What Makes An Effective Campaign Message?

Last week Minnesotans had an opportunity to cast their ballot in our state’s primary.  Local conservative candidates seeking office, including 75 trained by American Majority in Minnesota, advanced in great numbers.  Now onto the general…

Where do I start?  How do I appeal to the general election audience?  These questions often come up, particularly from first-time candidates and those that potentially weren’t in a competitive primary.   A proper response to this question, one I might add that should be asked by every candidate/campaign regardless of their situation, is imperative to a successful result come November.

So where does it all begin?  Well, simply put, every campaign needs to think about laying the foundation for their candidate, and that begins with the campaign message.   Below are a few pointers in making certain that such a message is effective and resonates with your targeted audience.

First of all, does the candidate understand their community?  Have they taken the time to identify three or four simple, not complex, values that resonate with their potential constituency?   The idea here is to develop a conversation with voters.  The values identified by the campaign should be clear, concise and easily articulated in any discussion, whether it be with potential donors or with a neighbor unfamiliar with your candidacy.

Secondly, it is important for the candidate to not get bogged down in policy details.  Developing key policy positions certainly is a part of any campaign and should come from those values you have cemented in the voter’s minds.  However, getting caught in policy minutiae is something you want to avoid at all costs.  Constantly going into great detail about complex policies won’t engage voters and will often leave them disinterested in your campaign.

Lastly, remain disciplined.  Yes, your volunteers and base might have heard your message a hundred times, but most have not, particularly those that you are reaching out to in a general election.  Every time you make a public appearance you will surely be introducing yourself to several voters for the first time.   So stay on message, repeat, repeat and repeat some more.