To get your share of the political campaign dollars that will be spent during the 2022 mid-term elections, treat political like the multi-billion dollar category that it is.
During the Nov. 11 America's Newspapers webinar, political expert John Kimball of the John Kimball Group outlined 16 things newspaper advertising staffs should be thinking about now:
- Start now! Early voting and mail-in voting means elections start earlier and are more expensive than ever.
- Find a political champion to run the campaign.
- Pay attention to what is happening in the market (local issues, TV ads, direct mail, primary announcements).
- Check your paper to see if candidates have announced even before they may formally file.
- Visit their local election office in person.
- Remind them that the people they need are your readers — in print and online.
- If your editorial staff endorses a candidate or proposal, make the call and sell them ads to tell their story.
- If your paper didn't endorse them, see #7. They have money to get THEIR message across.
- When you do get in front of them, remind them that you share a common goal of serving the communities in the market.
- If you can't get an appointment with the decision-maker, consider reaching out to other politicians or influencers in the market to see if they can help get your message to the right people.
- Try Facebook messaging, texting and/or emails.
- If you have specialty printing capabilities, offer those to candidates for their other printing needs (direct mail, door hangers, yard signs, etc.)
- Look for mapping and other sales tools to show your coverage and reach into candidate congressional districts.
- If you can, offer target insert delivery — it's much cheaper than direct mail.
- Find and meet with local and state party chairs; they have a lot to say about how money gets spent.
- Packages — Packages — Packages. Make the buying process easy by packaging your portfolio of products into several levels of spending so the candidate and campaign people can easily see what they can buy for $XX.
John answers your question:
What approach can we take with the 24-year-old political consultant who doesn’t know or care about newspapers?
Another tactic is to challenge that buyer with your own digital product example. Show them how much news you deliver online and update on a regular basis. Don’t be shy about your role in the community where they live and how much time, effort and resources you put into delivering the news they need — even if it isn’t always in print on the driveway or mailbox. They see it — they just don’t think about where it came from.
Download the webinar materials:
