Sell your Power to Local Candidates!
Local newspapers beat all other media combined ‹ by 20 percentage points! ‹ as the source for information about local political candidates and campaigns. That’s a landslide!
Pulse Research of Portland, Oregon, conducted a survey April through June of print readers and website users. 1,387 surveys were tabulated; all states were represented. Among the findings were these two points that you need to present to local candidates before the candidates have committed all of their campaign money to mailers, yard signs and radio spots.
Q. What medium is your primary source of LOCAL political candidate & campaign information during an election year? 53% ‹ Local community newspapers 22.4% ‹ TV 8.3% ‹ Internet 3.2% ‹ Radio .7% ‹ Direct mail .9% ‹ Flyers/pamphlets (Do the math. Newspapers 53, All Other Media Combined 35-1/2. Newspapers win in a rout!)
Q. How long BEFORE election day do you BEGIN to seek out information on LOCAL political candidates? 41.7% ‹ More than one month before election day (from August election to November election is three months) 10.4% ‹ One month before election day 9.4% ‹ Two-to-three weeks before election day Immediately after the August primaries, offer creative, compelling ad campaigns to area candidates for the November elections. Radio and TV stations are doing it; so is every other marketer in your region. If you wait for local candidates to come to you, you’re doing it wrong, and you’ll be too late. Don’t fret because candidates are not coming to you with their checkbooks. Go to them with something great to offer! (With your computers and software, website, copy machine or press — and your expertise and creativity — you can offer video ads, audio ads, yard signs, fliers and mail pieces. If you don’t know how to do this stuff, get some training offered by Mo. Press or another newspaper organization and learn how to do it.) You know there is big money in elections. Go after it!
