$12.3B
The projected amount of U.S. political advertising spending this year, an increase of nearly a third compared to 2020.
(Insider Intelligence)
For David Brown, president of distributor firm Campaign Associates, political promo has been a family affair. Brown’s father opened a promo products business when Brown was 9 years old, in 1948. “He purchased bumper stickers to promote JFK for president,” Brown says, “and had me distributing them door to door.”
All these years later, Brown has spent time on Capitol Hill and has handled promo products for people such as Florida Congressman Harry Johnston, Governor Charlie Crist and President Barack Obama.
He says that when you have an election year in a good economy (many experts say the economy is doing well) it becomes a huge plus for promo in this sector. “You’re going to find a lot of PACs buying for their own [legislative] issues,” he adds.
Brown has learned that in some locales you can be a vendor to all sides of the political spectrum, while in other places you can’t. “We’ve become a very polarized country,” he says. “In my days in Washington, we’d fight on the floor, then play golf on the weekends and go to dinner. You can’t do that anymore, and that’s unfortunate. When you go at this market, you have to figure out how you want to play the tribal game.”
Product Pick
A large imprint area, handy screen-cleaning functionality and small size makes this microfiber eyeglass and phone pouch (5087HTOP3) a great product for campaign aides to give out at various stops.
Product Pick
This FDA-compliant pill box (Mi1215) is an easy way to keep a candidates’ name in sight, with a large imprint that can amplify any message.
3 Distributor Tips
Drawing upon 40 years of experience in the political market, here are Campaign Associates President David Brown’s top tips for succeeding with political clients.
1 Know that timing is everything. For anyone new to this space, Brown reminds that national campaigns (president and senators) are year-round efforts – but state races (reps, state senate, county commission) have “much shorter leashes and lower funding, so they tend to wait until further along.” Don’t worry, he says; eventually, a campaign knows it needs to put promo products in the hands of voters who are important to them.
2 Be visible in your community. Brown says the way to stay top of mind among clients is to maintain a steady presence at various clubs and meetings in your area. Brown has been appointed to various advisory committees, and uses these opportunities not only to serve his immediate community but also to “meet people who are in one way or another dependent on politics.”
3 Help politicians maintain their image. Political candidates invest lots of money in how they’re perceived, and few things accentuate and amplify a reputation more than a logo. For this, promo companies must be able to deliver a faithful reproduction of this logo for everything from flyers to the always-ubiquitous yard signs. “If it’s a four-color process logo, offer ideas that can be done with that logo the way they’ve got it,” Brown says. “You don’t want to make them step down to a one- or two-color design they’re not going to be happy with.”