In the corporate world, they talk about “buyer personas.” That’s the picture brands create of their customers, part real, part fictional. It’s based on a lot of market research and even more data, from demographics to behavior patterns.
With that research and data, the picture of a prototypical customer is created, and advertising campaigns are based on what will motivate and persuade that audience through their beliefs, values and habits.
Voter contact mail and targeted mobile advertising plans are built around similar “personas.” Microtargeting and modeling data combined with vote history help us to create universes that target the specific groups of voters each campaign uniquely needs to motivate and persuade before Election Day.
Once we have determined the universe, we set about crafting the message and the creative that will best deliver it.
For our team of copywriters, that means putting ourselves in the voter’s shoes and taking on those voter personas as if they were our own. Think of our copywriters as chameleons.
We become the senior who worries about their own future as well as their grandchildren’s.
What worries enter a senior’s mind when they think about their past, present and future? For many, it’s what their own golden years hold, the insecurity of Social Security and the effects of rising costs and taxes on a fixed income.
We become the gun owner who fears losing their 2nd Amendment right.
What motivates a gun owner to take action, call their legislator and vote? When we take on their persona, we feel the fear of not being able to protect our loved ones and the anger of having our rights chipped away.
We become the taxpayer who sees government growing at the expense of his or her family.
What persuades a taxpayer to turn their frustration into action? We creatively show the ways government is wasting money, how much is being wasted and how that taxpayer’s wallet is a little lighter and their future a little less certain because of it, hitting taxpayers right in the heart of their frustration.
We become the mother or father who saw their health care premium rise, but their paycheck didn’t.
What turns anger into action? We look at ourselves in the mirror and see that mother or father, facing another day of work, another batch of bills in the mailbox and another day of worrying whether the ends will meet or what we’ll do if one of the kids gets sick.
We become the inconsistent voter who isn’t sure their vote really matters, let alone sure who to vote for.
What convinces that person to get to the polls? What makes them see the value in their vote? It may be an issue they care about, but sometimes, it’s just peer pressure.
The key to good voter contact mail or mobile advertising is personalization that goes beyond the name on the mail panel and taps into the heart of the voter.
Learn More About the Art & Science Behind Voter Contact Mail and Mobile Advertising:
GOTV: Get in the Ground Game
Political Advertising 2.0: Beyond the Red, White and Blue
Top Campaign Lessons from House of Cards: “I have not patience for useless things.”