Advertising Ideas

In designing your campaign logo…
I like to design it in proportion to your yard signs. Why? Your yard sign will probably be seen by more people than any other advertising medium. That proportion will fit your lapel stickers and can easily be adapted to other medium, too.

In choosing your colors…
Use the basic colors of the screen printing industry instead of a PMS chart used by offset printers. Why? If you choose a PMS color (and you can), you will be charged for a PMS match color on many screen printing jobs. Typically, this is $25 - $45 for each match.

In selecting your advertising products…
Remember your basic needs: yard signs, bumper stickers, field signs, lapel stickers, push chards, and shoe leather. Shoe leather!?! Yes! You and your campaign team need to be out contacting people asking for their support.

In your newspaper advertising…
Oh, I’m going to upset some of my newspaper friends. But never, never, never run a full-page ad. Why? It’s easy to glance at and believe there is nothing worth reading in the ad — especially in a political ad — and then turn the page. The largest ad I recommend is a 1/2 page (island preferably). When you run 1/2 page or less, there are other ads and news articles to keep a person’s eye on that page. They will then be more likely to see your message.

Okay, now for radio and television…
Broadcast media costs a lot, so don’t run broadcast media ads just because your opponent does. If you’re in a major regional or state-wide campaign, you need broadcast media (and a BIG budget). Choose your stations carefully. Remember, people get a lot of radio stations and many people receive 50-100 television stations. So, who is going to be listening when your ad runs at 9:27?

Watch the “old-wives tales”…
You will hear things like “a bumper sticker is worth seven votes,” “a hand shake is worth four votes,” “a kiss of the baby is…” These statements can be mathematically proven false.

Know your audience…
Although you want everyone to get your message, not everyone is a voter — or will vote. It pays to build a database of those who have voted in previous elections or those living in specific geographic areas. This is especially helpful in direct-mail advertising.

Put together a media kit…
Many times reporters like a brief statement or “sound bites” rather than a detailed response or explanation of your platform. By putting together a media kit with your biographical sketch, a professional photo or two, position papers on key issues, a bumper sticker, and a business card, you give the reporters tools to help them know you and your positions. They can accurately quote from positions papers, have a quality photo for articles, and reproduce your logo from your bumper sticker for a graphic in their article.