Mike Franken for U.S. Senate

EMail strategy
Digital Advertising
 

Utilizing Direct to Donate to Give Outside Candidates a Chance

THE BEGINNINGS

An underdog candidate from the start in a high-stakes, battleground-state primary, Mike Franken’s campaign for U.S. Senate was searching for ways to raise their profile and ramp up a fundraising program that would allow them to compete in the state’s media markets. 

National Democrats had lined up against the Admiral, diverting resources to other candidates in the primary, so we knew we had to build a scrappy campaign to make an impact. The calvary was not coming — FOGLAMP was the calvary.

The question we always came back to (and the question we always come back to for every candidate we work with): How do we help this person win? What sets them apart? 

In Admiral Franken’s case, that was utilizing his unique voice and rock-solid experience to raise money online.

Our objective

We identified three ways to increase the Franken campaign’s reach and generate grassroots support: overhaul the Mike Franken brand to help the candidate stand out; experiment with new online audiences to raise money with direct-to-donate advertising; and build out robust email and digital programs.

EMAIL STRATEGY

Animated and driven by the Admiral’s voice, our email campaign focused on telling Mike Franken’s story: A native son of Iowa with a long, distinguished Naval career followed by positions in the civil service, returning home for the chance to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate — a strong candidate in a crucial, must-win race. 

We defined his candidacy around core values of integrity, independence, and commitment to public service. Who wouldn’t want this guy in the Senate?

DIGITAL ADVERTISING

To confirm our instincts on the strength of the Admiral as a candidate in an environment driven by online markets, we began with an experimental test. After this initial test had almost 300% ROI — a clear indication that our instincts were correct — we quickly recommended the campaign expand the buy.

Our team stayed nimble throughout the ad run, working closely with the campaign to scale the direct-to-donate program during critical moments. 

Overall, our program raised $170,000, becoming a crucial source of revenue for the campaign. This funding stream made television advertising possible for the Admiral’s campaign where it never would have been before.

Due to the overwhelming success of our digital ads in elevating Mike Franken’s candidacy, outside organizations were forced to counter on behalf of their chosen candidate, and poured millions into a primary whose outcome appeared pre-determined even a month before. What’s more, in the media markets the Admiral’s campaign were able to run their TV ads, they outperformed the DC-handpicked candidate.