1. The M’s
of Success
SEA Fundraising Event

2. What we’ll be talking about...
• What are core campaign components?
• What’s your theme?
• Who do you need to speak to?
• How much money will you need to win?
• How will you raise it?

3. A little about me...
• A designer, writer and strategist
• Began in direct mail almost 20 years ago
• Online art/creative director for ASU
• Bob Dole’s was my first client in 1995
• Creative director at McCain for President

4. Yes, I’m a Republican...
• Lifelong independent who became a
Republican about a year ago
• For today, party is irrelevant
• This is about running a successful
campaign

5. The M’s of success...
Successfully running for office
comes down to four things:
• Message
• Management
• Money
• Mobilization
Notice there’s no “t”

6. Message
• Politically speaking, the message is what
defines you and your campaign
• Successful messages resonate with the
viewer and respond to the environment
• Message drives success, technology
accelerates its acceptance

7. Message: Audience
• Know your universe: registered voters in
your region/district
• Work with your local/state party or a mail
shop to get it
• You’re looking for gender, party and
active voters
• Opposition analysis

8. Message: Environment
• What’s happening to your neighborhoods
and businesses?
• What’s the state of government and the
issues people care about?
• How do your qualifications, experiences
and ideas solve problems?
• You don’t need an answer for everything

9. Message: Design
• “Brand” equals consistency
• Reflect your community and yourself
• Know what your name will be on the
ballot, keep it the same everywhere

10. When you emphasize
everything, you
emphasize nothing.

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mphasize emphasize nothing.When yo
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12. Message: Analysis
• Change We Can Believe In
• It resonates and responds
• Ambiguously universal
• Technology did not elect
Barack Obama, it helped

13. Management
• Your goal is to get the number of votes
needed to win
• You do this by managing two resources:
money and people
• Knowing your audience is key to this
• Will you have help? Manager, volunteer
coordinator and treasurer

14. Management: Time
• When is election day?
• Are you well known?
• Do you have a primary or opponents?
• Is early/absentee voting a big deal?
• You need to know this so you can
budget effectively

15. Management: Expenses
• Signs (Yard and Road)
• Mail (Four: Intro, Issues, Poeple & GOTV)
• Other (Doorhangers, Events, Letters, etc.)
• Volunteer (Phones, Waking, etc.)
• Online? (Web Site, Email and Services)
• Have lots of friends. (Free)

16. Management: Reminder
• Fully understand your fundraising and
expense reporting requirements for
your race
• Find a trusted, reliable person to serve
as your campaign’s treasurer to do it
• Or you will be fined, possibly
imprisoned and sad

17. Management: Cost Estimates
$1,500 Yard Signs (500) artypeinc.com
$1,500 Road Signs (25) artypeinc.com
4x4 two-color with posts and ties
$5,750 Mailer (15,000) zooprinting.com
6x9 bulk rate full color cards with labeling and postage
$2,500 Others (Doorhangers, etc.)
$1,000 Volunteer (Phones, Walking, etc.)
$2,000 Online (Web Site, Email & Services)

18. Management: Sample Budget
Council Race in Tempe, AZ (Population: 185,000, Universe: 15,000)
$3,000 Yard Signs (1,000)
$3,000 Road Signs (50)
6x9 bulk rate full color cards with labeling and postage
$21,000 Mailer (4)
three 6x9 postcards, one 4x6 bulk rate postcard
$6,000 Others (Doorhangers, etc.)
$1,500 Online (Web Site, Email & Services)
$34,500 Total

19. Money: Fundraising Tips
• Have someone ask for you
• Start with clubs and affiliations
• Comfortable settings and audiences
• High dollar and low dollar donors
• Donor envelopes make giving easier
• Give people reasons to write a check

20. Money: Strategies
• If you have a well thought out message,
you’ll be more confident when it comes to
asking for money
• If you have a well thought out budget,
you’ll be more confident conveying to
people why you need their money.
• Be honest
• Lead by example

21. Mobilization: It’s all asking...
• Ask people in your area who are
involved in politics for advice
• Ask associations, clubs and groups to
be heard and to listen
• Ask your friends to help, walk and
raise money
• ASK EVERYONE FOR THEIR VOTE

22. What we talked about...
• Message, Management, Money and
Mobilization
• Know the the voters in your universe.
• Build your message on your universe,
environment, challenges and unique
abilities to address them
• Signs, mail and other collateral cost $
• Raise it through associations, networks
and a well thought message and budget

23. For more...
• Rob Kubasko
• rk@campaignsolutions.com
• @robkubasko