As a Democratic consulting firm, we are frequently asked if there is a partisan difference in political direct mail. The short answer? Not really.
Getting your political direct mail out the door and into voters’ mailboxes can be a confusing process if it’s new to you (and frankly, even if it’s not so new to you). There are a lot of factors to wrap your brain around, such as the printer and the mail house to work with, the type of permit you can use to mail pieces, and the approval timeline you’ll have to meet to ensure your mail is arriving when it needs to.
Jun 27, 2019
Building a strong direct mail program for your political campaign doesn’t have to involve the amount of back-and-forth you may expect (or fear). Having a clear dialogue and a shared understanding of goals between the political consultant and the campaign team from the get-go can streamline the process and reduce the number of headaches for both parties along the way.
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?
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).
Printing errors and typos can turn your direct mail message into a crisis overnight. Whether it is a mailing of a holiday card or official ballots in an election, it is imperative to implement the best protocols and practices to ensure that your direct mail job gets into mailboxes without a hitch. There are many high profile printing errors and typos every election that probably could have been prevented with better planning and proofing.
Our team is made up of amazing creative, organizational, and political consulting talent committed to achieving political and advocacy goals. We have worked for candidates and causes, big and small, all across the country.
