Political Campaign

Calculating the Race

The opponent announced his candidacy for Mayor in a brief Facebook post in late December, 2019. He made no other publications about the matter.

Communication Strategy

In order to be successful, the candidate had to demonstrate that she was opposite of her opponent, appeal to left-wing voters, and overcome historical norms that included age and skin color.

(3 weeks)

Color Selection

Logo Design

Drawing inspiration from other Latina candidates, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, several branding concepts were put together using the brand colors and a variety of typefaces. These were quickly mocked-up using Google Drawings.

Later, the final branding was converted into light and dark variants, grayscale variants, rotated and simplified variants, and even a circular logo. I used Sketch to finalize these vector versions.

Subtle Symbolism

Because the candidate was known for her creative leadership, and because she would be known as the first non-white city official, I decided to add two symbolic styles to her brand:

(5 weeks)

Initial Collateral

Branding Pivot

When the candidate ordered apparel, she chose two stock colors that the vendor carried. It wasn’t until the items arrived that she realized that they didn’t match her campaign branding.

(3 weeks)

Campaign Kick-Off Event

Working with the candidate to understand her platform, I wrote the initial draft of the stump speech. She later refined and rearranged the speech, making it her own.

To generate excitement at the event itself, I created:

• Rally posters
• Pledge cards
• A slide show highlighting the candidate’s character and experience
• A social wall
• A branded photo backdrop

I also managed the event photographer, and I live-streamed the event.

…and then COVID-19 hit

(1 month)

There are no best practices about how to run a political campaign during a pandemic. Individual face-to-face contact is the most effective way to win votes. Door-knocking, house parties, rallies, parades, and all other face-to-face options were completely eliminated.

What’s more, the coronavirus pandemic caused an economic downturn, putting many people out of work. This hurt fundraising efforts. Additionally, the failure to handle the emergency soured attitudes towards government in general.

With a nation in quarantine, our new strategy was to create meaningful content online, and give people a way to feel their place in the community.

I directed our social media team to repost these efforts as much as possible, linking them back to the candidate. More and more voters began following her Facebook page.

Additional Collateral

(1 month)

Palm cards became useful as self-serve literature that could be left in a public space, or handed to people outdoors, such as parks and athletic fields. Soccer is a popular sport in the city, so the palm cards were translated into English, Spanish, and Somali.

I also worked with a local screen printer who volunteered to produce branded face masks, in 3 different sizes.

We all needed a smile.

May 4th is sometimes recognized as “Star Wars Day”. As the candidate is a Star Wars fan herself, the candidate thought it would be fun to celebrate with this light-hearted graphic on social media.

To my surprise, the joke was incredibly popular. It drove traffic to the campaign website and even surged donations.

However, I learned another expensive lesson when I made a mistake ordering this batch of lawn signs: I chose the wrong type of sign on the order form. My order was printed on a polyvinyl film sleeve, designed to be slipped over a wire hoop. This alternative was flimsy, and had trouble staying upright in the ground. We remedied the problem by putting the sleeves over old corrugated plastic signs that had been donated by past candidates.

…and then George Floyd was murdered.

Columbia Heights borders Minneapolis, the city where police murdered an unarmed black man who was already in their custody. Protests called for defunding the police. Just across the border, Columbia Heights residents watched smoke fill the skies as rioters burned down the 3rd Precinct Police Station. In one of the most culturally-diverse cities in the state, these voters rightfully began wondering if they were safe.

(4 weeks)

Once again, the candidate knew just how to respond.

Writing, blogging, and social media would become the cornerstone of the campaign.

(1 month)

Voters usually only have 1 way to donate, and they rarely know how their funds are being spent. I set up multiple options online:

• One-time donation by PayPal
• Recurring monthly donation by PayPal
• One-time donations by Venmo

Then it occurred to me to set up a web store, where every item had a suggested amount, but voters had the option to donate any amount. This way, voters would feel like their contribution went towards something specific.

I used WooCommerce to set up the web store. Its integrated inventory and order status system were extremely handy for tracking lawn signs, because they would need to be collected from voters after the election.

(6 weeks)

Initially, my team was posting new content 3-4 times per week. This not only overwhelmed voters, but also the content creators themselves. I recommended a modest 1 post per week. Even so, the team experienced burnout, and the Social Media Manager role turned over several times.

Using MailChimp, I personally wrote the campaign newsletter, and limited it to just 1 every 6 weeks.

I also wrote the initial drafts for much of the candidate’s public statements, such as endorsement applications, candidate forums, and newspaper interviews.

Pandemic Door-Knocking Alternative

Face-to-face contact, our best chance of success, was not an option in a pandemic. Studies show that every voter needs at least 2 direct impressions, and no more than 8. We resorted to secondary methods to reach the public at large.

Updated Photos and Videos

(2 weeks)

By summer time, the candidate’s hair had grown, and a new headshot was in order. I worked with a photographer to produce a similar pose as the original headshot, as well as a few other poses.

Later, these would be used as paid advertising on YouTube, targeted specifically to residents of Columbia Heights.

Merchandise

(2 weeks)

Following the model I used for lawn signs, I added the re-dyed shirts and more items to the web store.

Website Improvements

(3 weeks)

(5 weeks)

We gathered our last funds and rallied our army of volunteers to reach as many voters as possible in the months of September and October.

Victory!

The candidate won with 5528 votes, a 9.4 point lead over the opponent.

Finished Political Campaign Materials

What I Learned

• How to create a political campaign communication strategy.
• Campaigns are stressful, burnout is common, and turnover is high.
• How to target video ads on YouTube.
• Blog posts attract donations more than other types of content.
• Best practices are not always right, especially in abnormal circumstances.