, or issue a retraction. As the saying goes, it is nearly impossible to unring the bell once rung.

One of the best ways to avert such a catastrophe is adequate planning. As a candidate or a campaign manager, you’ll want to not only work through several questions and responses ahead of time, but you’ll also want to practice them.

Taking the time to prepare for numerous types of questions in the early stages of the campaign in order to maintain candidate messaging consistency is as important as getting your fundraising rolodex in order. Also, throughout the campaign, be sure to take time weekly to go over new talking points and stay refreshed on current events. Lastly, before each speech, interview, or meet-and-greet, be sure to prep adequately. Candidates are notorious for saying, “I got this” and then make a blunder. Practice makes perfect!

One tip from a former manager is to always have a copy of your or your candidate’s stump speech, talking points, and frequently asked questions readily available for viewing. Whether it is on your iPad or taped to the dashboard of your candidate’s car, it’s important to always be prepared on the campaign trail.

Once you practice your messaging enough, you should be able to recite it in your sleep.  Then it will be that much easier for you to stick to the candidate messaging and hopefully have a successful campaign.