Optimizing Election Mailing Campaigns: A Data-Driven Approach

Integrating data services and personalization into election campaigns provides a transformative opportunity.

As we approach the 2024 general election, adopting these data-driven strategies is critical for maximizing impact and resonance with the diverse preferences of today’s electorate.

Whether your goal is to reengage voters, solicit donations or broaden your message, BCC Software’s lineup of data services can help.

Mail service providers, printers, political parties, and board of elections can overcome common challenges and ensure campaigns are more targeted, responsive, and cost-effective.

In this article, you will learn:

1. How to address common challenges in large mailing campaigns
2. How to improve targeting and increase savings
3. How to increase mailing visibility with accurate mailpiece tracking
4. How to achieve maximum postal discounts with detailed suppression services
5. How to improve campaign impact with personalization
6. How to tie it all together for an effective campaign

Addressing Challenges

Political campaigns often grapple with the need to reach the right audience, ensure timely delivery of campaign materials, and reduce costs associated with mailing to outdated or irrelevant addresses. This challenge has prompted campaigns to turn to our data services for solutions.

It is reported that 41% of voters move every four years (source: voterparticipation.org). This becomes critical when targeting the correct audience. National Change of Address (NCOA^LINK® services) and Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS™) are the foundational tools offered by BCC Software’s suite of products that can be used to standardize addresses and ensure the intended recipients of a campaign still reside at an address.

NCOA^LINK Helps You:

• Reduce Undeliverable Mail
• Cover Multiple Move Types
• Apply Correction Prior to Mailing
• … and much more

Learn more about NCOA^LINK Services with BCC Software

Savings and Targeting

DSF²®, a powerful data service, plays a crucial role in refining mailing lists. It is no secret that certain demographics, neighborhoods, and income levels are likely to resonate better with specific political parties. By utilizing DSF2 to tailor mailing lists accordingly, campaigns increase the relevance of their messaging and optimize outreach efforts for maximum impact.

So, what does DSF² do? This service provides walk sequence codes that allow mailers to submit their mail pieces in the exact order the mail carrier travels. This strategy not only qualifies mailings for USPS Enhanced Carrier Route (ECR), Basic, High Density, or Saturation postal discounts but also ensures the greatest postal discounts by validating to the delivery point and walk sequence.

Data received from BCC Software when retrieving DSF² results enables the identification of delivery types like curb, door slot, and box, allowing campaigns to obtain additional data. DSF² empowers campaigns to learn if a property has been vacant for 90 or more days, facilitating the creation of targeted mailings.

DSF² helps you:

• Enhance postal discount qualifications
• Improve address accuracy and targeting
• Gain insight into delivery types and address attributes
• … and much more

Learn more about DSF² Processing with BCC Software

Real-Time Visibility

The integration of mail tracking technologies such as BCC Track N Trace® provides campaigns, voters and board of elections with real-time visibility into the delivery process, serving as the first step in a multichannel campaign.

Once a mailpiece is delivered, campaigns can strategically take action on the next marketing initiative. A leading direct mail marketing organization, Sequel Response, reports that combining mail with another medium yields a 20% boost in results.

Whether it be a targeted TV commercial, email blast, or social media campaign, the decision on when to launch the next phase is within control. This orchestrated approach ensures a cohesive and timely engagement with voters, enhancing overall response rates.

Board of elections can also prepare for returned ballots so ballot centers can be appropriately staffed with fewer delays with respect to election day turnarounds.

Track N Trace offers 17+ reports, dashboards, custom Mailer ID protection, advanced scheduling and a reseller interface to provide end users with up-to-date mailpiece location.

Track N Trace helps you:

• Enhance visibility and control of your mailings
• Ensure accountability with delivery confirmations
• Customize mailpiece tracking and access detailed reporting tools
• … and much more

Learn more about Track N Trace with BCC Software

Cost Efficiency

Improving your address quality is an easy path to ensuring eligibility for maximum postal discounts. Customers can take their savings to the next level using list suppression services.

These services offer an integral part of data-driven strategies, involving the identification and removal of addresses associated with deceased individuals, incarcerated persons, and those who opt out of marketing communications.

By suppressing these addresses, campaigns not only reduce unnecessary costs but also redirect resources towards more impactful campaigning. For instance, money previously spent on sending political mail to prisoners or deceased individuals could be reallocated to fund other initiatives, such as community outreach programs or digital advertising targeted at more responsive demographics.

Suppression services help you:

• Reduce wasted mailing, money and time
• Minimize the risk of fraud and insensitive mailings
• Improve response rates and benefit from more accurate data
• … and much more

Learn more about Suppression Services with BCC Software

Personalization: A Key Ingredient

Personalization is an effective method for voters to feel represented. 2022 Midterm elections saw the second highest youth voter turnout of the past 30 years.

The latest election research from the United States Postal Service indicates that 55% of adults place a premium on messaging and personalization. Additionally, 67% of Gen Z and 63% of Millennials felt that direct mail reinforced information they saw on TV or online resulting in a favorable action.

This emphasizes the importance of tailoring campaign messages to specific demographics. Whether your prospective voter is a party loyal, instinct driven, efficient evaluator or undecided, integrating personalization into the data-driven strategy ensures that messages resonate with the values and preferences of each voter segment.

Putting It All Together

When you combine your marketing and creative expertise with powerful software and data solutions, your election campaigns have the potential to deliver an outsized impact for your customers. As in any election year, the challenges are inevitable: but massive opportunities exist for organizations who embrace the scientific approach of data-driven marketing. Take advantage of the available tools and become an indispensable resource for your clients.

Written by Clayton Rozario
Senior Product Manager | Data Services, Track n Trace
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