Fall 2002 - Marketing Dimensions from Traymore Marketing

	Fall 2002

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The In Crowd
Working with political hopefuls could deliver a landslide of benefits to you

by Teri Carnicelli, reproduced with permission from Corporate Logo magazine
Includes quotes from Rob Felber, president, Traymore Marketing.

POLITICS AND PROMOTIONS have long been allies. Caesar may have had a catchy tag line, but how much more memorable would it have been printed on a coin or small pieces of parchment and handed out to the masses? True, his political career ended about as badly as possible, but he is still remembered today for his savvy, and savage, leadership of the Roman Empire.
Politics today may appear to wear a kinder, gentler face, but as in any race, everyone wants to win, and most will do whatever it takes to cross the line first. It's all about image, and which candidate is the most successful at building up his brand--perhaps while tearing down his opponent's. In order to achieve either goal, dollars must be spent.
According to a recent survey by CMR, which tracks ad spending across 15 major media categories, spending on advertising for the second half of 2002 is expected to grow 2.5 percent--thanks in part to political ad campaigns. Granted, the majority of political ad spending is usually funneled into television and local print advertising, but given that the money is there for marketing, distributors should strike while the election iron is still hot. If campaign merchandise was good enough for George Washington, it's good enough for today's political hopefuls.
The first known promotional product appeared in 1789 during George Washington's campaign for the first presidency. Research from Promotional Products Association International shows Washington's supporters gave out commemorative buttons to the public.
By the late 19th century, a diversity of mass-produced campaign tokens and trinkets were available. The "America Votes" exhibit from the Duke University Special Collections Library (http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/americavotes/) features pamphlets, buttons, bumper stickers, music sheets, playing cards, cigarette packs and more from the politically triumphant and defeated throughout America's election history.
The exhibit includes a Franklin Delano Roosevelt campaign button with his picture attached to a red, white and blue ribbon and small plastic donkey. Other campaign literature, buttons and bumper stickers give glimpses of U.S. presidential races during the last four decades of the 20th century. The memorabilia include an empty cigarette pack featuring a photograph of Adlai Stevenson, a "Pat Nixon for First Lady" campaign sticker, a Barry Goldwater bumper sticker ("AuH2O in 1964") and a Dukakis-Bentsen T-shirt.
POTENT PORTABLES

Clever concepts and witty catchphrases are still predominant today when it comes to political promotions. Candidates need to get their messages across to voters in the most concise manner because of space limitations on standard small, portable giveaways.
For example, Linda Green enjoyed her job as town clerk for North Hempstead, N.Y., so much that in 1999 she decided to run for re-election. Green charged her campaign crew to come up with an item that would make an indelible impression on voters without straining the campaign coffers.
Her volunteer campaigners decided on a handy-size highlighter from Dri Mark with a large imprint area for Green's slogan. Highlighters were in the color green to match her last name.
"They were handed out at several events and helped to strengthen the name of Linda Green in the community," says JoAnn Linden of Dri Mark.
A lot of traditional promotional items perform well as campaign handouts--nail files, notepads, bumper stickers, window decals, T-shirts, hats and magnets.
"I think magnets work really well for political campaigns," says Rob Felber, president of Traymore Marketing. "We would use not only the candidate's name and message, but add local phone numbers to city hall, department services, library branches, etc. It then becomes a year-round piece."
In one campaign Felber worked on, self-adhesive notepads were given to volunteers who would go door-to-door and leave notes behind with the candidate's name and a phone number for information or website address. If no one was home, the paper would be stuck on the door with a hand-written note saying "Sorry we missed you, for more information call ... ." Other leave-behind items include door hangers and goodie bags that contain campaign literature and promotional items.
It's also not a bad idea to purchase T-shirts for volunteers working on the campaign so when they are working fundraising or community-based events, they have a continuity of look and are easily identifiable as campaign workers.
However, don't spend a lot of money on gifts to contributors prior to the election, Felber says--after all, they already support the candidate, and the money is better spent targeting voters who haven't made up their minds yet.
Felber, who has worked on several political campaigns, says that one thing distributors should make sure of is continuity and consistency in both the look and colors used in logos and marketing materials. Multiple colors tend to do well, and red, white and blue are always popular.
Distributors need to check with their county or state board of elections office for regulations regarding disclaimers to be put on promotional or marketing items. Many of the offices provide a list of items that require a disclaimer, something in the nature of "Paid for by the committee to re-elect John Doe," accompanied by a phone number.
Once the candidate gets in office, there are still opportunities for promotional sales. For example, Felber worked on a gift item for the inauguration party of the newly elected mayor of Cleveland. Thank-you gifts could also be sent out to those who contributed significantly to the successful campaign.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Now that you see the opportunities that abound for promotional sales in the political arena, you're probably anxious to get selling. But where to start?
First of all, think small. It's unlikely you'll be working on a gubernatorial or presidential election right away--unless you know a guy who's girlfriend's cousin knows somebody in the political bigwig's campaign office. But since the chances of that are slim ...
Try joining your local chamber of commerce. There you'll mix and mingle with other community-based professionals, any one of which may decide to take a run at a city council seat. The same is true for other organizations in your area, like small business associations and even your local party organization. Get to know your local and state representatives, and find out if they support small business initiatives. You may be thinking of helping them, but it might not be a bad idea to first find out if they are helping you as a business person.
If you have children, you're probably already active in their school. So why not become active in the school district? Get to know your school board members, go to the monthly board meetings. Who knows, when it comes time for a bond issue or tax levy, they might just require the services of an experienced marketing and promotions professional to help get the issue passed.
In Felber's case, it was his membership with his chamber of commerce that led him into the political arena. "I was asked by a candidate at one point if I would consider running her campaign," he recalls. "I said I would work on a campaign, but not run one because I had no experience at that point. She got elected as the first woman mayor of the city of Twinsburg, Ohio. I am now running her re-election campaign. Since that first election, I have worked on a couple other campaigns as well."
If candidates aren't well known yet, there's no harm in approaching them to offer your professional services. Felber advises distributors to get involved with candidates significantly ahead of the election cycle, if possible.
BRANDED FOR LIFE

Campaign memorabilia plays only one part in the ever-growing arena of political branding. Building a strong brand identity is just as important for any political party or candidate as it is for a major corporation looking to grow its market base. The key, brand experts say, it to make sure that your political message or platform remains consistent, and is clearly differentiated from the opponent's positions. Too much middle-of-the-roadness has caused candidates from all major parties to blur together in voters' eyes.
"In my mind, there hasn't been enough branding in politics, leaving voters to make emotional decisions based on incomplete information--a classic situation in a cluttered, highly undifferentiated category," says Jennifer Silverberg, formerly with Pyramid Consulting. "At least the political parties used to impart some branding on the candidates; but this is fading in an era of left-wing Republicans and conservative Democrats. Like over-extended, ill-managed brands elsewhere, they all end up looking the same."
Dennis Hunter, director of strategic consulting for New York City-based GlobalWorks Group LLC, is also concerned about the growing gray area of political brand identity. "Neither Democrats nor Republicans can agree on who they are, what they stand for, or why anyone should bother listening. Is it any wonder, then, that so few Americans trust them or feel 'brand loyalty' toward either of them?"
Distributors who are aware of this growing public trend toward political apathy can work with candidates to not only provide products to aid voters in remembering a candidate's name at the polls, but to help build that candidate's brand identity as well. If the candidate is in favor of gun control, a brand identity can be built around a message of "Keep kids safe, help Jane Doe keep guns out of their hands." If the candidate is a strong supporter of incentives and tax breaks for small businesses, the branding message could involve something like "Mr. Smith knows that small businesses are the heart of a community's success," or "John Smith: Helping small business help the community grow."
Slogans and catchphrases that reinforce a candidate's brand identity can be placed on promotional handouts to carry the message all the way to the voting booth. Bear in mind that in today's political climate, those messages, like the candidate, shouldn't just be a name; they should stand for something greater.
Blast from the past

COURTESY THE DUKE UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY

The test of time

While some presidential candidates--or their campaigners--have come up with less-than-memorable slogans over the years, others developed truly unique and timeless messages that nonetheless didn't see them all through to the White House.

1840 William Henry Harrison, "Tippecanoe and Tyler To"
1848 Zachary Taylor, "For President of the People"
1860 Abraham Lincoln, "Vote Yourself a Farm"
1856 John C. Fremont, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Speech, Free Men, and Fremont"
1888 Benjamin Harrison, "Rejuvenated Republicanism"
1896 William McKinley, "Patriotism, Protection, and Prosperity"
1916 Woodrow Wilson, "He kept us out of war"
1925 Calvin Coolidge, "Keep cool with Coolidge"
1928 Herbert Hoover, "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage"
1956 Dwight Eisenhower, "Peace and Prosperity," and "I Like Ike"
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson, "The stakes are too high for you to stay at home"
1968 Richard Nixon, "Nixon's the One"
1976 Jimmy Carter, "Not Just Peanuts"
1980 Ronald Reagan, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
1988 George Bush, "A Kinder, Gentler Nation"
1992 Ross Perot, "Ross for Boss"
1996 Bill Clinton, "Building a bridge to the 21st century"

© 2002 by Virgo Publishing, Inc. Reproduced with permission from Corporate Logo magazine

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