Welp, this is embarrassing. I missed my mid-month subscriber goal! Will you help me catch up?
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads reading this!
One Question
Thanks to everyone who answered last week’s One Question about who has the best logo for 2024! And the winner is??? ::drumroll::
Boom. Ya’ll love a cool logo just as much as I do! 27% of you chose Burgum 2024 as the top logo. Mike Pence came in 2nd place with 13% of the vote, while 3rd place was tied between Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley, and Trump. As for why you picked the logo you picked, here are some of the responses I got:
Burgum’s is the only logo I think say is memorable. There are a few others that are well-executed and a lot that are disappointing
The tilt, shadow and flag mix well with the coloring. It really pops and they’ve worked it in well within their branding. Honorable mention to Pence for the throwback branding, which looks cool and has garnered a lot of positive earned media
I like how he incorporates the flag into the V. It’s very distinct and looks good.
While I’m not a Pence fan, the thesis of his campaign is a promised return to normalcy/the old way of things. His logo reflects that, with an 80s aesthetic that serves as a powerful vehicle for nostalgia
It feels more fun and interesting than the rest, which feel like variations of the same 3 canva fonts (I said what I said). It also reminds me of an Old Navy July 4th t-shirt. #nostalgia
(P.S. I am also nostalgic for those 90’s Old Navy July 4th shirts!)
As for bonus question #2: Should candidates try something NOT red and blue and has anyone ever done in successfully?
Yes; not on our side, but I think some Dem campaigns in 2020 did a decent job
Amy Klobouchar 2020 pulled it off
Super risky IMO - if pulled off well I think it’d look nice, but the conservative in me likes staying true to the red white and blue.
I do, but I’m not sure I can think of anyone who has.
YES YES YES - Ron Johnson for a non-Presidential candidate, Klobuchar was an okay one from 2020
Yes, I would like to see that. Or at least different shades of red and blue.
Not yet but would love to see that!
Absolutely. Even a light blue would be nice. Romney did a lighter blue if that counts.
No and no!
Yes — Republicans have pigeon-holed themselves into thinking every logo has to have red and blue. And yes — Roger Marshall's in Kansas is yellow and white, very Sunflower State-y.
I LOVE how much you all LOVE talking about logos!
Some of the shout-outs:
BLESS YOU ALL for not bringing up the Elizabeth Warren monstrosity from 2020.
This week’s One Question is more tech-y. Do you all think conservatives should put effort into building our own conservative platforms? I might have tiptoed around this question before, but don’t think I’ve ever explicitly asked it. I definitely have my own opinion, but I want to hear your’s! Would you be more likely to use a tool, social media platform, or piece of software specifically because it was built by Republicans to cater to Republicans?
Who’s Doing What
--Throwdown in Senate District 12
If ya’ll have been sleeping on this race, you’re missing out. The Republican primary for Virginia’s 12th State Senate District is an all-out brawl. Put the kids to bed and get that popcorn ready! The primary, which is on June 20, features three Republicans all trying to outdo each other on the conservative scale: incumbent Sen. Amanda Chase, former State Sen. Glen Sturtevant, and activist Tina Ramirez. Admittedly, this race only recently caught my attention so I can’t really comment on their overall digital strategy, but what I’ve seen in this final stretch is decent enough for a state senate race. Sturtevant (backed by the RSLC, apparently) put about $300 this last week behind a slick 30-second positive video ad on Facebook, and he spent about $5,000 between March and June on Google search ads to his website; positive stuff. But don’t worry - there’s plenty of bomb-throwing. A radio/TV spot from Chase right now legit calls both Ramirez and Sturtevant “liberals.” She’s also hit Sturtevant for voting for red flag laws and the Equal Rights Amendment (ok, Ramirez has attacked him on that, too!). What’s more, I have no idea how I ended up on Chase’s email list, but nevertheless there I am. The drumbeat has been…deafening, so I give her team props for that. Ramirez, on the other hand, is calling incumbent Chase a “non-factor” on Facebook and attacking Sturtevant for accepting donations from Bud Light, which are some pretty serious fightin’ words if you ask me! P.S. Apparently Push Digital is doing Ramirez’ campaign (what up, Push!?). Ramierz is also spending money on Google to push an attack website titled The Real Glen Sturtevant. Love that. Anyway, if you’re confused you’re not alone. The punches keep coming and they’re a lot to keep up with! Let’s just say I look forward to seeing who wins this primary on Tuesday.
--There’s Nothing Scarier Than a Pissed-Off Mom, Huh?
No, there is not! At least that’s according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which recently labeled Moms For Liberty, which has been all around for all of 5 seconds and champions parental rights in education, as an “anti-government extremist group.” I wonder if Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) ever got that designation? Anyhoo, we all know the good ol’ SPLC is just a four-letter word for “totally insane far-left group,” but the news about Moms for Liberty made me wonder if there was any coordinated digital pushback - aside from their very active Twitter account. It’s worth noting, by the way, that the Republicans presidential primary candidates are rushing to curry favor with the moms - as they should. From June 10-14, Moms for Liberty spent around $500 on a minute(ish)-long video on Facebook, which you can see here. It’s a pretty decent hype video that walks through the group’s mission and contrasts the SPLC’s label with the fact that “countless” leaders have stood by the moms and their mission. That’s pretty much all I could find on the paid front and of course I wish they were doing more. Maybe it’s budget constraints, but if money were no object, I’d say this is a pretty wasted opportunity to get some advertising love out there. Nevertheless, moms unite!
--(Another) Florida Man Runs for President
I’m just going to say it. No beating around the bush. Gonna come right out with it. Ready? Whoever told Francis Suarez to make his presidential website domain www.itstimewegetstarted.com should be fired. Sorry not sorry. And on top of this, his announcement video displays “fsx24.com,” which points to a WinRed page and all I want to know is why. Look, I’m sure he’s a nice dude with a nice message, but someone needs to explain the domain thing to me. All in all though, it’s not a bad announcement video, if a little too on-the-nose with the “I’m running,” schtick. His website is nice. Indeed, I would go so far as to say pretty. I signed up for his email and text messaging lists (you’re welcome) so we’ll see how he does there. Welcome to the race, Mayor. The more the merrier!
Merch Shout-Out
Two things caught my eye this week! First off, I loved the DeSantis smackdown of Gavin Newsom. Please sir, can I have some more? Seriously: is there a politician in America more cringey than Gavin Newsom? Enter this DeSantis t-shirt, and get yours here. Also, I’m not sure how new this other t-shirt is from the NRSC, but I just saw it this week and liked it! Get it here.
Questions for an expert
--Can You Influence Me Now?
Is 2024 the Influencer Election? Heck: It is if the gods declare it as such and so far, all signs point to yes ma’am - it is. So…what’s a GOP digital strategist to do? Get with it or lose it, as I like to say. We already know the Biden re-election strategy runs straight through your heart and into the influencer’s arms, but will Republican candidates step up to the plate? Yes, yes I like to preach about not chasing flashy trends, but this is different (I think). Influencers - or “creators,” as I will now call them - are here to stay and like it or not, they’ve gained a crazy amount of trust with their audience that means one thing: what they put out there matters. Why not let it be your candidate’s message?
To that end, I’ve tapped someone with REAL EXPERTISE in this field to answer a few questions about influencer marketing on the right. If I’m going to spend this much time yammering about a specific tactic, I better provide some guidance on the path forward, right? Enter Reimy Benitez, Associate Vice President of Public Service & Political Partnerships at Switchgrass, who will talk about this much more eloquently than I will. Some of you may know Reimy; he has a long history of working on the right and now heads up the company’s efforts to work with Republican groups and campaigns to run influencer campaigns.
Ok- so influencer marketing is VERY trendy right now, but does it have longevity? Why should candidates utilize it over another form of digital advertising?
The left has been utilizing influencer marketing to gain a competitive edge over conservatives for more than one election cycle now. Why? Because it works! On the right we must either adapt and embrace it, or become complacent with losing. Companies have also for several years been utilizing influencers to successfully increase brand awareness, change target customer opinions on products & ultimately drive sales.
Meanwhile, traditional digital media advertising is declining in efficacy. Everyday Americans are, rightfully, revolting against big tech infringing privacy & tracking their every move online. Accordingly, Meta & other major platforms have recently enacted more restrictive data policies and significantly slashed targeting & tracking options. Even outside the social media platforms, third party cookies are going away next year, while demographic changes are simultaneously driving significant media consumption changes. Older voters are following younger voters in spending more of their time online as legacy media twists & censors conservative views. Trust in these sources is at historic lows.
All of this has coalesced to allow influencer marketing to become a powerful media strategy alternative, allowing candidates & organizations to reach their intended voting audiences, unfiltered, to win elections. We’ve in fact recently had some state government clients commit the majority of their budgets (in some cases 100%) to mass influencer activations to mobilize citizens and public opinion. And, these trends–as well as demographic and behavioral shifts–will accelerate in the coming years. The future is all about peer to peer communications between voters, online, through trusted, community messengers. These trusted messengers know their audiences, have a rapport with them & have a far more trusted voice than a digital ad.
One of the biggest pushbacks I’ve heard about influencer marketing is that we (the org, campaign, etc) wouldn’t have 100% control over the content. But how much control can we really have?
Vetting & mitigating risks are our top priorities. Candidates can control nearly everything about their influencer campaigns, including approving content to ensure compliance without jeopardizing the authenticity of the messaging. It is important to note that we do not have “rosters” or “inventories”; every campaign’s creator army is hand picked–from millions of profiles–based on the campaign’s priorities & targeting criteria. Every single messenger is thoroughly vetted, and in some instances, is required to submit voter profiles or background checks. Then, every interested messenger communicates with a real person from our team, and they complete legal agreements as required by the client. Every single piece of content that goes live is reviewed and approved by our team, or the client if they wish. Our client’s brand and message is our top priority.
What’s the best way for campaigns to dip their toes in the influencer-marketing waters? Like…Say you’re running for Governor in a midwestern state where crime and cost of living are the two biggest issues. What kind of influencer campaign should that candidate try? What would it look like?
That’s a great scenario and one that we are likely to see in upcoming cycles. We would work with the campaign & polling teams, as well as participating messengers, to ensure that the message reaching target voters is exactly what will move the needle. Target voters would then receive, at frequency, those messages in different themes, points of view and authentic styles from the trusted messengers (creators/influencers) they know & follow.
For example: A law enforcement officer would post about how the candidate has in the past supported law enforcement & how, when they are governors, they will stop the lawlessness that has taken over the state. A handyman would post about how much more difficult his job is due to the burdensome regulation impacting his field & how the candidate would remove those barriers. The local PTA mom would talk about how the candidate, if elected, will help their children focus on their education, and be less distracted by surrounding bad influences when crime is running, unabated in schools across the state. At scale, these trusted messengers can and have shown to move public opinions among target audiences. That is the power of large armies of trusted messengers at work.
Huge shout-out to Reimy! If you want to reach out to him directly, have at it! reimy@switchgrass.social
Industry Watch
A few stories caught my eye this week!
Being able to download a list. of Twitter subscribers? That’d be cool.
Digging the new Twitter CEO’s first-day memo.
“What’s old is new again. Cargo pants, low-rise jeans, bucket hats…and, uh, contextual advertising?”
I’m with Wilson on this: don’t kill the issue pages!
Who’s Spending Where
Sound of Freedom Movie spent another $475,000 on Facebook advertising between June 8 - 14. By my very-accurate count, that puts their total advertising budget over the last few weeks in the millions. Has anyone actually seen this movie???
The Daily Wire/Matt Walsh spent $103,000 on ads, putting them in second place this week, following by DailyWire+ which spent $86,000. Americans for Prosperity came in fourth place with about $65,000 in ad spend. They have some new video creative that a) hypes AFP’s mission (6-, 30-, and 60-second spots), and b) spoofs Family Feud and makes fun of reckless government spending. Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee rounds out the top 5.
Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee was the top spender on Google ads from June 8-14, spending $107,000 on fundraising ads (makes sense). Trust in the Mission PAC and Ron DeSantis for President are basically tied for second place, each spending around $32,000. Fourth place goes to Vivek 2024 ($28,000) and fifth place goes to Tim Scott for America ($25,000).
P2P
P.S. I know I should know this, but I have no clue who that guy is on that text in the top left. And the copy doesn’t identify him either. Tsk tsk.
The Grapevine
Speaking of conservative-only platforms, Regal Blue Media’s Bill Collier has launched a “cancel-proof” ESP called Liberty Sender.
Is anyone else as amused as I am about the public feuding between Team Trump and Team DeSantis? (Here’s a small taste). It’s amusing for now…let’s see where we are in a couple of months.
Got a tip for The Grapevine? Job announcement? Job opening? Best travel trip? Email ‘em to me at itsthedoomscroll@gmail.com
Last But Not Least
From the other side of the aisle:
Some casual reading: Dem strategist gives advice to Dems on how to fundraising off Republican candidates.
From the other side of the tracks:
Love this ad from Heineken making fun of how people can’t pronounce the brand’s name. Just another example from the corporate world of how it pays to not take yourself too seriously!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading! Did you like it? Consider forwarding to your friends!