5 Political Marketing And Consumer Agencies: What Makes Them Great At Both?

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A lot goes into a political campaign, but the marketing machine involved in crafting a successful campaign is amazing. Things like teamwork, organization, analytics tracking, and communication are must-haves for any political marketing agency. “Though you may not have considered it, this blood sport we call politics is actually marketing,” Chip Rosales points out.

At its base, politics is marketing. So, it should be no surprise that effective political campaigns carried out by the agencies you’ll read about below, excel not only in political marketing but in consumer marketing as well.

Here are five political marketing agencies that just may be the kind of versatile team you’re looking for in the consumer marketing arena:

Blue State Digital – Obama for America 2012

blue state digital's political marketing campaign with obama
Blue State Digital jumped into the political arena from the beginning and haven’t shied away from partisan projects, as their name suggests. In 2012, Blue State Digital partnered with Obama’s 2012 campaign to help them mobilize more money, volunteers, and voters than they ever had previously.

With how heavily invested Blue State Digital is in politics, we asked the agency a few questions about working in politics.

How would you describe your experience working in the political arena?

“Blue State Digital got its start in politics back in 2004, fresh off the campaign trail with Howard Dean. We pioneered the use of digital to open up the democratic process and discovered new ways to engage and mobilize voters and supporters behind candidates and campaigns. We quickly realized the same principles and tactics that were so effective for political clients could be leveraged successfully for nonprofit organizations, trade associations, advocacy groups and even brands. The learnings and insights we gleaned from our work on political campaigns such as Obama in 2008 and 2012 could be applied in much the same way for our engagements with non-political clients looking to move the needle and make an impact.

From the very beginning, Blue State Digital’s mission has been to transform how causes, candidates and brands engage their most important people through a people-first, data-driven campaign mindset. Though our roots are in politics, the vast majority of our work is now done on behalf of progressive nonprofits, advocacy organizations and brands who seek to use digital to strengthen their relationships with their most important supporters and scale their impact.”

Do you think more agencies will get in the political arena? Why?

“There are so many parallels between engaging voters to rally behind a candidate and mobilizing donors to support a charitable cause or galvanize a customer base to raise their voices on behalf of a brand. The people-first approach is universally effective when executed with the right vision and mission, so for agencies that already operate with that approach, dipping a toe into a politics is more feasible than one might think.”

 

HCP – Florida Ambassador Program

hcp associates political marketing project with fccma
Hailing from Tampa, FL. HCP has been working in the political arena for sometime now. They’ve worked with Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Voices for Children of Tampa Bay and many more.

One of their recent political projects included working with the Florida City and County Management Association to get the word out about the value proposition of professional management in municipal government. HCP managed a large communication effort and branded the initiative as the Florida Ambassador Program.

SS+K – BFF Trump

ss+k political marketing agency
SS+K is no stranger to the political arena. This advertising agency has worked with clients like Planned Parenthood of America, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Obama Foundation. While some agencies are just now getting into the political arena, SS+K has been in it from the start.

One of their most-recent political projects took a demonstrative stance on Donald Trump’s rhetoric during his political campaign by working with Dexter to create the “Trump Bot”. The goal of the project was to expose people to Trump’s rhetoric, but also to encourage people to vote their values.

Pentagram – Price of Politics Logo

pentagram political marketing for Hilary Clinton
Pentagram is the world’s largest independent design consultancy. They work all over the globe doing providing a variety of services for their clients. One of their most-recent projects included designing the logo for Bob Woodward’s book entitled “The Price of Politics”. The logo and design was crisp and clear, which is another way you can describe Pentagram’s work on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign log.

WIRED spoke with Jesse Reed, a Pentagram designer, about their work on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign earlier this month.

“I think design can express ideas in an exciting way to motivate people,” Jesse Reed told WIRED.

High Five Media – Make More Happen Campaign

High Five Media Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools
High Five Media’s focus has always been in making a campaign resonate and pop with its target audience. High Five Media doesn’t strictly focus on political campaigns, but it’s always been a part of their business.

One of the agency’s biggest campaigns was for the Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools, and the task was graphic and print design. To help the foundation win a contest that included a $10,000 prize, High Five Media created posters, tents and flyers in an effort to get people to vote.

Find your next agency partner on Agency Spotter

So if you’re interested in hiring a new agency, we highly recommend checking out these top marketing agencies. Agencies are offering more and more services, from public relations for political campaigns to web design for political organizations. The possibilities are endless, and you can find all these fantastic agencies on Agency Spotter.

Whether you’re in consumer marketing or jumping into the political machine

We hope highlighting some of these agencies and what helps them stand out across both is helpful food for thought. Whether your focusing on CRM and email marketing, advertising and video, or branding and design, there are a lot of learnings that can be applied and high pressure teamwork that may benefit your brand.
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Chase Thomas
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