The Campaign Workshop Blog

Some Quick Information on Political Consultant Awards.  

Lookin for an award winning political consultant? If you’re reading this post, you may have just found out political consultant awards like the Pollies, Reeds, Goldies and, more specifically, political ad awards actually exist. So, now you might be asking yourself if it even matters whether consultants you might be hiring have won awards for the work they’ve produced.  What political consultant awards are there? Let’s first dive into what the awards are. These types of awards are given…

Political Campaign and Coronavirus: How To Manage Both.

Political Campaign and Coronavirus - It's a tough time for the world and political campaigns, Covid-19 is changing political campaigns. From field tactics, to fundraising to how campaigns buy media this crisis will have a long term impact on electoral politics.  We've written this guide to help you manage your political campaigns response to Covid-19. Coronavirus is impacting large and small political campaigns. Political campaigns and groups have stopped door-to-door canvassing, in-…

Campaign Mailers - A Holistic Approach 

The world of campaign mailers is varied and complex, but don’t let that stop you from sending rad mail that gets you noticed. We’ve pulled together some things for you to think about as you start to pin down exactly how your campaign’s mail program is going to take shape. Six Questions to Ask Before You Send Campaign Mailers Before you create and send campaign mailers, ask these five questions to lay the groundwork for a winning direct mail campaign. 1. Do you need a direct mail consultant? For mid-size…

Campaign Fundraising: Call Time Brings Success 

Let’s face it, campaign fundraising is hard, and call time is often the most dreaded part of it. No candidate wants to press pause on the many other duties of their campaign to dial for dollars. Every candidate will say the same thing: “I just hate asking people for money!” But whether you’re running for town supervisor or president, call time is a critical part of campaign fundraising efforts—and therefore, a critical part of every campaign. In this blog, we will provide you with some quick tips…

Democratic Direct Mail Tip - Be Data Savvy 

Good data makes all the difference in building an effective Democratic direct mail program. Understanding your voter file access options is critical to laying the groundwork for a strategically targeted voter communications campaign. What’s more, knowing the ins and outs of voter file models and other data points will help you maximize your resources—after all, you can’t afford to target every voter in your…

Campaign Mailer: Avoiding Recusal Issues in Judicial Mail

Writing a campaign mailer for a judicial candidate presents many challenges. For most legislative races, it’s easy to say that you’ll “stand up for affordable healthcare” or “fight for a living wage.” But judicial candidates often can’t come out for or against a particular issue. If they do, they may have to recuse themselves in the event that they win and one of those cases comes before them as judge. So, if you can’t say you’ll be for or against something, how do you develop a contrast…

Political Campaign Ads: Tips To Get More From Your Advertising Spend

Political campaign ads are part of every election cycle and we’re rounding up some tips on how to get the most for your campaign. In this post, we’re focusing on digital ads. Digital ads tend to be more cost-effective than TV, so you can reach a wider audience with a smaller budget. Where you run your ads and on what platforms is determined by your budget, target audience and the size of your race. Social Media Social media ads are a must for any digital political campaign.…

Political Communications: Make Your Point and Keep It Brief

Say it! Say it loud and say it proud. Political communications can spread fast or move like molasses depending on how you use it.  We live in a world where political and advocacy campaigns have a lot of ways to communicate and influence their community advocates and opinion leaders. Tactics like television, direct mail, print, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, blogs, online video, SMS, etc. are all engaging in their own ways.  However, with all of these options,…

Political Campaign Strategy: Run a Campaign and Win

At any level, campaign fundamentals can mean the difference between building a winning or losing political campaign strategy. A lot of this will seem like common sense (and it is), but bear with me, because a lot of this stuff often falls by the wayside as campaigns are being built. In essence, a strong political campaign strategy (meaning, the overall plan to achieve an electoral victory) should rest on a foundation of some very basic building blocks and principles that will help to carry you…

Native Political Campaigns Ads - How Do You Use Them? 

Native ads have become popular over the past few years, but can you use them for political campaign ads?  What is native advertising exactly?  Simply put, native ads are a type of advertising that fits into the content of the media where the ads are placed. An example of this is when you are reading an article about the tech industry – let’s say on your favorite news site – and you see an article about IBM’s innovations in the tech world. That article about IBM is likely sponsored by IBM,…

Advocacy Trainings: Everything You Want to Know 

Martín Diego Garcia has worked to promote a more representative democracy throughout his career. He has worked on candidate and advocacy trainings to support marginalized communities and progressive politics for the last nine years. Martín began his career as a member of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute’s political team. He worked with Latino Victory Project and Wellstone Action before joining The Campaign Workshop as a Vice President with a focus on training and strategic…

Advocacy Training: Why Should I Attend? 

We strongly believe in continued learning and leadership development and advocacy training at The Campaign Workshop. We even budget resources for our own staff to continuously learn throughout the year, ensuring they’re constantly growing in the areas that they’re interested in. The progressive space has too long leaned on the “learn on the job” model of leadership development. We’re here to tell you that this is not always the best…

Political Direct Mail Examples: 7 Questions to Ask Reviewing Mail Samples

Political direct mail, even in the digital age is a critical part of any campaign’s communications program. Not only is it cost-effective and efficient, but it is also an impactful way to target and communicate with potential voters. Therefore, when hiring a Democratic direct mail firm, you want to make sure you choose the firm that will produce the…

Storytelling Techniques: What Will Help Me Stand Out?  

Gavin Edwards is a three-time New York Times-bestselling author and public speaker. Throughout his career, he has written twelve books and made appearances on NBC’s Today show, VH1’s Behind the Music, and NPR’s All Things Considered. The common thread between Gavin’s praised writing and skilled public speaking is his ability to tell a story in an effective and engaging way. He shared his thoughts with us on his career…

Campaign Management Tools: What Do I Need This Election Cycle and Why? 

So your advocacy or political campaign is gearing up for the 2020 cycle, and you’re already starting to find that you can’t possibly keep track of everything that’s going on. Fear not — the 100+ Best Campaign Management Tools List will make your campaign life easier! Updated with new tools, Joe’s 2020 Picks, refined categories, a fresh new look, and a SUPER easy-to-use…