Like all political creative professionals, direct mail strategists will be looking for new ways to cut through what’s certain to be plenty of noise during next year’s midterm cycle. One of the key ways to get that done on your mailers, according to Erica Prosser, a partner at the Democratic firm Convergence Targeted Communications: a heavier focus on striking visuals.
“The imagery is probably equally as important as the words we put on there,” Prosser said in an interview with C&E. “When people are looking at a whole lot of things, we have to be able to get their attention. We have our words and we have our imagery — the imagery is what’s going to grab them first.”
It’s all the more important, noted Prosser, in races where voters may be inundated with issue ads, seeing a heavy dose of negatives, or simply not getting much retail campaign exposure to the actual candidates: “The imagery allows us to let people feel like they know [the candidate]. We show them with their family, we show them professionally — inspiring confidence. It’s hugely important.”
Following a cycle of Covid-related challenges that made capturing professional photography all the more challenging, a return to extended shoots that can provide the full breadth of imagery needed to craft a more complete narrative arc is good news for direct mail strategists.
In addition to a likely return of less restrictive shoots, two other things that will drive an increase in mail budgets for the upcoming cycle, according to Prosser: first, turnout skews older in midterm years (a more reliable demographic for mail) and second, new congressional district lines will translate into more competitive primaries. Reliable primary voters are more engaged, and therefore better mail targets.
Another factor: the expansion of vote by mail during the pandemic has created a much larger pool of voters who are now comfortable with VBM and familiar with the process. “If we want them to vote that way, it’s a good medium then to talk with them,” said Prosser.
Watch the full video above for more on direct mail strategy in the midterm cycle, including advice on crafting dual-language or in-language mail.
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