Flyers on cars

[RonPaulCult]

How do you guys feeling about putting Ron Paul flyers on cars? Do you think it would do more harm than good? Or do think it could be a quick way to get thousands of people to know who he is?

I'm just wondering because I'm not the greatest at talking to people/going door to door/etc. but I live in a downtown area of a city near stadiums and big parking garages.

[Original_Intent]

My gut tells me this would cause more annoyance than help. That's ONLY my opinion though, this might be a good idea.

[nunaem]

Even with knocking on doors, some people are going to be annoyed. But if you inform a few, it's worth it.

[nullvalu]

immediately the "smug" south park episode comes to my mind

[RonPaulCult]

immediately the "smug" south park episode comes to my mind

I don't know that one.

[purepaloma]

I think "cards" are more effective than flyers.

[JS4Pat]

At the Rudy Guiliani Townhall meeting in Jacksonville, FL this weekend a group of us flyered every one of the 200-300 cars with the official Ron Paul campaign brochures. We also greeted each attendee as they left with a RP business card that included the Jax Meetup Address and a quick one liner about Ron Paul being the only candidate committed to ending the income tax.

I think it was effective...

We got mentioned at the bottom of this article on Jax Daily.com
http://www.jaxdaily.com/


Here is some footage of us at the Jacksonville Giuliani Event
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5y9GViEPYo

[Erazmus]

Nothing annoys me more than someone putting something on my car.

[nullvalu]

I don't know that one.

Stan's dad starts driving a hybrid and becomes so smug that he's putting fake tickets on people's car telling them that they're hurting the environment. When noone in South Park wants to listen to him, the family moves to San Francisco..

[RonPaulCult]

Nothing annoys me more than someone putting something on my car.

Hmmm I guess some people hate it and some people don't mind it. I actually parked somewhere the other day and a bunch of cars had flyers on them and mine didn't get one. I was like "what I'm not good enough for your flyer?"

It's a fine line to walk when it's an election year. I have a friend that lives in Iowa and she's always telling me how AWFUL it is to live there during an election. She gets calls every night and she says everybody there HATES them.

But you have to call because they do work.

[Bruehound]

Having been a candidate for public office twice, please understand flyering cars and going door to door is exactly what retail political work is all about. Do not be shy. Get out and interact and be relentless. Do not stop.

As far as going door to door and being afraid of it; it is very easy after you get the nerve to just DO IT. If you fear that people will treat you as if you are a door to door salesman let me assure you that is not the case. You will be recieved with admiration for being civically involved.

I've notice on many of these threads people seem to be hypersensitive about being percieved as being intrusive. Please get over it. Just don't be rude and have fun. You will have the time of your life. I have knocked on over 20,000 doors in the past four years and it is very inspiring. You will be shocked at how many people are starved for a message of liberty.

[Erazmus]

I just want to elaborate on my previous post. I guess I get upset because it’s presumptuous, and it's usually illegals putting stuff on my car (I live in California). I'd be less likely to be angry at someone who put a flyer on my car if they had a disclaimer that said,

"My apologies if you do not appreciate flyers being placed on your vehicle. But I truly believe in what I'm doing. Thank you for your time and sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you."

I guess my major beef is business advertising. I don't think I'd be so upset with political information, because there's no other motive than getting name recognition out there. Some other people may be less than receptive, which is why I'd recommend a "sorry" disclaimer to accompany the flyer. It shows that you’re not being an @ss, that you are actually doing something you believe in.

[RonPaulCult]

I was thinking of doing a sorry disclaimer actually

[Bruehound]

I would recommend against a disclaimer. We don't have to be apologetic for what we do. It is the bread and butter of political action. People have their own personal irritations about political contacts(like automated phone calls) and use those reasons not to engage in that activity.

Please remember that candidates continue to use robo phone calls cycle after cycle after cycle for only one reason. They work. If the were to result in a net loss of votes they would not be doing them. Same thing with flyering--it works.

Be aggressive, not obnoxious and we'll be fine.

[RonPaulCult]

I was going to include my e-mail address or maybe even my phone number too so maybe people could respect that while I may be bothering them I'm willing to let a whole lot of people bother me because I care so much

[austinphish]

Bruehound is exactly right. DITTO what he said and go for it.

[Erazmus]

I would recommend against a disclaimer. We don't have to be apologetic for what we do. It is the bread and butter of political action. People have their own personal irritations about political contacts(like automated phone calls) and use those reasons not to engage in that activity.

Please remember that candidates continue to use robo phone calls cycle after cycle after cycle for only one reason. They work. If the were to result in a net loss of votes they would not be doing them. Same thing with flyering--it works.

Be aggressive, not obnoxious and we'll be fine.

While I would typically agree with you, the bottom line is you’re violating someone's personal space when they aren't there to confront you. It’s different when you’re handing it to them or even knocking on their door, because they can turn you away if so desired. Putting something on someone's property, without their permission irritates a lot of people, me included. My mailbox is excluded from this because it's designed to receive things from other people....

There's an idea. Why not go around putting flyers in people's mailboxes? :)

Sorry, got sidetracked. Anyway, while I agree with your premise, you have to understand that you are touching, and leaving something on someone else’s property (when they aren’t there). If they do not want what you're offering, you have wasted their time (in putting it on their car and for them to dispose of said material) and touched their property. Now, I understand no one will harm anything, but it’s about perception.

Anyway, while we're in disagreement on this particular thing (putting flyers on cars without a disclaimer). I just want to say, I do agree with your mentality of aggressiveness without being obnoxious. Well said there.

[fluoridatedbrainsoup]

I like the flyers on car idea - you can fit alot of information on one page, and tailor the flyer to be creative, intriguing and straightforward enough so... hell i could go the mall and enlighten 500 people in an hour. That's being proactive..
It's settled - when I leave FL and return to Raleigh I'm going to print out a few hundred flyers and head to the mall. And I can smoke while I work, and not have to talk to people, both of which make me happy :)

[Erazmus]

Since I'm not a proponent of the flyer on car idea, I've decided that I'm going to take myself up on my own suggestion and put Ron Paul flyers in people's mailboxes. I think it's a good idea. :D

[Thor]

This place has got great prices on business cards.

http://www.printrunner.com/business-cards.aspx

5,000 for 4 color on 2 sides with UV on both sides for $70 plus shipping. Or about 1.8 cents each.

Putting it under the wiper, or even better, under the rubber on the driver window molding above the door handle...

If anyone is interested, I will design them....

[UtahApocalypse]

the biggest thing to remember:

You are a INDIVIDUAL, You are not working for Ron Paul's campaign. You are not being paid, you are doing it at YOUR free will.

with that in mind my answer is this: Do what YOU feel will help, Do what you think is Right, Be prepared to take responsibility for YOUR actions.

[Erazmus]

the biggest thing to remember:

You are a INDIVIDUAL, You are not working for Ron Paul's campaign. You are not being paid, you are doing it at YOUR free will.

with that in mind my answer is this: Do what YOU feel will help, Do what you think is Right, Be prepared to take responsibility for YOUR actions.

Agreed.

[Thor]

Since I'm not a proponent of the flyer on car idea, I've decided that I'm going to take myself up on my own suggestion and put Ron Paul flyers in people's mailboxes. I think it's a good idea. :D

Be very careful about that. There are laws about putting things IN a mailbox...

It is OK to put it ON a mailbox (between the flag and the box), but if you put it IN the box, you have crossed a line...

[Erazmus]

Be very careful about that. There are laws about putting things IN a mailbox...

It is OK to put it ON a mailbox (between the flag and the box), but if you put it IN the box, you have crossed a line...

Noted, thanks for the head's up.

[Bruehound]

Just to clarify with you Erazmus. I do not disagree that flyers or other forms of contact irritate you. My point is simply that these techniques are staples of political campaigns so we shouldn't make the mistake of taking our own personal pet peeves and transfer that to the electorate at large.

I cannot stress enough that the task at hand is herculean and having a good message alone will not get the job done. The message has to be hand fed, people will not seek it out on thier own or by accident. Our job is to deliver it. Relentlessly.

The tried and true formulate you use when you write a campaign plan is that it takes six touches(direct contacts: i.e. direct mail, phone calls, flyers, etc) to get a vote.

Finally, never put anything in a mailbox as it is a violation of federal law.(conviently preventing companies from competeing in the first class mail business). If you are going door to door and no one is home you can leave your literature on the door.

[Erazmus]

Just to clarify with you Erazmus. I do not disagree that flyers or other forms of contact irritate you. My point is simply that these techniques are staples of political campaigns so we shouldn't make the mistake of taking our own personal pet peeves and transfer that to the electorate at large.

I cannot stress enough that the task at hand is herculean and having a good message alone will not get the job done. The message has to be hand fed, people will not seek it out on thier own or by accident. Our job is to deliver it. Relentlessly.

The tried and true formulate you use when you write a campaign plan is that it takes six touches(direct contacts: i.e. direct mail, phone calls, flyers, etc) to get a vote.

Finally, never put anything in a mailbox as it is a violation of federal law.(conviently preventing companies from competeing in the first class mail business). If you are going door to door and no one is home you can leave your literature on the door.

Fair enough. I was just giving a perspective to the matter. On the mailbox issue, I had an inkling about it and it was confirmed. I was mainly going to do it around my home neighborhood where people knew me. Perhaps I will go door to door instead. Flyers at heavily trafficked commercial areas may not be such a bad idea either.

[Swmorgan77]

Maybe audio CD's in a paper sleeve would be more effective. People are less likely to be annoyed if it something perceived to have more value, plus they might take notice of the fact that someone is spending the time/effort to give them out.

The only problem is if the CD sits too long in the sun it could be bad news, maybe try this in the evening.

Oh and as for what to put on the CD, I use a 4-track disc that contains as tracks 1-3 the debates and track 4 is the 51-minute interview Dr. Paul did with NH public radio.
The files are located under the files section of our meetup here:

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/16/files/