Analysis of a Last-Week Mailer

The Indiana Democratic State Committee issued a full page postcard on behalf of their candidate for state auditor Judy Anderson. When I first saw the piece I thought it had been done by a rookie candidate. It was full of strategical errors. When I noticed it was paid for by the IDSC I was even more shocked.

Here are the errors I found on this piece.

• If you only do one mailing it cannot have a negative tone. I'm not talking about negative campaigning but a pessimistic tone. The tone of the last mailer determines the tone for which reader's associate with the candidate on election day.
  
• If you only do one mailing it should be about the candidate benefited by the mailer. Having your opponent on the mailer is a distraction from the intended focus.
  
• Additionally to this piece Tim Berry's face and name are at the top left of the piece. That's the first thing voters see when they pick up the mailer and the only thing they pick up should they not read it.
  
• It took a few seconds to figure out who this mailer was for because the top headers are of equal typeface giving the names of both candidates equal billing.
  
• Most importantly, know who your audience is and know what messages will work. While the major moves deal is not popular with Democrats, it is not nearly as such with the rest of voters as recent polling suggests.

In summary, this mailer spent more time focusing on things beyond the control of the candidate and less time focusing on how the candidate can be a positive influence/ contributor as an elected official. I will probably be called a right-winged hack for this post, but my analysis would be no different if this mailer were done by the Republican party.