Every audience hears the argument that is true for them.
Strategy is deciding, before a dollar is spent, who decides the race, what each of them needs to hear, and when. Messaging is saying it so plainly that it is still in their head at the bottom of a long ballot.
What does a campaign strategy include?
A campaign strategy defines the win number, the voters who will decide the race, the core messages, what each audience hears, how to answer the opposition, which channels reach each audience, and a timeline built around mail ballots, early voting and Election Day. URSA builds it from the ballot language, the voter file and county property data, then sets it up in Culper so every channel follows it.
How We Build a Campaign Plan
Read the ballot and do the math
Start with exactly what voters will see. For a tax or bond election, that is the ballot language, the rate and the real cost to a typical home and business. For a candidate, it is the office, the field and the ballot position. Then the win number: expected turnout and the votes needed to win it.
Find who decides it
Using the voter file, vote history and CAD data, we sort the electorate into who will vote no matter what, who might, who is with you and who is not. The plan is built around the voters who are likely to turn out and can be moved, or who are with you and need help to vote.
Set three core messages
Three, not ten. Each one plain enough to repeat in a text, a mailer and a 15 second spot, and each one true.
Build the message matrix
Each audience hears the argument that fits their situation. A homeowner under 65, a senior with a frozen tax ceiling, a renter and a business owner may all be voting on the same proposition for different reasons. The matrix is set once in Culper and every channel pulls from it, so nobody gets the wrong argument.
Answer the other side
We write down what the opposition will say and our answer to each point before they say it, so the campaign never has to improvise in the last week.
Choose channels by audience
Streaming TV, digital, mail, P2P texting, outdoor and field, each assigned to the audiences it reaches best and weighted to the budget.
Plan the calendar
Persuasion first, then the switch to vote now when early voting opens, with the daily early vote scrub moving money from people who have voted to people who have not. Every piece carries the same call to action.
Report and adjust
Weekly reporting on what ran, who it reached, and what the early vote numbers say, with the plan adjusted as the data comes in.
Three messages, not ten. Each one plain enough to repeat in a text, a mailer and a fifteen second spot.
What a Message Matrix Looks Like
An example of how one tax proposition can be argued to four different audiences. Every line is true, and each is the line that audience cares about.
| Audience | What they hear | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners under 65 | What the change costs a home like theirs every year, with a calculator to check their own. | A personal number in ten seconds beats any abstract argument. |
| Homeowners 65 and over with a tax ceiling | The debt, the budget and accountability, not "your taxes go up". | Their homestead bill may be frozen, so a pocketbook line rings false. They also vote at the highest rates. |
| Renters | How property taxes on rental property show up in rent. | Multifamily property pays the full rate and that cost is passed through. |
| Business and multifamily owners | Their own exposure, in a direct letter. | No homestead exemption and no cap. A small group with a large stake. |
Illustrative. Messages for each election are built from that election's ballot language and the county's own numbers.
Messaging Principles We Hold To
Say it plainly
If a voter cannot repeat it to a neighbor, it is not a message yet.
Let the facts do the work
The strongest argument is often already on the ballot or in the district's own documents. Quote it.
Make it local
A problem on their street beats a policy in the capital. See micro-targeting.
One call to action
Every piece ends the same way: what to do, when early voting runs, where to find it on the ballot.
Tell the truth
Credibility is the only thing a local campaign cannot buy back. Every claim we write can be sourced.
Stay compliant
Every piece carries its required political advertising disclosure. Public entities get information, not advocacy.
Campaign Services
The strategy is carried out across every channel a modern campaign needs.
Advertising
From micro-targeting specific demographics on platforms like Meta, Google, LinkedIn and Nextdoor to streaming TV, we put your campaign front and center with the voters who decide it.
Social media growth
A strong social media presence is vital. We use proven strategies to build your campaign's audience and a robust online community that hears your message.
SMS and P2P campaigns
Text campaigns for direct, personal engagement with constituents: keeping supporters updated, rallying volunteers and prompting voters to vote, run on Culper.
Effective campaign websites
Your website is the hub for every campaign activity. We build compelling, user friendly sites that communicate your platform, rally supporters and take donations.
Email marketing
Deeper connections with supporters, from campaign updates to calls to action, keeping your campaign top of mind.
Fundraising and donation setup
Fundraising pages and donation platform setup and integration, so donors have a seamless experience and you can focus on the campaign.
Campaign Momentum™
Winning the election is just the start. Campaign Momentum keeps your name and work in front of constituents after the election, laying the foundation for what comes next.
Video production
Streaming TV spots, social video and long form stories, written and produced for the audience and the platform.
What is a message matrix?
A message matrix is a table that assigns each audience in a campaign the argument that fits their situation, and the channel that reaches them. It keeps messaging consistent across TV, digital, mail and texting while making sure no group hears an argument that does not apply to them.
What is a win number?
The win number is the number of votes a campaign needs to win, based on expected turnout for that election. It tells a campaign how many supporters it must identify and turn out, and shapes the entire budget and plan.
When should a campaign start its messaging?
As early as the budget allows, with persuasion first. In Texas, early voting usually opens about two weeks before Election Day, and many voters cast their ballot in the first days, so persuasion has to be done before early voting starts, not during it.
Do you work with political consultants?
Yes. Many of our campaigns come through consultants. We work as an extension of their team on targeting, production, media placement and Culper, under their strategy. See About.
Keep reading.
- Persuasion PsychologyWhy "go vote" fails and a one to one ask works. URSA writes persuasion scripts for Culper peer-to-peer texting that turn supporters into voters, built on decades of turnout research.
- School District Bond ElectionsURSA runs campaigns for and against Texas school district bond propositions and tax rate elections, with property tax calculators, CAD based targeting, senior tax ceiling messaging and daily early vote scrubs.
- AboutURSA Dynamics is a political campaign marketing firm for tax elections, bond elections and candidates, and a strategic partner to political consultants. Victory starts here.
Your victory starts here.
Tell us where you are running or what is on your ballot. We will show you who decides it, what moves them, and what it costs to reach them.
Schedule a Consultation