Gearing Up For Election Time
Political campaigns have relied on direct mail for years but this year there will be new twists. With direct mail integrating with the new waves of interactive media this year will be like no other. Here is a little insight in to what both Democrats and Republicans have in store.
Far more than in elections past, 2012 will be the year of digitally interactive mail, with political postcards and letters tricked out with features like QR (quick response) Codes and social media links. For instance, on the Democratic side, the president’s reelection campaign has launched a new online tool designed to tout his job growth accomplishments — bridging the gap between direct mail and online advertising.
Here’s how the app works: Users input the address of a friend or relative online, and the app generates a physical piece of mail from the campaign. Supporters can send a physical postcard with three different prewritten messages and a chart illustrating the number of job gains under this administration.
The app is part of a significant new online ad buy targeted toward key states that will be featured on local and national news sites.
Republicans are working with these new technologies as well. “Integrating emerging technologies, such as QR Codes and social media links, into proven voter contact staples like direct mail is vital to the long-term success of any political candidate, regardless of ideology or partisanship,” explains Brett Buerck, president of conservative consulting firm Majority Strategies. “And we certainly are incorporating those components into our GOP candidate’s outreach efforts this fall.”
However, the medium is but one piece of the marketing puzzle that candidates must solve, adds Buerck: “Medium or mechanics will never be substitutes for motivation and message.”
(via Deliver Magazine)