At Mammen Group, we create direct mail and print advertising that is visually engaging, while communicating in language that is clear, concise and credible. We put a tremendous amount of thought and creative energy into each piece so it meets the unique challenges of a particular race. That’s why we avoid generic mail programs that require clients to have their pieces conform to
pre-assigned specifications.

We write and design each piece so that it’s easy to read and understand, allowing voters to absorb our information with little effort. Since we know the public is highly skeptical of political advertising, we use proven techniques to make our message believable. This is most important when creating pieces that criticize an opponent for their record, policy positions, or other shortcomings. To be effective, such mail needs to be aggressive while remaining credible. Not all mail consults understand this, and many of them do not understand that what’s perfectly acceptable in one community, may be over-the-top and ineffective in another part of the country.

Please click on the images to the right to view the pieces in their entirety.

Creating High-Impact Direct Mail

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  Investing in Maine's People
  
  Governor Baldacci faced a tough reelection fight in 2006, facing 4 challengers in the general election. The field program was a critical part of our campaign.
  
  Mammen Group produced this walk brochure to highlight Governor Baldacci’s accomplishments for Maine and appeal to a broad spectrum of voters. Governor Baldacci won reelection with 38% of the vote. His next closest challenger received 30%.
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  Where's Jay?
  
  It took a massive 23-piece mail program to defeat Virginia Senator O’Brien in this Republican district that spans Prince William County and the most conservative portions of Fairfax County.
  
  We sent several pieces demonstrating that O’Brien didn’t share the priorities of the district and was not engaged in solving the problems voters cared most about. This particular piece tied up our argument nicely during the final days of the campaign, showing voters that he was absent when he should have been fighting for them.
  
  Our candidate, George Barker, won this hard-fought race with 53% of the vote, giving Democrats a one seat majority in the Virginia Senate.
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  Snow Up to His Neck
  
  Loudoun County, Virginia is characterized by tremendous exurban growth. While recent arrivals lean Democratic, Loudoun County remains Republican-leaning.
  
  The entire County Board of Supervisors was up for election in 2007, and many of its members were under FBI scrutiny for influence peddling involving various land deals. Democrat Stevens Miller was challenging incumbent Republican Supervisor Stephen Snow.
  
  With this piece, we showed how Snow was personally profiting from his office, had become a focus of the FBI, and that developers dictated his voting decisions. This mailing was critical in helping Miller defeat Snow by 58% to 42%—giving Democrats a majority on the Board for the first time in several years.
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  There She Goes Again
  
  When Republican Congressman Tom Davis announced he would not seek reelection, VA-11 became a top targeted district for both parties.
  
  The Democratic primary attracted two political heavy-weights. Our candidate, Board Chairman Gerry Connolly ran against former Congresswoman Leslie Byrne who was determined to win back her old seat.
  
  We anticipated Byrne would wage an aggressive direct mail campaign to try and raise Connolly’s negatives. We prepared this piece and waited for Byrne to deliver her first negative mailing. When it arrived, we used an image of Byrne’s mailing to complete design for this response piece that mailed 24 hours after Byrne’s piece hit households.
  
  Connolly won this primary with 57% of the vote despite being significantly outspent. We went on to win the general election, putting this seat back into the Democratic column.
• 
  Progressive Change
  
  When Republican Congressman Tom Davis announced he would not seek reelection, VA-11 became a top targeted district for both parties. The Democratic primary attracted two political heavy-weights: County Board Chairman Gerry Connolly and former Congresswoman Leslie Byrne who was determined to win back her seat.
  
  Connolly had developed a moderate political profile during his years in local government. We understood from the beginning that Byrne would attempt to appeal to Democratic primary voters by raising doubts about Connolly’s progressive credentials.
  
  This booklet was one of the earliest pieces we mailed, telling the story of Connolly’s 40 years of progressive activism. We mailed several subsequent pieces reinforcing this message.
  
  When Byrne went negative, portraying Connolly as too tied to corporate interests, it proved utterly ineffective. Connolly won this primary with 57% of the vote despite being significantly outspent. We went on to win the general election, putting this seat back into the Democratic column.
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  Belt's Bail Bonds
  
  Iowa State Rep. Paul Shomshor defeated Republican challenger Scott Belt by less than 1% in 2006. We were brought in to protect Shomshor in the 2008 rematch.
  
  In 2006, Belt had attacked Shomshor relentlessly. Our concern was that, with increased Presidential turnout, many 2008 voters would be unfamiliar with their State Representative and even more influenced by Belt’s attacks. We knew it would be critical to discredit Belt and put him on the defensive.
  
  This mailing went out two weeks before Election Day and our tracking poll showed this piece succeeded in raising serious doubts about Belt’s judgment. Belt devoted the closing days to explaining his actions instead of making his case against Shomshor. Despite a surge in Republican turn-out in this district, Shomshor achieved a 4-point victory over Belt.
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  Lessons From My Father
  
  First term State Senator Laura Kelly had won election in 2004 by only 98 votes in this district where Republicans have a 13% registration advantage over Democrats. We had our work cut out for us in her 2008 campaign for reelection.
  
  2008 was a very challenging year for Democrats in Kansas. As expected, John McCain was running very strong in the state and we had to defend against the “liberal” label Republicans were trying to affix to every Democratic candidate. The Republican challenger, Jim Zeller, was a Navy veteran and receiving strong financial support from his party.
  
  This piece uses references to duty, honor and prayer to bridge the perceived cultural divide between Senator Kelly and her Republican constituents. By focusing on her roots in a military family and support for our troops, we were able to frustrate Republican attempts to paint Democrats as being anti-military. Senator Kelly won reelection, winning a strong 58% of the vote.
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  Thanks Dick Devos
  
  In 2006, Governor Jennifer Granholm faced an aggressive challenge from billionaire Dick DeVos, the founder of Amway. Polls showed the race within the margin of error throughout most of the year.
  
  The steady decline in Michigan manufacturing jobs had caused a decline in support for the Governor among union members who had been critical to her narrow 51% victory in 2002. We needed to win overwhelmingly among union members in order to secure reelection.
  
  We had to show that Dick DeVos and his business practices contributed to the economic problems facing Michigan. Our polling showed that union members were unwilling to consider DeVos once they learned that he had outsourced jobs to China.
  
  This off-beat piece delivered our outsourcing message to 51,000 Teamster households. DeVos was never able to make significant inroads among union members and Governor Granholm won a solid 56% to 42% victory.
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  Mainers Oppose Discrimination
  
  In 2005, we produced this piece for Maine Won’t Discriminate, the campaign to defeat a ballot initiative designed to abolish laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
  
  In addition to delivering our message to our supporters and those leaning toward our position, this piece also provided them an application to vote by mail. By increasing participation among our likely supporters, this piece helped achieve a 55% to 45% victory for equal rights in Maine.
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  Scandal on the Kaw
  
  Democrat Tom Holland was vying to unseat Republican State Senator Roger Pine in a district with a strong Republican registration advantage.
  
  Two weeks before Election Day, Pine abruptly resigned as Treasurer of the Douglas County Kaw Drainage District Board. Funded by local property taxes, the Board is responsible for flood control and maintenance along the Kaw River.
  
  Local newspapers reported on Pine’s financial mismanagement and unethical conduct on the Board, presenting us an opportunity to undermine his credibility. This mailing helped Tom Holland win an upset 49% to 46% victory over incumbent Pine.
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  Gerry Connolly
  
  Effective walk literature is critical to successful field programs. We produced this piece to help Gerry Connolly win his 2008 general election campaign in VA-11, successfully putting this Congressional seat back into the Democratic column.
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  A Child of Rural Ohio
  
  Rural voters and culturally conservative voters were key targets for Ted Strickland’s 2006 campaign for Ohio Governor. Though many voters had learned about his strong record as a Congressman, they were less familiar with his roots in rural Ohio and his service as a Methodist minister.
  
  This piece, targeted to union households, told Strickland’s personal story of economic struggle, helping him connect with blue collar voters suffering in the Ohio economy.
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  Honoring Those Who Have Served
  
  In 2008, State Rep. Wenthe was facing his first reelection since narrowly defeating a Republican incumbent two years earlier. This rural, culturally conservative district leans Republican. By focusing on our troops and military veterans, this piece showed voters that Wenthe shares their traditional values. In the end, Wenthe achieved a commanding 12-point reelection victory.
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  Pray
  
  "Pray" was one in a series of mail pieces targeting Independent voters in the Washington media market, demonstrating how Republican Ken Cuccinelli was more interested in promoting his own personal political agenda than in fighting crime and protecting children from abuse. This piece effectively took the Cuccinelli campaign off message for a number of days and our internal tracking polling showed Independents trending our way in areas of the Commonwealth that received this mailing. On Election Day, Steve Shannon defeated Ken Cuccinelli in these areas.