Political season is rapidly approaching. Over the next year, political signs will be popping up all over the country as Americans rally behind both the presidential candidates and the nominees for other elections. Political yard signs are a polarizing form of campaign advertising—everybody uses them, but how effective are they, really? Here are both sides of the issue.
The Good
- Recognition—At the very least, political yard signs build name recognition for your candidate. Granted, everyone should know who the presidential candidates are, but for smaller elections, awareness is crucial.
- Information—You don’t have a lot of room on political yard signs to feature your key opinions, but it is possible to at least hit the high points. This is also helpful for voters as they can decide whether or not they support your campaign.
- Promotion—Yard signs also are helpful in informing the public of Election Day, as well as when and where they can vote. Placing signs in your yard builds a sense of camaraderie with other supporters and encourages action.
The Bad
- Motivation (or lack of)—Many critics of political yard signs state that they just aren’t very effective. Be honest—when you see political signs, do they really sway your political opinion? However, what’s important is to be realistic with your expectations. Political yard signs likely won’t change many minds; the key benefit is simple awareness and recognition.
- Pollution—One problem with campaign yard signs is that they’re only used temporarily. What do you do with them once the campaign is over? Throwing them away would be wasteful, so consider covering the signs and reusing them for garage sales, personal events, etc. If you really want to be environmentally-friendly, use other, less-wasteful forms of political signage instead, like political magnets for your car. This mobile marketing does the work of at least 10 signs.
- Distraction—You’re not the only political candidate who will be advertising. Thus, when multiple candidates have signs all over town, things start to look cluttered and messy. Consider one-upping your competition by focusing on a “less is more” strategy. Use large political banners in strategic locations (like campaign rallies) rather than an excess of signs.
The Ugly
Pretty sure this speaks for itself. No offense to Tom Luna and the Sali for Congress campaign, but yellow implies cheapness. While your campaign signs don’t have to be gold-plated, necessarily, they should inspire confidence. These do not.