Earle-y Bird Gets the Worm
Doomscroll 9.8.2024
Hello. Welcome to another edition of Doomscroll. Hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day and a SUPER AWESOME four-day week. Kidding. Is it just me or just four-day work weeks actually end up sucking? Anywho, let’s celebrate the official start of campaign crazy season by getting our vests out and ordering our PSL’s.
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered my reader survey last week. Seriously. I got some great feedback, and noticed a few overarching themes. Some of you think I focus too much on ads. Guilty. I can’t help it. I’m drawn to ads like a moth to a flame. FWIW, I got into digital because I love creative and I love storytelling. I’ve always viewed digital as the best way to communicate to voters about our candidates and our policies. And how do we do that? Through stories, which in our industry we tell via ads. Do I sound like a naive, bushy-tailed 20-something? OK, MAYBE. But I hear you.
LOTS of you said you like Doomscroll for the scoops and gossip. Yay - me too! So on that note, if you’re reading this and you’ve been holding on to some good tea, spill it already! My DM’s are always open and my email is itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com.
Some of you also said you don’t like the texting screenshots. Fair enough. My goal there in the beginning was to shine a light on who’s sending what - good and bad. There’s no P2P texting ad library we can look at…but I get it. My screenshots are an imperfect solution to a problem I was trying to solve. I shall rethink this portion of Doomscroll.
Anyway, there’s lots more good stuff in this survey, so please know I’m taking it to heart. ♥️
P.S. To the one person who said they’d only “maybe” recommend Doomscroll to other folks in the industry: I’m on a mission to win you over.
Alright, let’s get to this week’s One Question. Texting. We all do it. We all love it. It’s become a crucial part of our digital toolbox, and something I’ll be analyzing a lot more as we get closer to Election Day. While it’s a great way to reach voters, it also has the potential to really backfire. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. So: How do you see yourselves embracing it over the next two months? Strictly hard fundraising asks? Do you plan to pivot to more persuasion? Spill your plans! Also, there’s a bonus question in there that I’d love to get everyone’s thoughts on as well.
Who’s Doing What
You Winsome…
Ok, Winsome Earle-Sears: I see you. Talk about making a splash! Virginia’s Lt. Governor took us by surprise this week (or was it just me?) by launching her campaign for governor to replace Gov. Glenn Youngkin next year. The early bird gets the worm, I guess? Let’s talk about her rollout. I’m giving it a solid A.
You all remember how much I love a good announcement video, right? Hers is legit, and word on the street Poolhouse is responsible, so kudos! (If I’m wrong, apologies!). At about a minute and a half, it’s not too long and kept my attention the whole time. I love that she speaks directly to camera and tells her story without going to hard-core, red-meat right out of the gate. It’s hopeful and optimistic, and that’s what I like to see from announcement videos. And as far as the storytelling aspect goes, it gives voters just enough to leave them wanting more (IMO). Love it.
On the advertising front, she’s running some ads on Facebook, and they’re not all fundraising - which I very much appreciate. Some of them just link to her website, while others just promote her endorsements. (P.S. team: you still have August EOM ads running!).
Let’s move on to the website. Overall, it’s nice and covers the bases for a campaign launch. I wish it had an issues page, but I love that there’s already a merch store. The logo…I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it, either. I actually don’t mind that it’s just “Winsome,” but there’s something about the white stroke around that blue font on top of the red that bothers me a little. Not sure why. I’m also not sure how I feel about the slogan “Ever Forward.” I feel like something like “Always Forward” sounds better, but that’s just me. Like I said, this launch gets a solid A. She and her team obviously put a ton of work into this effort, and unless I’m just missing something, they should be patting themselves on the back right now. Even if a certain someone else isn’t impressed.
Guess Who’s Back?
Raise your hand if you saw the new fundraising ads from the Trump campaign featuring Corey Lewandowski. Or the ads with Alina Habba. Running fundraising ads with surrogates isn’t anything new this cycle, though using Lewandowski is maybe a little surprising (cringey?). From a creative standpoint, I have to give them props. In one ad, Alina goes around an office asking people to explain what a $5 donation will get them. The tone is great; they’re not hitting people upside the head to scare them into donating. However - and as I was chatting with a loyal reader this week - the Trump campaign is leaning SO MUCH into hard fundraising asks, it’s hard not to feel a little queasy about what it’s going to do to the Republican donor pool. Are we done expanding our donor base? Are we just going to hit up the same people over and over again for the next two months? And if so, how is that going to affect down-ballot races and their fundraising? Lots of questions. Not a lot of answers just yet. But this dynamic is one I’m keeping an eye on for sure.
Sharing the love
The other day I noticed something interesting. I’ve been getting texts from several different candidates from the short code 34883:
Marsha Blackburn
Ted Cruz
Sam Brown
Michelle Steel
Jen Kiggans
House Republicans
It’s Tim Scott’s short code, and apparently he’s into sharing. Good for him. Every donation page is a split, obviously, but I love seeing this. My guess is these are all Targeted Victory clients so the coordination between sends, approvals, etc etc is fairly easy, but I wish our GOP digital ecosystem did stuff like this more often. And if we are and I’m just missing it, then let me know!
Comrade Kamala
I know I’ve been a little hard on America PAC lately, but I love this new ad they’re running on Facebook right now. Watch:
Who’s Spending Where
P2P
Industry Watch
Last week we learned that the Trade Desk has been secretly developing an operating system from smart TVs. This is a really good explainer piece about why TTD would have decided to jump into the OS game. Check it out here.
2024 Watch
This is where I make note of a few other things that caught my eye this week.
Michelle Steel in California’s 45th has a new ad talking about IVF. It’s good. Watch it here.
Heads-up: The New Hampshire primaries are on Tuesday. Lots of heavyweights throwing their support behind Kelly Ayotte for governor. Read more here.
ICYMI: A new poll this week had Tim Sheehy up 16 points over Jon Tester in Montana. Read more here.
Love this piece of content from Eric Hovde. Simple. Easy. Impactful. See it here.
There’s a new gun-rights group in town, and they’re spending big in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Read more here.
The Grapevine
I’m sure everyone read this story about a center-right influencer company being part of a Russian operation, but if not here ya go.
Related, Nikki Haley took the gloves off this week, and I don’t hate it. See here.
Speaking of influencers, apparently IMGE is getting into the game, too. Would love to know more about this!
John Hall has a new summer donor survey that’s really, really worth a read. Here’s a snippet of the summary:
In this second survey conducted four months after the initial survey, prevailing conditions are largely the same. Donors remain under economic stress while continuing to be inundated with text messages — which they are becoming increasingly skeptical about. When they do donate, they receive texts from other organizations they can’t unsubscribe from.
The tactics that are being used in the online fundraising space, coupled with the economy, is causing more donors to suggest they will turn away from future giving. Only 25% of donors who responded said that they are likely to give to a political campaign in the future.
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Both sides of the aisle are running their fair share of “Register to Vote” and “Vote Early” ads, but this one from the liberal Tech for Campaigns caught my eye. I gotta say: I love a good meme ad. I do.
From the other side of the tracks:
Ok, this is so random. I know. But hear me out: Someone needs to test campaign-branded pickleball merchandise. Why? From The Hour:
The popularity of pickleball — an easy-to-play mix of tennis, ping pong and badminton — as well as interest in timeless fashions that exude “polished comfort” help explain why clothing and shoe lines for inspired by racket sports are so ubiquitous this year, according to Kristen Classi-Zummo, an analyst with market research firm Circana. …
Brands and retailers have taken notice as pickleball has soared from nearly nothing to 13.6 million U.S. players in just a few years. (Padel, another tennis spinoff with roots in Mexico, also has gained traction, particularly in Europe.) Brands like Recess Pickleball and Tangerine Paddle offer clothing or accessories such as tote bags, and customizable paddles. …
“We’re very lucky to have capitalized on a growing market, but I’m even shocked with sort of how fast it’s grown,” Tangerine Paddle co-founder Carly Llewellyn, whose company sells striped, flowery and other styles of custom-made paddles.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!