Governor Larry Hogan
The Challenge ’14
In his first race, Gov. Larry Hogan faced the obvious challenges of running as a Republican in a state Obama won by 25 points in 2014. There was a 2-to-1 Democrat registration advantage in Maryland, and Hogan was outspent 3-to-1.
The Strategy ’14
Responding to the economic frustration felt by most Marylanders our message was simple: Change Maryland.
- 9We used scrappy digital tactics to bridge the spending gap with earned media and efficiently target voters.
- 9When our opponent tried to make the race about social issues, Gov. Hogan’s daughter helped us effectively rebut the attacks and get back to our core messaging.
- 9Finally, our ads used a series of testimonials giving voters “permission” to vote for a Republican candidate.
The Result ’14
The results: “the biggest upset in the entire country.”
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Gov. Larry Hogan
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Anthony Brown
The Strategy ’18
In 2018, our campaign was about reminding voters why they elected Hogan in the first place, and what he accomplished.
- 9Running in a blue/purple state, we worked to keep our message MD-focused and positioned Gov. Hogan as a pragmatic statesman who works across the aisle.
- 9Once again, we used testimonials from independent voters to expand beyond our base and connect on a personal level.
- 9Our digital tactics were more sophisticated and precise – testing messages on digital before running them on television, tailoring the message to the target audience, and leveraging high quality digital placements.
The Result ’18
The results: Hogan became the second Republican Governor to be re-elected in Maryland history.
Nearly one-third of Baltimore voted for Hogan, up from 22% in 2014.
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Gov. Larry Hogan
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