Case Study
Daugaard for Governor
Situation:
After three terms in the South Dakota Senate and eight years as the state's Lieutenant Governor, Republican Dennis Daugaard faced an unlikely problem. In spite of this 14 years in public office, many voters across the state of South Dakota recognized his name (58% among Primary voters) but they didn't know very much about him... his background, his views or his values.
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It was an unorthodox media buy... a 90 second TV spot introducing voters to the man who wants to be the next governor of South Dakota. |
Solution:
Advertising agency Lawrence & Schiller recommended tackling the problem head-on. Instead of entering the Republican Primary with traditional 30 second TV commercials, L&S proposed an unorthodox strategy - introduce voters to Daugaard by telling his life story with a 90 second spot. The compelling story (raised by two deaf parents, worked his way through college after the family lost its farming operation, drove a city bus in Chicago to pay for law school) is depicted through authentic family photos taken during the pivotal points of Daugaard's life.
Placing the ad, with its atypical length, proved a challenge. Local television stations were reluctant to squeeze a 90 second spot into commerical breaks that are often only two minutes in length. Evenutally the media schedule took shape with the debut occuring during the Winter Olympics.
As powerful as the 90 second TV spots were, they didn't work alone. A new Daugaard for Governor website was launched prior to the start of broadcast schedule. Social media (Facebook , Twitter, Flickr and Youtube) were channels used frequently by campaign staff along with mass emails and traditional media such as newspaper ads and billboards.
Results:
Daugaard’s poll numbers jumped 6 percent from February to March 2010. Undoubtedly several factors were at work, but the jump in the polls did coincide with the launch of the television campaign and the roll-out of the 90 second "Meet Dennis Daugaard" commercial.
As the election season progressed, Daugaard continued to clear hurdles by winning the Republican Primary in June 2010. He consistently led in polls and won a decisive 62 percent to 38 percent victory over his Democratic opponent in November.
