Four Ways Printed Materials Can Benefit an Election Campaign
Political campaigning is an intense exercise in marketing, one where the best branded candidate is frequently the winner. That’s the reality, so every political campaign should be accompanied by a marketing campaign, one that includes printed materials sourced from a reputable printing company.
Political printing remains an effective form of outreach to voters – and it’s been proven over more than a century. In fact, political printing is perhaps more relevant than ever before, with commercial printing technology expanding the field’s capabilities.
Election Printing Can Be Used with a Variety of Materials
Modern printing technology can be used to brand a much greater variety of materials. The tried-and-true campaign button is still a mainstay, but there are many more options for the campaign
trail, including:
- Posters and banners, including pop-up banners
- Flyers
- Brochures
- Yard signs
- Door hangers
- Business cards
- Push cards
- Mailing materials, like letterheads and contribution envelopes
- Apparel products, like T-shirts, polos, and caps
- Pens
- Stickers
- Magnets
With a full political printing package, campaigns can brand an impressive variety of items. This tactic offers several advantages to political campaigns. Three of them include:
1) Professional Printing Professionally Brands a Campaign
Successful political campaigns rely on successful marketing to build a successful brand. That’s true for campaigns at every level, as people will only vote for candidates whose message they understand and trust. Branding delivers that message in an easily, and quickly understood fashion.
An experienced commercial printer is an invaluable branding partner, as the quality of your printed materials and branding will be closely scrutinized by voters. The wrong colors, the wrong typeface, the wrong icon or logo, these are subtle issues that can have unexpectedly large effects on a political campaign. Many experienced printers have expert design talent on staff, so they can provide advice for design-related matters or execute various design-related tasks. And when the design is ready for print, an experienced printing team will ensure your brand is well represented on all of its campaign materials.
2) Political Printing Can Improve Voter Recall on Election Day
When it comes to political branding, quality and quantity both matters. If a campaign is well represented through the use of printed materials, it will be easier to stick in voters’ memories and win additional support. For local races, research shows that name recognition alone can be a decisive advantage. Print materials in the form of door hangers, yard signs, and mail materials, among others, reinforce recall by displaying the candidate’s name in a variety of places.
In this way, investing in political printing is investing in a better response from voters. Increase the campaign’s presence and you’ll increase the campaign’s effectiveness.
3) Campaign Printing Can Reach People Through Non-Digital Channels
Modern campaigns rely on online channels like social media to drive voter interest, but elections aren’t won by online messaging alone. There are still plenty of voters who either cannot (or prefer not to) receive political advertising online. While courting voters online has obvious value, there are also obvious issues with online political messaging. For example, online users can instantly scroll past a political ad or social media post – making it a wasted investment. There’s no scrolling past a yard sign or poster – so print materials are a bit more assertive in message
delivery.
Print materials may appeal more to traditionally minded voters. Older U.S. voters are the most likely to vote, and they’re also the least likely to consume their political news through online channels. Printed materials are a reliable way to reach these voters and drum up critical support for a campaign.
4) Political Printing Can Boost a Candidate’s Popularity
No matter how campaigners and voters think about it, political campaigns are, at least partly, a popularity contest. One way to win that contest is for political campaigns to spread their
messaging far and wide. Political printing is a proven method of developing that popularity, and not just with a clutch of yard signs.
Political printing is often at its most powerful when it’s used with apparel items. A political banner or sign is one thing, but getting an enthusiastic supporter to wear the candidate’s brand – that requires popularity. When voters see other people wearing a campaigner’s brand, they reflexively respond by assuming the candidate is popular.
This strategy isn’t confined to political campaigning. Small businesses regularly use branded shirts and hats to spread awareness of their brand, and cleverly designed apparel can drive a lot of interest in the brand. The same is true of political campaigns, where wearing a candidate’s brand and messaging is an effective way to demonstrate devotion and spread enthusiasm.
Politics is About Messaging, and Commercial Printing Delivers
Political campaigns are decided by too many factors to count, but there’s no doubt that political marketing and branding play an important role. Printed materials can support both, as long as they are developed by a commercial printer with political printing experience.
Banners, signs, cards, mailing materials, shirts, hats and more – experienced commercial printers can guarantee maximum quality and quantity, ensuring your team is ready for the campaign trail.
