Integration: Burke for Mayor |
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Situation
Terre Haute, Indiana, business owner Kevin Burke, frustrated by the impact
of the city’s declining population, negative community image and
stagnated economy, and sensing the same frustration among other business
leaders and citizens, believed he could utilize his experience operating
a successful business to make positive changes as mayor of Terre Haute.
Although he had never held public office and had no ties to the local powerful
Democratic Party establishment, Burke felt he could win the mayor’s
race if he could garner enough recognition and support.
Problem(s)
There were actually two problems. One was to get the candidate nominated in
the May primary. The second was to get him elected in the November general
election. Burke’s two major opponents in the Democratic primary were
experienced and highly recognized – the incumbent mayor and previous
mayor, both of whom had strong support within the Democratic Party. Surveys
showed that Kevin Burke’s name had less than 15% recognition among
the general public. Burke’s Republican opponent in the November election
would be Duke Bennett, formerly an executive at Hamilton Center. Although
Bennett was a Republican candidate running for mayor in a mostly Democratic
city, he appeared to be well liked and was viewed as a strong candidate.
Solution
Overcoming these problems required integrating planned strategies based on
the goals that were determined to be vital to winning the two elections:
increasing the candidate’s name recognition; developing a campaign
committee and recruiting volunteers to carry out a grassroots campaign; developing
a campaign platform; educating the candidate about the position of mayor;
and identifying and gaining acceptance for Kevin Burke as a credible candidate
for
May;
and building on the success of the primary and getting out the vote for November.
Traditionally in local elections, a candidate’s visible campaign wouldn’t start until 45 days before the primary. However, Kevin Burke had such a long way to go to become a recognized, viable candidate that traditional campaign strategy was abandoned and the campaign was put in high gear to get his name in front of the voting public as quickly and powerfully as possible. It was thought that by breaking out early with visually gripping television spots and a campaign of letters-to-the-editor in the Tribune Star, the media would begin to recognize Burke as a serious and credible candidate and include him in stories and interviews regarding the mayoral race.
MillerWhite was responsible for creating and implementing the communications plan. The first step was to develop a strong brand image to be used consistently throughout all communications. The logo developed capitalized on the recognizable type style and color scheme used in the logo of Burke’s business.
MillerWhite then produced TV commercials to support various stages of the campaign. The initial spots focused on four “hot buttons” – city cleanliness, city safety, the need for economic development and the need for stronger leadership. These and subsequent spots showed Burke speaking on camera in various areas of the city. Spots strongly portrayed the need for community improvement, showed the candidate walking the streets and neighborhoods of the city, followed him and a diverse group of citizens to the steps of City Hall, and in the fall, emphasized Burke’s business experience and how this could translate to a positive for the city.
| To reach as many city voters as possible and to maximize the available dollars, a large number of TV spots were run on a selection of Terre Haute cable channels. High frequency was attained because the per-spot cost was much less than on network TV, allowing the campaign to basically “own” cable. Network TV was used sparingly and targeted on the station doing a mayoral debate. Radio reached specific voter-aged demographics, while outdoor boards, targeted to strategic areas in the city, were an important tool in branding Burke’s name and introducing his face to the public. |
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Kevin Burke took on the responsibility of overcoming a perceived weakness, inexperience. He educated himself about government, politics and the issues and met as many people as possible, including city employees, business leaders, university administrators and the general citizenry. He appeared at forums, debates, bean dinners, and marched in the Indiana State University's Homecoming Parade.
Burke personally recruited campaign committee members to coordinate the grassroots campaign, which included letters-to-the-editor, yard signs, miscellaneous signage (bumper stickers, balloons, t-shirts, etc.), events, neighborhood coffees, precinct meetings, and coordinating the army of volunteers recruited by the committee members.
Burke and his campaign committee focused on fundraising, developing a strategy for several events designed to raise campaign money and put Burke in touch with a segment of local leaders who had strong political ties.
For the November election, committee members were responsible for expanding public relations and utilizing the primary win to secure new attention among media, community leaders and voters. The strategy was to continue to be aggressive with TV advertising, keep the campaign positive and take advantage of any and all speaking opportunities and media interviews.
Result
The Burke for Mayor campaign was a truly integrated marketing effort that yielded
highly positive results:
The Burke campaign raised more money than even the incumbent mayor. Burke scored
an 8-point lead over his closest opponent in a voter poll released a month
before the primary election. He won the endorsement of Terre Haute’s
only daily paper, the Tribune Star. He won the Democratic primary, getting
more votes than all three of the other candidates. And subsequently, Burke
won the November election by what would have to be called a landslide (64%
to 34% and 2% for the other two candidates).
The integration of the communication strategies developed by MillerWhite, the efforts of a hard working candidate, and the persistence of an army of volunteers took Burke from less than 15% name recognition to household-name status and mayor of Terre Haute in just a few months.
