And do they work? That is, do they persuade voters. I think the verdict is in on that one. No. They do not persuade the voters. They might, if you have done everything else right, walked precincts, phoned, and of course send three pieces of mail, the signs might help reinforce the name recognition as people go to the polls or think about filling in their absentee ballots.
But don't break the bank for signage. (And definitely leave swag, buttons, bumper stickers, cute pens and mugs alone!) Make sure your budget has enough for the all important getting out the message to voters components mentioned above, then think about signs.
If you do use signs, your name in your logo colors is all important, large enough to be seen. If you can, get a line of text big enough to read that conveys in shorthand something about you again as a reinforcer. Here is my favorite sign, double sided, big enough, contrasty enough, and with a double whammy endorsement message that matters.
Was this sign alone enough to get the candidate elected? No. But along with several pieces of mail, a strong phone bank and walk campaign and a heavy GOTV effort, the signs may have been that little bit of a reinforcer message to get some people to the polls who otherwise might have forgotten. They had to know the candidate first for that reinforcing message to mean anything at all.
That's the point. And it's the hardest one for candidates and their committees to take to heart. That and spending the requisite two hours a day on the phone raising money.
More abut that another time. And also in earlier posts. Check the index.
