Written by Tate Holcombe, Creative Director
Campaign creative is more than just a nice logo that you can plaster on yard signs, hats, and bumper stickers. In fact, perhaps the most important piece of creative for a political campaign is the launch video.
Your launch video is your first opportunity to show constituents who you are, what you stand for, and why they should support you. It can help you land earned media and drive donations. It also sets the tone for the rest of your creative for the entirety of your campaign.
But your launch video needs to be done right to achieve that kind of return on investment.
So what makes for a good launch video? Here are a few of our tips for an awesome launch video:
There is a laundry list of things a campaign needs to get off the ground. Throughout the early stages of a campaign, it’s easy to feel a need to rush to get everything ready as quickly as possible. When it comes to your launch video, take the time to work on different versions of the script. But your launch video is no place to cut corners in the name of speed. As the longest video your campaign will produce, it’s important that you’ll be happy with the entirety of the video, not just the first couple of shots. Work with your production and creative team to map out your timetables early on. The longer your team has to work on the video, the smoother the process and the more epic the final product will be.
Don’t do the viral ad from the last cycle. Try something new. If you want to earn the media attention that will help with the ROI, do something you’ve never seen before. If you’re going to take the time to do a launch video properly, make sure it’s one that will stop people scrolling and watch your creative. Hop on a jet ski, run something over with a bulldozer, but most importantly be authentic. Don’t do something just to do it. Do something that only you can do and show the voters who you really are, not the politician they expect to see.
This isn’t an attack ad. This is the chance for voters and donors to see you in the best light possible. The tone can still be somber or contemplative, but you should still have fun on the shoot and when you’re writing out the script. You’re introducing yourself to the world in a visual way. If you’re not having fun and enjoying the experience, the viewers can tell. (If you haven’t enjoyed the video experience before, maybe you need a new production team)
Your launch video can be a jump board for a successful campaign...or set you up for failure. That's why it's so important to find a team of experts that knows what it takes to create a video that will catapult your campaign to victory on election day.