Public Alliance is well known for our award-winning marketing and advertising, but during election season, we’re also sought out for our political campaign planning, strategy, and creative services.
For the May 2021 elections, one of the political clients we were proud to work with was school board candidate, Clay Page. Making his first run for elective office, Clay is the owner of a successful San Antonio-based construction company and he came to Public Alliance when he and his wife made the decision for him to seek a position on the Alamo Heights Independent School District Board of Trustees. Alamo Heights is an incorporated city with a population of about 8,000 and located entirely within the city limits of San Antonio, TX.
As he prepared to launch his campaign, we met with Clay to lay out his campaign strategy and develop a comprehensive plan, which consisted of an integrated three-pronged effort: digital, print, and grassroots. We first went to work creating his brand and designing his signage, push cards, and direct mail pieces. We also developed and managed his social media and email campaign and finally, provided his team with voter data so that he could also conduct an aggressive door-to-door canvassing operation.
On Election Day, thanks to the candidate’s hard work and our effective campaign strategy, and compelling collateral materials, Clay Page was overwhelmingly elected to the Alamo Heights ISD Board of Trustees with 64% of the vote.
DIGITAL
Knowing that the majority of voters in the school district were made up primarily of older voters, we focused our social media strategy on Facebook. Within 30 days of creating Clay’s campaign page on Facebook, he reached nearly 8,000 Facebook users and we grew his following to more than 300 potential voters. All the way up until Election Day, we created multiple posts daily discussing Clay’s platform and values and communicating important information regarding the election.
Over 1,500 subscribers received a weekly campaign e-newsletter highlighting Clay’s platform and achievements and reminding them of election deadlines. For the final push, we deployed two newsletters each week to Page’s email list. To date, we sent 16,674 total emails for Page’s campaign.
BY THE NUMBERS – 04/01/2021- 05/01/2021
PRINT COLLATERAL
The candidate had a clear vision for why he was seeking the office and Public Alliance worked with him to craft it into a concise and compelling campaign message, which we then incorporated into all branding and collateral materials.
We then created a campaign logo and all the design work behind the campaign – everything from yard signs, push cards, and direct mail to social media graphics, and even photography. All were a product of the Public Alliance creative team. Our goal was to keep the candidate approachable and the collegiate typography aimed to simplify things since it was important for us to make something that stood out and was legible when seen quickly. Veering away from the typical layout of a political yard sign, and using the big and bold typography to its full potential helped us achieve this. Our messaging and design work achieved our goal of portraying Clay as he is: a caring father and successful business owner who would bring understanding and oversight to the school board.
GRASSROOTS
The candidate was very personable and eager to speak to voters. We took advantage of his personal approach to campaigning and made sure he and his team were armed with everything they needed to personally reach out and talk to the voters who we knew had a history of showing up to vote. With talking points, push cards, yard signs, and voter data, Clay and his team were able to knock on more than 1,000 doors and he spoke to hundreds of prospective voters.
In the final count, 6,055 people voted in the election and Clay won in a landslide, beating his opponent 64% to 36%. On election night, Clay said: “We had a great team spreading our positive message and I believe the voters answered.” (Localcommunitynews.com, May 11, 2021) Congratulations to Clay and thank you for entrusting us to lead you to victory. This is just one example of our success on Election Night 2021, but it demonstrates the comprehensive and effective services that Public Alliance can deliver to achieve winning results.
