U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) sought a consistent source of low-dollar contributions for her reelection campaign. Although her existing donor file was substantial, only 10% had been active since the last election cycle. A targeted strategy was needed to “reacquaint” donors with the Senator and her campaign, as well as rebuild the ranks with new donors.
Building an Active Donor Base
Barbara A. Mikulski, the iconic U.S. Senator from Maryland, was seeking re-election and required a consistent source of low-dollar contributions to fuel her campaign. Although her existing donor file was substantial, only 10% had been active since the last election cycle. A targeted strategy was needed to “reacquaint” past donors with the Senator, as well as rebuild the ranks with new donors.
Mark Grayer and his team designed a direct mail house file appeals and prospecting program that used a “test and learn” approach to gauge how aggressive a program could be rolled out. They performed an extensive house file analysis that examined previous dollars contributed, giving recency, and in-state versus out-of-state geographic dispersion. They also developed messaging that captured Senator Mikulski’s voice—both as a blue-collar champion who fought her way from East Baltimore to the U.S. Senate and as a national figure leading healthcare and the financial system reform. A petition-based strategy was also implemented to maximize response rates and collect email addresses, driving future online contributions.
Performance of the house file and prospect campaigns was excellent. Return on Investment (ROI) for the house file exceeded 300% and successfully reactivated older, lapsed contributors. Prospecting was also profitable with a nearly 80% hit rate for new lists tested.
As for the most important outcome … Senator Mikulski was re-elected for a fifth term, making her the longest-serving woman in U.S. Senate history!
