Why Politicians Should Use Direct Mail Marketing

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Why Politicians Should Use Direct Mail Marketing," uncovers why direct mail marketing can be a game-changer for political campaigns. Yes, political direct mail marketing campaigns still matter, and now that the digital communications networks have tons of disinformation campaigns, direct mail cuts through the spam to deliver real numbers and voters.

Our Quote of the Day:
"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." – Plato

We hear a consistent question when it comes to political direct mail marketing campaigns, which is, "Do they work?" In a nutshell, they not only work, but they also make all digital campaigns work better.

Political Marketing Challenges

The advertising budget is the pinnacle of consideration that any thoughtful political campaign should take into account. When budgets are an issue, candidates will struggle to get their message to the electorate. Just ask Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, and many others who have faded from the democratic presidential primary.
It is essential to understand that TV ads, which are the most expensive medium, will garner the lion's share of the political advertising budget. Digital advertising can also dent the budget with all the social media channels now available; however, that can quickly rise to a costly proposition. Conversely, direct mail campaigns represent a more efficient and cost-effective method to reach targeted voters while controlling the budget. It is relatively easy to acquire active voter mailing lists, or even pull from a list of eligible voters who have yet to participate in the voting process. Either way, direct mail lists will ensure your direct mail political messaging reaches the right targets.

The Trust Factor

When it comes to direct mail response rates, we've posted several articles based on surveys and reports that suggest direct mail is the most trusted and credible marketing medium among all the choices. In addition, the United States Postal Service conducted a recent voter survey commission and found that 68% of all surveyed voters place direct mail among the three most credible forms of political marketing.

Direct mail outpaced TV, digital ads, and even home visits, with TV securing only 26% of the vote. While TV ranked ahead of direct mail, which came in second, it is direct mail that best-helped voters reach a decision. Therefore, when it comes to establishing political credibility and trust, direct mail answers that challenge in a way that no other medium can except TV. Therefore, direct mail should always be included in any campaign strategy, whether it be Federal, State, or Local races.

Why Direct Mail Is Effective for Political Campaigns

Even though digital advertising and marketing have been growing for years, reaching the intended targets has become more challenging. On average, 293 billion emails are blasted daily, with over 3 million blogs and millions of banner ads promulgating political messages throughout the digital landscape.  Further, we recognize that a person who receives a direct mail piece may receive ten or 15 pieces of mail advertisements. However, that number pales when you consider the hundreds if not thousands of digital posts that have a propensity to disappear down the scrolling river of emails, spams, and online advertisements.

Direct mail continues its competitive advantage because of its credibility position. Given its credible status, direct mail should be a mainstay regarding any political campaign toolbox. Naturally, direct mail political creative needs to include well-crafted, targeted messages for the intended, curated list of voter targets. This part of the creative process means that demographics and psychographics should be collected, vetted, and categorized, and entered into a database. The database process is the primary tool that provides personalization, along with the ability to follow-up, which makes the direct mail marketing strategy a useful outreach tool.

Direct Mail is Not a Silo

Effective direct mail campaigns of any sort, and most notably political campaigns, should be integrated with data and information espoused from a variety of mediums. These mediums can include social media, phone banks, influencer posts, peer to peer texts, and even emails. However, the channel does not negate the need to create compelling and authentic messaging that resonates with the mailing list recipients.

Also, by usurping data and information from the digital universe, which is dynamically changing, political campaigns can create variations on themes, which in turn, raises the probability that voter targets will be more interested and more likely to respond to those messages.

Direct Mail Creative Political Tips

As we have stated, direct mail marketing can be a boon to any political marketing campaign. Simultaneously, one should test certain elements before attempting to execute a direct mail campaign to ensure that the messaging is on target. These include the creative, the message, and timing.

• Designs Need to Reflect Audience & Candidate Consideration For starters, mail pieces should be simple in layout and design. Avoid using teaser graphics on the top or front of the mail piece. Using this teaser graphic approach is sure to lower the number of responsive readers. Folks generally glance at any email piece for a short duration, such as 2-to-5 seconds, and then keep or toss. No time for fancy stuff, or frilly creative, get to the information you want your voter targets to understand and be very clear with the message. Otherwise, you could be misusing campaign funds.

• Brand and Message Themes 

Every direct mail piece should be created with a common theme that reinforces the main message. This process requires messaging discipline, which will conform and support the overall messages and help brand recognition by being consistent.

• It's All About Timing When direct mail pieces reach the targeted mailboxes in a timely fashion, campaigns can win. Effective mailing essentials require that the mail pieces arrive at the opportune time when the targeted voter recipients are paying close attention. Some experts suggest that the best time to mail is in the final 90 days of the campaign contest. They believe that is the best time to reach out to voters who may be enthusiastic about receiving political messaging. Note: For politicians who lack name recognition, and depending on budgets, those instances may need to start sooner than 90 days. Direct mail collateral, on average, enjoys a 5-day shelf life. At any rate, depending on the politician, care should be taken to optimize the best time to begin sending direct mail collateral.

The Net-Net

Political marketing is, in fact, a science and a business model. Unless a politician has a significant budget and can afford massive TV advertising, along with a healthy dose of digital marketing, direct mail marketing serves as the most effective tool that breaks through directly. Besides, if it comes in the mail, its deemed more trustworthy. Thanks for reading "Why Politicians Should Use Direct Mail Marketing!"

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