There are three things that the average man thinks he can do better than anybody else. Build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team. – The Great Rocky Bridges Our illustrious Reds utility infielder and third base coach should’ve added “and run a political campaign” to the list because every candidate and…
Social media is an advertisement for the superficial extroverted self. – Hozier EXACTLY! I know our esteemed musician (Hozier) intended that declaration as a social media slam, but when it comes to political campaigning and social media he’s dead on. The next time I hear him sing, “Take me to church” I might just do…
You learn the hard way. That’s the thing with social media. Nobody knows what they’re doing. – Cameron Dallas When we last left off we were discussing the latest political campaign faux pas, specifically how those once prized political endorsements have become ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. Even newspaper endorsements don’t matter anymore,…
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. – Confucius Ah yes! It’s late springtime when the Midwestern weather finally rises above the freezing mark and a young man’s (or woman’s) fancy lightly turns to thoughts of winning an even-year election. And one of the few benefits of the social media scourge is, like…
I really wanted to title this piece “There’s no excuse for incompetence,” but considering the general demeanor of this always fascinating existence, it wouldn’t have narrowed the subject matter down nearly enough. Rest assured, we will be talking about how an inexplicable conscious incompetence can completely destroy a campaign. Please understand that we’re not talking…
Among the array of always fascinating candidate endeavors, the one that still baffles me the most is an inexplicable capacity to “gift” opponents with all manner of free “advertising.” When you consider that, on a level electoral pitch, the contestant who secures the most “impressions” almost always wins, mentioning the opposition’s name may well be…
Before we proceed, let’s try to keep three things in mind, two of which are quotes from my soon-to-be bestselling book, “So You Want to Win a Local Election?” 1. “The average American voter has the attention span of an off-meds ADHD sixth grader coming off a three-day sugar and video gaming binge.” 2. “There’s…
When we last left off, we were discussing how the impending 2021 consolidated election nominating paperwork, particularly those signature sheets, can reveal quite a bit about a candidate’s campaign dynamic. And if that paperwork discloses too much information, it can give an opponent a real leg up! In that very vein, here are two of…
I know it’s hard to believe, but while we’re all frantically focused on November third, our more enterprising municipal candidates are already circulating their 2021 consolidated election nominating paperwork. And much like eyes are the window to the soul, your signature sheets can reveal a great deal about your impending campaign dynamic. I know the…
The above mailer that hit early last week may well be the WORST case of campaign messaging, timing, and voter targeting I’ve ever seen. As bad as some of these mailers can be, and I’ve seen some really bad ones – this kind of terrible trifecta is still somewhat rare. So why does this mailer…