POINT OF VIEW

POLITICS IS
BINARY.

Ballot Branding was founded in the trenches of political campaigns. What we quickly learned from the experience is that campaign consultants, particularly in Minnesota, do not believe that politics is binary.

To them, it is not about victory, but instead losing to fight the next battle. They get paid to raise questions, not deliver solutions, at least not winning ones. That’s because politics is their only gravy train. They suck at everything else.

Ballot Branding is a full-service advertising agency with multiple sources of income. Politics is our passion, not a means of paying the bills. We are out to bury 20 years of losing for the MN GOP with three main ideas.

1. Politics is about name awareness. Awareness is about reach and frequency of message. Therefore, marketing matters as much as, if not more than, mechanics. Attending parades, delivering literature and door knocking are table steaks, never the main course.

2. In 1990, Paul Wellstone’s “Looking for Rudy” became widely noted for its unconventional style and the press coverage it generated. While calling it an attack campaign is going too far, it did confront conventional wisdom. Read about this campaign here.

This campaign contains an idea. Ask us about it.

3. There is a difference between a challenger brand and an establishment brand. Our ideas are rooted in challenger brand strategy.