Money Bombs, TV Ads and Social Media…Oh My

Panelists Kurt Luidhardt, Mark Putnam and Paul Wilson drew from their work on recent campaigns to provide insights looking ahead to the 2010 midterms at Campaigns and Elections’ “The Art of Political Campaigning” conference last week.
Luidhardt, a 2010 Rising Star who comes from the Prosper Group, began the discussion by speaking about the effectiveness of a money bomb, citing Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown’s (R) $1.3 million money bomb earlier this year. Luidhardt discussed using multiple channels of advertising, setting public goals, giving explanations of what the money is going to be used for, and effective timing – knowing when to, and not to, do it.
Putnam – of the Murphy Putnam Group – and Wilson – of Wilson Grand Communications – followed by discussing approaches and techniques for television ads. Capturing a candidate’s personality and taking advantage of an opponent’s weakness were a couple of the different tools each advised. Another pivotal media tool they stressed was the Internet and using social networking to their advantage.
Whether they were talking about fundraising or campaign advertising, the primary piece of advice given by each of the three panelists was to have the candidate stand out from the crowd in some aspect and get the voters attention. Jacquelene Bennett is an editorial intern at C&E