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 scored a massive upset by running a clever attack ad. Yet the GOP establishment still tells candidates that this stuff does not work in MN. Come again? Read about this campaign here.

Advertising has changed since the 90s. Today it is all jump cuts and 15 second spots. Here’s an ad we did for an underfinanced congressional candidate that rocketed him to awareness in a week. He’s a Republican, not a Wellstone, but the ad still shares some DNA.

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