The Campaign Workshop Blog

Go Outside the 300x250 Box with your Independent Expenditure Campaign

Since independent expenditure campaigns often play the role of filling any gaps and bolstering candidate campaign messaging, they have the opportunity to use creative options that a candidate may not be able to afford. If you have the resources, you might as well use your dollars to run ads on platforms where they can make more of an impact. They may also push you to make more creative ads than you might on more traditional mediums. Below are a few mediums you might want to…

Understanding the Different Terms and Tactics for Incorporating Video Into Your Independent Expenditure Campaign

It’s 2019, so by now you’re probably well aware that television extends beyond traditional broadcast and that your independent expenditure campaign’s paid media plan probably should as well. But what is the difference between all these different video buying terms and which tactic is the best for your campaign? We’re here to break it down for you.   Connected Television The first term we are going to tackle is connected TV. This…

What Is an Independent Expenditure? (And Six Other Independent Expenditure FAQs Answered)

While we’ve given tips on how to run independent expenditure campaigns in the past, we wanted to take a few steps back and answer some basic independent expenditure FAQs. From simply defining what an independent expenditure is to discussing contribution limits, this article aims to provide background and clarity on IEs and how they work.   What is an independent…

What Are the Main Differences Between Independent Expenditure Mail and a Candidate’s Mail?

While they share a number of similarities, independent expenditure mail and candidate campaign mail also have quite a few differences. Both independent expenditure mail and candidate campaign mail may have the same primary goal (i.e., getting a candidate elected), but the means that they use to get there can vary. Due to elections law, in most cases independent…

IEs Have Gone Digital.

Unlike TV or radio, digital IE spending doesn’t come with an easy competitive report to help you track who is spending what and where. It’s a bummer, I know. That said, in their efforts to stave off regulation, oversight, and additional congressional inquiries (or maybe I’m too cynical and it’s actually out of the kindness of their democracy-loving hearts), many of the large platforms have started to provide real-time databases for political advertising. To find out what an IE is spending, it will certainly help to know…

Tips for Using Parody in Your IE Direct Mail

When it comes to making memorable direct mail for your independent expenditure campaign, the use of parody can be your best friend. Parodying (or even just dropping casual references to) a TV show, movie, book, or song to show that a candidate isn’t fit for office can make for a great IE contrast piece. The question is, how far can you go without putting your political campaign at risk of violating copyright laws? We’ve referenced everything from Breaking Bad to Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?…

Think About a Post Election Victory Press Release and Describe Who Performed Which Tactics To Reach What Target Audiences, As Well As, When It Happened And How Much Was Spent.

All campaigns, including independent expenditures, should spend time creating a written strategy statement during the beginning of the campaign planning process. The strategy statement should clearly lay out a path to victory (or how to achieve the campaign’s goals) and act as the campaign’s north star. Keep the strategy statement in mind when making major…

Earned Media Can Help You Gain the Trust of the General Public

When it comes to your independent expenditure strategy, earned media doesn’t need to be your enemy, it can be your friend. Earned media can actually help you raise awareness for your independent expenditure campaign and improve engagement with your campaign amongst the general public. Whether you attract positive or negative attention, well, that’s on you!   Independent expenditures have a bad rap Overall, independent expenditure campaigns get a bad rap. Because they are…

Tips You Can Use as You’re Setting Up Your Digital Targeting and Messaging for Your Independent Expenditure Campaign

Independent expenditure campaigns play a unique role in an election, largely by filling gaps campaigns have. These gaps are often caused by resources being directed elsewhere and independent expenditures can help bolster a campaign by targeting audiences with messaging that candidate campaigns either can’t or won’t reach.   Targeting Candidate campaigns should have a distinct set of targets they are going after, not only in…

Make Sure You’ve Completed Any Verifications You Need to Run Political Ads on Facebook, Twitter, or Google

If you’re running political ads for your independent expenditure campaign, you already have to make extra sure that everything you’re doing and saying is legal. All of your content will likely need to be reviewed by lawyers, especially if it could be controversial. But one area that’s relatively new to this kind of review is making sure your digital ad accounts and/or pages have been verified to run political ads in the US. Following the…