The Local Political landscape has rapidly changed. What was once a ten year horizon looks more like six months.
If we look back two years ago, most local politicians would have said that digital would play a role in getting elected in 2020. If you spoke to political consultants and politicians two years ago, most would have said mail in ballots will be important but the polls will still make the difference and that isn't going to change any time soon. Well, I hate to break it to you but Digital Advertising is a must and mail in ballots are looking like the new normal. To get elected in 2020 you must have an aggressive digital presence and be pushing your campaign strategy to reach the mail in voters.
This is true whether you are a local politician running for city council, school board, mayor or if you are running for the US Senate. The board has changed that we are all playing on. What was once about getting your name ID to the local voting community via yard signs and other outdoor media has all but gone away. Look no further than MAGNA's Research released last month (June 2020). MAGNA monitors the landscape of the smartest and brightest minds in advertising. Political and local always trail brand intelligence and national advertising.
OOH is expected to decrease over -15%.
Newspapers (which died may years ago, even locally) are down another -26%
Direct Mail down -12.3%
Now let's look on the other side of the equation - where did your voters go?
Online Digital Video + 10.8%
Social Media +8.1%
Mobile +8.6%
It's not hard to see, the world has moved to digital, big brands have embraced it and so have national political races, time for local to get on board in 2020. We usually see local trail national, whether that's brand advertising, or politics, by roughly 8-10 years. Given the shelter in place directives, looks like this is no longer the case.
If you are a local politician now is the time to understand the digital landscape. Now is the time to build a vote by mail strategy. Look to the past to understand your messaging but look to the future to figure out the media your voters now access. Your plan to get out the vote must be led by digital, traditional media, much like yard signs, buttons, and direct mail, should fall to the bottom of the list in 2020.
At Electable we work exclusively in the "Rest of the Internet". We work with political consultants. We work with Facebook professionals. We work for our candidates to get their name ID in their local voting market.
To learn more - contact us info@electableadvertising.com
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