The Campaign Workshop Blog

 

Deciding to Put A Ballot Measure On the Ballot-Go Or No-Go

In today’s political climate of political partisanship and mistrust, constituents are turning to ballot measures to bypass traditional government controls to pass legislation. Take some of the most notable 2018 ballot measure topics and trends: Legalization of medical or recreational marijuana Minimum wage increases Abortion access and funding Restrictions or limitations on taxes Medicaid expansion *If you’re interested in learning more about current ballot measures in your state,…

Building A Strong Coalition For Your Ballot Measure Campaign Is Critical To Ensuring Success On Election Day. 

Ballot measures are a cornerstone to our democracy and an important medium for citizens to influence and create public policy through the electoral system. It allows everyday people to craft policy language, garner support, and put ideas up for a public vote. Ballot measures have been used to both expand rights to citizens and also restrict rights to certain communities and groups of people. With no candidate at the center, ballot…

Tailoring Digital Best Practices for Your Ballot Measure Campaign

Just like all campaigns, a good ballot measure campaign will include a strong digital presence on both organic and paid media. One big differentiator for ballot measure campaigns is that you’ll likely need to focus on persuasion more heavily than with other campaigns. You also may need to do more explaining as to what the ballot measure is about, why it’s important to vote for or against it, and how it appears on the ballot. Here are some great digital tactics you can use to make…

Persuade and Educate the Public about Your Ballot Measure Campaign

If you’re running a ballot measure campaign, chances are you’ll need to educate and persuade voters in order to get the results you want at the polls. The best digital tactic for education and persuasion is video as it gives you more room than a static ad to explain what the measure is for and how you want people to vote on it. Make sure your video meets digital advertising best practices so it moves the needle on your ballot measure campaign. Below are 3 simple tweaks you can…

Get a Head Start: How Polling for Ballot Measures Can Help You Win

We’ve discussed in past blogs that a large part of executing a #winning political campaign is doing your background research, and polling for ballot measures is the best way to find out if you can win and how you can win. Depending on your district, getting a measure on the ballot may be an arduous process. If you have the budget, you may want to do a poll before you qualify to make sure there’s a path…

7 Questions with Todd Herman on the Alter Ego Effect

Todd Herman is an author, entrepreneur, business coach, and mentor who has helped tens of thousands of people harness an alter ego to activate the best versions of themselves. Todd works with business executives, athletes, entertainers, and beyond to help them overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. We asked Todd about his latest book,…

Key Takeaways and Lessons from Our Campaign Survey

Shortly after the 2018 election cycle, The Campaign Workshop sent out a post-election campaign survey. We sent this campaign survey out to our network of campaign professionals and got back 49 total responses. We asked a variety of questions on topics ranging from campaign tools, voter contact mediums, and key takeaways and mistakes. The people who responded to our survey worked on political campaigns…

Highlight the People Impacted by Policy with Testimonials

Testimonials can work wonders for your ballot measure campaign—especially if you’re dealing with an issue that’s abstract or polarizing. If you work in the progressive movement, you’ve probably run into a campaign or two (or ten) where what you’re trying to accomplish isn’t something voters are naturally inclined to support (and we’ve got tips across the board for running campaigns of all stripes). Consider a tax…

Ballot Measures Are Complicated, Direct Mail Is Not

Ah the land of ballot measures. It can be a complex, rocky terrain full of accusations of unforeseen consequences and government-run slush funds. Because of that, the messaging around ballot measures can get complicated, often requiring both a positive thrust and a set of careful inoculations (though you may also get lucky and just get to shout “Vote NO” at the top of your lungs and call it a day).   Complexity and nuance are key ingredients to a successful ballot initiative, but they have a…

Your Resume is NOT your Stump Speech. Connect with voters by telling your story.

Wired for storytelling Stories have been a part of civilization since the dawn of time. Stories have been used to pass down history through generations. It is also how we connect with each other through a shared humanity. It’s no wonder we’re all wired to engage with and react to stories that includes voters! Stories are all around us in books, TV, movies, music, news, brunch, literally everywhere.  As a candidate you’ll get much farther with your constituents by…