Creating a winning political image

A large percentage of local campaigns have limited funds with which to campaign, so instead, they rely on direct mail, voter interaction, and events to drum up support for the candidate. In order to really gain support and to stick in the minds of the voters, candidates need to have an excellent political image.

One of the most recent, and arguably, best examples of a winning political image is the one developed by the 2008 presidential campaign for Barack Obama. By developing an iconic image and consistent message, they were able to get voters talking about the candidate. In order to build a successful campaign image, there are a few general rules that, when followed, will go a long way to helping you stick in the minds of the voters in your district.

Make A Plan and Stick With It

Most importantly, choose a color scheme and logo early on and stick with it. It can be a simple text layout or something more iconic like the Obama campaign logo, but it needs to be established from the beginning. It also needs to be included on every single piece of literature, signage, and advertisement involved - letterhead, yard signs, banners, mailers, websites, and social media pages; every single outlet needs to have it. Be consistent; if you have used “barn door red” and “starry night blue” in your logo, find out the exact pantone number that correlates to those colors and use it in every piece. By finding the number, you ensure that no matter what printer you use, they’ll get the color right.

Repetition, Repetition

Just as repetition of the colors and logo help to brand your campaign on the minds of the voters, the use of one or two simple phrases will do the same thing. One big mistake many candidates make is to rephrase their message for different media pieces. Unfortunately, this causes some disconnect with the voter and they tend to not even remember the message you were running on. In the conception of the campaign, come one or two well constructed phrases to essentially act as a catch phrase for the campaign. While many candidates fear that the repetition of one phrase will become tiresome to the voters. Just the opposite tends to be true. Instead, the voter then associates that phrase with the candidate and can recall the phrase and thereby the message of the candidate when it comes time to vote.

Consistency is Key

The bottom line here is consistency across every facet of the campaign. The ultimate goal of a successful campaign is for the constituent to associate the candidate with the logo, color scheme, and phrase so that, come time for election, the candidate and what they stand for are front and center on their mind.