The numbers are staggering. Since 2007, mail volume in the United States has dropped by 43.1 billion pieces, post office visits are down by 200 million, and retail transactions have decreased at least $2 billion. The figures, worry some in the direct mail industry, could eventually lead the United States Postal Service to reduce delivery to three days a week.
This issue's Shoptalkers: Fred Davis, CEO of Strategic Perception; Eric Hogensen, president of HSG Campaigns; Douglas Herman, partner at The Strategy Group; and Vince Monaco, owner of the Monaco Group.
If you’re a first-time candidate, you’ll soon discover that a lot of people are going to give you their two cents about your campaign. The thing is, many of them have no idea what they’re talking about.
Here are five terrible pieces of advice that you are likely to hear, and the facts that you need to remember.
Friends -
2017 will soon be over, and we will be heading into a very busy and exciting midterm election year.
But before we start that new chapter, we want to take a moment to wish you a most wonderful Holiday Season this year.
Happy Holidays, and best of luck in 2018!
Best,
Eric, Dave, and Annika
HSG Campaigns
Democrats enjoyed some big wins last week, which are hopefully only a taste of what we'll be getting next year. We wanted to share with you our top three takeaways.
1) The geographic battle lines are definitely shifting. Democrats are struggling more in rural counties than we did ten years ago, and how to responsibly win back white, working-class voters will continue to be an important topic of conversation. But the good news is that we're starting to pick up steam in the suburbs, particularly those surrounding southern cities, like Atlanta, Houston, and now Richmond. The suburbs should start to play a larger role in our GOTV plans in 2018.
2) Millennials are starting to make a real impact. Back in 2008, many thought Millennials put Obama in the Oval Office, but the truth is he would have won without them. But now this generation is moving to the suburbs, having kids, and voting in strong numbers. The majority of them never fell in love with Clinton, as it's a much more progressive generation than Gen X'ers or Boomers. But with Trump in the White House, they went all-in with the moderate Ralph Northam in Virginia. Keep a watch out for the 18-34 voting bloc in 2018.
3) Ordinary people are running and winning. The elections last week saw an incredibly diverse cast of characters win seats in Virginia and New Jersey. Newly elected Danica Roem, Vin Gopal, and Ravi Bhalla are flipping the script on who an American candidate is supposed to be. Perhaps the Trump presidency's most lasting impact will be the way it encouraged good people to run for the first time, to resist on behalf of their communities.
This week Eric is recommending the works of Ta-Nehisi Coates.
"An essential voice of our time, Coats fuses complex thought with elegant writing and insightful reporting to create a lasting impact on the reader. To read Coats is to see into the soul of our country. He has deservedly reached the upper echelon of our country's great thinkers and I'm always excited to read what he writes. Read these and everything he writes. Required reading for everyone, period."
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