Why Political Direct Mail is Flooding Your Mailbox

Written by Chris Barr | Nov 7, 2017 5:00:00 AM

“I’m so sick of political ads!”

“My mailbox is flooded with them!”

“Why did they send me FOUR ads on the same day?”

For those of us living in fiercely-contested political districts or swing states, our daily trip to the mailbox is a different experience from most.

In the weeks leading up to elections, our mailboxes are flooded by giant-sized flyers and postcards churned out by political campaigns, organizations, backers, and yes, even well-funded private citizens.

At first, the sheer volume seems both ridiculous and wasteful. We’re quick to dismiss political direct mail as a waste of funds that couldn’t possibly influence our own vote.

But then, something unexpected begins to happen.

As the blatantly alarmist headlines continue to bombard us — day after day — we slowly begin to realize the truth.

They actually work.

Slowly but surely, we begin to remember the names of the candidates. Then, just as inconspicuously, we begin to mentally correlate positive or negative emotions with each name.

By the time we’re standing in front of a ballot box, we have fully-formed opinions of each candidate that may or may not be discerned through our own critical-thinking and research.

Political direct mail works like magic.

Rusty Tutton, Field Director for a political campaign in the swing state of Virginia, recently commented on the power of the mailbox.

"Direct mail is a foundational component of any political campaign. It is unique in that it combines the power of data with a tangible impression that cannot be replicated via other channels. It dramatically impacts voters over time."

From consumer spending habits to social media activity — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg — voters offer up their own frequently-updated personal data to commercial and political advertisers.

From there, big data, algorithms, and market research determine the type of mail that you do, or don’t receive.
So, the next time you receive a political flyer (or a stack of them) in your mailbox, be mindful of the impression that it makes.

It’s smart marketing — that might just influence your vote.

About the author
Chris Barr is the director of marketing for Taradel LLC, an Inc. 5000 marketing firm. Since 2006, he has helped build Taradel from a startup to multi-million dollar entity. He is a leading small business marketing expert, thinker, and advisor featured in numerous international publications and across the web.

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