Case Study: Steven Reed

THE RACE

Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, one of 3 majority African-American cities in the U.S. who had never elected an African-American mayor.

THE CHALLENGES 

• HISTORY: Montgomery had never elected an African-American Mayor. 

• CROWDED FIELD: 12 candidates (10 African-American).

• POWER OPPOSITION: A group from the business community back an
African-American general in an effort toelect anyone but Reed.

• RACIAL DYNAMIC AGAINST US: There was only one credible white candidate
in a city where nearly 50% of the vote is white.

• FAMILY FACTOR:  Reed’s father was a well-known political power broker
with high negative ratings.

• OPPOSITION MONEY: Two candidates outspent us on TV and spent 6-1 more
on direct mail than our campaign did.

THE STRATEGY

• EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT: We announced early on African-American radio.
We were the first on the air.

• TACTICAL RADIO: We placed a tactical radio buy around our kickoff event
to garner earned media. 

• MESSAGING FOCUS: We focused on a message of a “New Generation
of Leadership,” investing in education and a crime prevention strategy focused
on toughness and justice.

• SMART MEDIA PLACEMENT: We relied on African American radio, early cable,
voter-targeted social media ads and late network television (targeting women
over 50).  We also had late and targeted direct mail for a race where 100% of
the vote was on election day.

THE RESULT

The quality of the candidate, the focused message and getting the media mix right helped Reed moved dramatically (for a crowded field) by 18 points while all the other candidates either lost ground or moved. In a 12-way race, Steven finished first with 43%of the vote and the lone white candidate, TV station owner David Woods, earned 23%. The margin of victory was a shocker.