Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Inside the business of political signs in Las Vegas

It’s an election year, and campaign signs have sprouted like weeds on vacant lots. Mailboxes are full of campaign postcards.

Voters are sure to see television and Internet ads as well, but signs and mailers remain two of the most effective ways for political candidates to get their names out to the public.

Election season makes for busy days at A&B Printing and Mailing, one of the largest political print shops in Southern Nevada. The company’s presses will run 24/7 until Election Day, pumping out signs, mailers and T-shirts. The extra work can amount to as much as $500,000 a month in sales for the company, nearly double what it makes during non-election years, Managing Partner Kathy Gillespie said.

Once the signs and ads are printed, they’re handed off to campaign managers and consultants who specialize in finding the best places to post them and the right audiences to target.

How much it costs

The cost of making and mailing campaign signs and fliers depends on their size and paper type. Print shops typically offer discounts for big orders.

Politicians also get a break at the post office, where mailers are charged at a first-class letter rate, about half as much as it would cost to buy postcard stamps for each.

Some costs:

• $5-$7 per sign for an 18-by-24-inch H-frame like those you see in neighbors' yards

• $36 per sign for a 4-by-8-foot A-frame you'd see on the sign of the road

• 44 to 55 cents per political mailer

How do signs get where they are?

Campaign signs must be located on private property, and campaigns need owners’ permission before setting them up. Consultants often scout highly trafficked locations and to arrange posting signs with landowners.

The campaigns also are responsible for taking down the signs after an election. Candidates have 15 days to remove their signs.

Which method is best?

The most effective type of ad depends on what office a candidate is seeking and how much money he or she has.

Door knocker brochures handed out by volunteers offer the best return on investment, because the labor is free and there’s no postage. But door-to-door campaigning is difficult in county, statewide and federal races where voting districts are large.

Mailers offer more reach, but many end up in the trash without ever being read.

Television ads reach even more potential voters, but they’re expensive. In some cases, running television ads can be a sign of desperation from candidates looking to boost their name recognition at the last second.

Going negative

Slamming an opponent is the oldest trick in the book, and still one of the most effective. Humans are psychologically wired to pay more attention to negative information, UNLV political science professor David Damore said.

That makes attack ads and mudslinging irresistible for candidates. In the minds of many campaign managers, “an attack not returned is assumed to be true,” Damore said. “So it’s kind of a race to the bottom.”

Most candidates tend to follow a similar model: Start off positive while introducing yourself to build credibility, then go on the attack. A few weeks before the election, ease off and close on a positive note.

Name recognition

The campaign signs that dot local neighborhoods don’t contain much information. That’s by design.

The signs usually list the candidate’s name and the office for which he or she is running. Sometimes, they include party affiliation.

But that’s usually all candidates need to sway the minds of voters, especially in low-profile races.

“At the end of the day, undecided voters are looking for cheap cues,” Damore said. “When people confront their ballots, it’s ‘I’ve seen that guy’s name. I’ve gotten that guy’s mailers.’ ”

Damore said research has shown that attractive candidates more often are given the benefit of the doubt. “But everybody’s pictures are doctored up,” he said.

Size matters

Bigger is usually better when it comes to political signs and mailers — at least in candidates’ minds. Gillespie said candidates’ requests for signs have gotten increasingly larger over the past decade.

“Some people feel the bigger the sign, the better your chances of seeing it,” she said.

Many candidates plaster their faces and campaign pitches on highway billboards.

Even mailers are growing. While candidates a decade ago bought postcards half the size of a typical 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheet, many now prefer mailers nearly triple that size.

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