The House That Direct Mail Built
Josh Marshall makes an interesting find regarding campaign spending :
Turns out there’s one place GOP prez candidates spent a lot more than their Dem rivals last quarter: direct mail. Don’t want to read too much into one factoid or imply that direct mail is an outmoded campaign money technology. But it was very much a key pillar of what the late 20th century GOP machine was built on. And I would imagine the political future belongs to the digital equivalents of direct mail.
I completely disagree that this is a sign that the Republican party is “slower to make the switch” to more technologically advanced methods of voter outreach. Have you seen direct mail campaign literature? At first glance they look like nonpartisan “voter guides” that give a rundown on the various measures and candidates that will appear on the ballot. It’s only upon closer inspection that people see that they’re carefully constructed bits of Republican propaganda that give the illusion of being impartial. This is where Fox News got their “fair and balanced” trick.
Moreover, despite the higher costs, direct mail has a distinct advantage over other forms of communication. Voters may tune out political ads and instinctively delete mass emails, but they hold on to these flyers until election day. For a week or more before election day, many of the recipients of the GOP direct mail efforts see the same advertisement over and over again, whether it sits in the mail pile, used as a bookmark, or tacked to the refrigerator, these ads make a much more lasting impression than any other type of political communication.
When election day arrives, these voters pull out their “voter guide” to do some research and then march to the polls to vote the way the Republicans told them to. It’s a brilliant move, I just wish our side did it more often.
6 comments »
Copy link for RSS feed for comments on this post or for TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
As a former resident of the Sunshine State, I can’t help but be incredibly suspicious of any Republican direct mail campaigns. I realize it’s probably to soon for their cheating just yet, but in ‘04 they used direct mail like crazy to launch challenges against voters. And they sent out lots of voter registration cards with voting guides, or unsolicited early vote ballots, with a mock ballot enclosed, in violation of election laws.
Probably to soon to start on all that, but I never underestimate their skill at cheating.
Comment by acallidryas — July 20, 2007 @ 1:29 pm
The Democrats need their own version of Richard Viguerie.
Comment by Doobie — July 20, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
I agree with you. Each form of communication needs to be used to best effect. I think that radio ads are under used myself and that the power of TV commercials are over rated. The other trick the republicans try and use is the “controversial” ad that makes the people who create it “news” so they don’t have to a lot of TV buys.
Comment by spocko — July 20, 2007 @ 11:08 pm
That’s a really good point Mr. Saunders. I would add, ads on the internet still can’t reach everyone. But direct mail definitely can reach anyone with a house.
Comment by atheist — July 21, 2007 @ 7:25 am
Well and let’s not forget that a large swath of their target demographic is the same as O’Reilly’s audience–isn’t his average viewer like 71–these are people that aren’t likely to make the digital leap ever.
Comment by Nathan — July 21, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Voters may tune out political ads and instinctively delete mass emails, but they hold on to these flyers until election day.
Judging by the recycling bins at my local P.O., many of these guides don’t make it any further than the coupons circulars. Then again, I live in New England. Maybe we’re not so easily led.
Comment by mdhåtter — July 24, 2007 @ 7:41 am