Dan’s campaign postcard was designed with a red, white and blue color scheme (popular with politicians as you might imagine). They featured a picture of Dan, so voters could see him and make a personal connection with him. The copy on the card focused on three issues: taxes, open and honest government and senior living. These were the major issues in his area at the time, so they connected with the local voters well.
The Situation
Dan Morris is the St. Mary’s County Commissioner, a position he was elected to due largely to his postcard marketing efforts. He won by over 2,000 votes. He attributes the extra votes to the postcards because after the election, people told him they saw his postcard and it made a difference.
The Solution
Postcard Design: This card is designed to grab the reader’s attention and guide them through the copy.
The main focus is on:
- A Clear, Bold Headline Addressing a Local Concern
- A Personal Message From the Candidate
- A Clear Action to Take
Mailing List: Used multiple lists to target key individuals in the district including, likely voters from his party, and independents who voted in the past two elections.
Mailing Schedule: For primaries, he sent 5,000 postcards to gain name recognition and then targeted around 10,000 independent voters over the course of his campaign.
The Results
Political campaigns are about name recognition and connecting with voters, and postcard marketing allows you to achieve both.
“PostcardMania’s quality of work and product was really great…using postcards is more effective because it’s not in an envelope. We want people to see it, and [postcards] hit you right in the face. People don’t want to see political ads (even I put them in the trash), but with postcards, it hits you.” -Dan Morris Commissioner, St. Mary’s County Commission