Advertising approaches may have kept Wolfs voters intrigued
A whopping total of $73-million dollars—that was how much gubernatorial candidates Tom Wolf and Tom Corbett spent during last campaign season. It’s safe to say a significant portion of these millions went towards television advertisements.
From personal attacks to simple introductions, the advertisements spanned a spectrum of political tactics. However, based on the election results, the efforts of Tom Wolf were proved to be the best received.
According to Jared DeLoof, the regional field director for the Tom Wolf for Governor campaign in Centre County, there are two different types of advertising that politicians use for their campaigns—one is field advertising, which includes knocking on doors, telephone banking, and other interpersonal approaches, and the other is releasing advertisements on different media platforms.
“Who this person is, what their life experiences that makes them better suited for the job that they’re running for, what their beliefs and value system is,” said DeLoof. He emphasized the importance of a message that an ad can carry and convey to the audience, “and really creating a brand for that person that then is relatable to voters,” he explained.
This type of branding was crucial to the previously unknown Tom Wolf.
Wolf’s advertisements are well produced and mainly focused on introducing himself to the voters. In these ads, he talks about his personal life story—how he was in the Peace Corps, how he saved his family business, how he gets along with his two daughters, and even the old classic Jeep he drives.
This rather simple tactic gave him a special edge over incumbent Tom Corbett—that being his role as an average father, with an average life, that many could relate to.
“When he started his race back in January, hardly anybody knew who he was,” Greg Stewart, the chairperson of the Centre County Democratic Committee, recalled the ad campaign journey of Wolf for Governor 2014. “By the time we got to the May primary, everybody knew who he was.”
A stark black and white photo of Wolf emblazoned by a blook-red background with the words “Tom Wolf: The more you know, the less trustworthy he seems” flashing across the screen captures the essence of Corbett’s advertising in a five second frame.
Many voters viewed advertisements on various media platforms.
Photo by Yang Hong
Corbett’s focus and funds were driven towards attacking Wolf rather than focusing on his political stance, which is considered to be a “negative” advertising strategy according to Pennsylvania State University advertising professor Frank Dardis.
“It can produce what you want it to produce in the short term, sometimes, but if people see too much of it, they start disliking you,” Dardis said. “Negative advertising can backfire.”
Though statistics show this approach may work, it may not have worked as effectively as Corbett banked on. DeLoof said studies show that despite the extra time and effort, Wolf’s door knocking and hand shaking was roughly 8.7 percent more affective in getting voters to the polls than a simple television or radio ad.
Despite these numbers, the candidates both spent far more money on television ads than on field advertising. As The Morning Call reported on October 24th, television and print ads ate up nearly $4.4 million of Corbett’s spending spree within the month. The overarching lesson is that television ads are still “the cheapest per person,” said Dardis.
It is unclear whether or not Corbett’s negative ad campaign had any effect on his decline in supporters, but regardless, come January, Tom Wolf will be Pennsylvania’s new governor.