The Campaign Workshop Blog

Let’s talk about gang printing and economies of scale. And—lest you think that “economies of scale” sounds boring—let me assure you that there is nothing boring about saving money. As campaigns get off the ground and start building out their plans, they often want to do several pieces of mail, segmenting their targeting universe (because, crosstabs!) and customizing messages across multiple mailers.

Since Donald Trump was elected in 2016, we have seen women running for office at all levels of government at an unprecedented rate—and winning. We’ve written ultimate guides for running for office in the past, but running for office as a woman comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities.

Have you experienced post office delays? Beyond the current political dysfunction, USPS has fallen victim to inconsistent funding, under-capitalization, ill-timed cost cutting measures and a lack of respect for the system and its workforce. On top of the ongoing pandemic, USPS will be facing an unprecedented influx of absentee ballots.

Pollster Ben Lazarus is currently the Director of Research Solutions at TargetSmart. He is a specialist in state legislative races and works as a principal pollster and analytics consultant for the New Jersey Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus, and the Indiana House Democratic Caucus. We asked him 7 questions on polling in state legislative races.

The goal for your advocacy RFP should be to compare apples to apples and make the best decision for your organization. Check out our Advocacy RFP Template to determine what questions you should be asking your advocacy consultants in your request for proposals. At The Campaign Workshop, we fill out a ton of advocacy RFPs and have seen a lot of good ones and some not so good ones.

Craig Johnson and Alan Rosenblatt are both a part of Unfiltered.Media, where Johnson is the co-founder and Rosenblatt is a partner. Together they have more than 35 years of experience in digital communication. Now, more than ever, virtual canvassing has become essential for the success of campaigns. Here are the 7 questions we asked them to gather their insights on virtual canvassing during COVID-19:

Chuck Rocha has been doing ground-breaking work from the start. At 29, he was the first person of color named National Political Director of the United Steelworkers of America (USW). In 2010, Rocha left USW and founded Solidarity Strategies, a Latino-owned and operated political consulting firm. In 2016 and 2020, he worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, acting as a senior advisor for the 2020 campaign.

Using an advocacy RFP template can help streamline the process of hiring the right partner for your next project. The exercise of filling out the template should help you identify your goals, any constraints on the project, and strengths and weaknesses in your organization.

Any printer can give you paper—commonly referred to as “stock”—that is lying around the shop. But when it comes to what paper stock is available for your political direct mail, there are as many choices as there are types of drinks at your favorite coffee shop.

David Pepper is the former chairman for the Ohio Democratic Party. Prior to that, he served as a councilman for the city of Cincinnati and was a member of the Hamilton County Board of Commissions. Pepper has authored The People’s House, which predicted Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, as well as The Wingman, which focuses on the role of dark money in campaigns.

We’re all about helping organizations navigate request for proposal (RFP) processes, and our advocacy RFP template is a great resource for folks who are looking to hire a consultant or vendor. Once you get the ball rolling on the RFP process, make sure you think through what you really want to learn from references in the final stage.

Political campaign jobs can be elusive to find. As someone who has gone through the daunting task of political job hunting not too long ago, I know how tough it can be to land a political campaign job—especially your first. With so many newly minted undergraduate, graduate, and even law school grads hunting for jobs in the same market, it can sometimes be an overwhelming and discouraging undertaking.

Now more than ever, canvasser safety really matters. When COVID-19 hit, canvassing pretty much stopped everywhere and is only now slowly starting to reemerge. Canvassing can be dangerous, as it requires that you approach strangers in what is often unfamiliar terrain, even when we aren’t in the midst of a pandemic.

Amplifying Black voices is always important, and streaming services are helping to do just that. Now, if Netflix users search “George Floyd,” they’ll be taken to a curated list for their Black Lives Matter Collection, which has over 40 movies, T.V. shows, and documentaries. Amazon Prime’s collection is called Black History, Hardship, and Hope, and it’s home to documentaries like I Am Not Your Negro and The Central Park Five.

Erick Sanchez has successfully orchestrated multiple online campaigns from convincing Chef José Andrés to pull out of the Trump International Hotel, to organizing a rally for Comet Ping Pong, a pizza place under attack from the far-right. His social media activism and previous involvement in politics has led him into his current position as the spokesperson for former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and his wife, Evelyn Yang.

Campaign endorsements can make or break a race for a candidate. But how do you get them and what do you do with them? Below are tips on how to determine which endorsements to go after and what to do after you get them to get as much mileage as possible out of your campaign endorsements.

Whether you’re running a political campaign or an advocacy program, geofencing can be an incredibly useful tactic within your larger campaign advertising toolbox. Geofencing is a method of targeting mobile ads to people within a tight geographic area.