PPB May 2016

Greenville, Ohio-based dis-

tributor Tigereye Promotions

(UPIC: TIGREYE) has been

one the leaders of political online

stores since it started the first

presidential donation-based

campaign store for the 2008

Obama campaign. “We were

already providing the campaign

with promotional products and

once the campaign figured out

that they could legally ask for

donations through an online

store, they asked us if we could

help them out,” says Tigereye

President Monica Baltes.

Here’s how the process

works: according to Federal

Elections Commission regula-

tions, a political candidate can’t

sell items for profit. But by treat-

ing those purchases as a cam-

paign donation, where the prod-

uct itself is the “premium” that a

supporter gets in return for a

pledge, campaigns are able to stay

within the rules—and gather

actionable customer data to fur-

ther their fundraising and volun-

teer recruitment efforts. For

example, if someone buys a baby

item, the campaign could assume

that person either has a baby or is

close to someone who does, and

that children’s issues are impor-

tant to that person. They can

then better target marketing mes-

sages and volunteer recruitment

communications tailored to that

person’s interests.

HOW DONATION-BASED ONLINE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN STORES

CHANGED EVERYTHING

By Julie Richie

ELECTION SELECTION

EDITOR’S

PICKS

40 •

PPB

• MAY 2016

GROW

BEFORE THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, campaign supporters

often received branded political merchandise when they attended a campaign

event or when then mailed in a donation to a candidate’s campaign or gave it in

person. Now, buying branded items from a campaign’s own retail commerce

website is the campaign donation. And those online purchases generate a gold

mine of marketing data that campaigns can capitalize on.

Nobody home?

This full-color

hang tag is the perfect leave-behind.

Beacon Promotions

UPIC:

BEACONP

www.beacon

promotions.com

PHOTO BY CHRIS FRITCHIE