OUR ROLE
The Grand Team served as the media consultant for Doug Burgum through his historic primary and general election victories. Our advertising strategy introduced Doug Burgum to North Dakotans as a political outsider and business leader. Simultaneously, we leveraged negative advertising to contrast Burgum and his popular, well-established opponent.
BACKGROUND
Doug Burgum, a successful entrepreneur and political outsider was down by nearly 50 points in January. His opponent, the state's longtime Attorney General, was all but assured to be the state's next Governor. With the help of the Grand Team's advertising and strategy, Burgum would go on to handily defeat the Attorney General, securing the Republican nomination with a 20 point margin. Building on this momentum, Burgum went on to secure the Governorship with nearly 80% of the vote.
SELECT SPOTS
Here are a few of the most impactful spots we produced for the race.
'Bet the Family Farm'
Doug Burgum was new to the scene for many voters. As a result, we needed North Dakotans to understand who Doug wa and why he was running.
'Bet the Family Farm' was a relatable and effective way to connect Doug to the everyday North Dakotan while highlighting his tremendous success in the software industry.
We saw clear movement in the polls following this spot which helped us increase to Doug's name recognition and allowed us to start building his image.
'Changing Economy'
Now that Doug was an established figure in the race and his image was positive, we needed to highlight why the establishment candidate didn't have solutions to the problems North Dakota was facing.
Oil prices had collapsed causing huge holes in the state's budget. These concerns, coupled with a reduction in agriculture prices and a turbulent presidential election resulted in widespread concerns about whether North Dakota was on the right track.
Polling clearly indicated that we made the right call by calling out these concerns and offering Doug's strong private sector credentials as the solution.
'Wandering Wayne'
Doug's favorables were high and we had taken significant ballot share from his opponent, however the ballot was still not in our favor.
As a result, we launched a negative spot highlighting Wayne's expensive, taxpayer funded vacations. This struck a clear contrast between Doug, a successful businessman and outsider, and an opponent who was reaping the benefits of the taxpayer dime.
We saw immediate shifts in polling, affirming that the contrast was necessary and effective in shaping the trajectory of the race.