CASE STUDY
How Shellie Achieved Campaign Success with a Rapid Marketing Overhaul
The Highlights:
Potential Viewership:
846,301
As of 2021, the estimated population for TX District 12 was 846,301. Shellie’s campaign included bumper stickers, yard signs, billboards, and more, with the potential to be viewed by hundreds of thousands of residents.
6 hours to get all the files they needed “yesterday”
Shellie and her team needed a logo and marketing materials to promote her campaign as soon as possible. They booked me for the day and I developed everything they needed and had it delivered to them in under 6 hours.
Increased Recognition
One of the main priorities during this project was to develop a brand and marketing materials that would stand apart from Shellie’s competitors. Mission accomplished.
About Shellie Gardner for Congress
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Republican for Congress
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Candidate for the US House in District TX-12
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Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Shellie needed a strong logo and marketing materials in multiple formats and aspect ratios as soon as possible.
A Design Day would allow us to work closely together, create a standout brand and marketing materials, and deliver all the files needed by the end of the day.
In just under 6 hours, Shellie received a logo she was excited to share, plus 57 files for various marketing purposes for increased recognition among the 800,000+ residents in Texas District 12.
Words from Shellie
“Working with Erica was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. Her responsiveness was incredible. She consistently answered my questions and provided updates promptly and along every important point in the design process. We had a tight deadline and her professionalism was much appreciated. The final product? Beyond amazing! Erica perfectly captured the essence of my brand, creating a logo and marketing designs that are both eye-catching and effective. Erica's talent, responsiveness, and professionalism made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending her. She truly exceeded my expectations!”
Shellie Gardner
Candidate for Congress TX District 12
The Process:
Phase 1: Discovery
The discovery phase is a deep dive with 1-on-1 conversations and questionnaires. It’s important that we’re clear on the goals and develop a strategy that will guide us throughout the duration of the project.
Shellie booked me for a Design Day, which is a 6 hour day and includes some pre-work so that the design time is used most efficiently.
We had a call to discuss her big goals and what she wanted and needed. Then I sent over a custom form to gather the needed information from her that would allow me to work. Once she submitted that, I reviewed it and made a list of questions. Then on the morning of Shellie’s Design Day, we had a kick-off call where we reviewed the questionnaire, I asked questions, and we created a list of priority tasks for the day.
Phase 2: Design
The design phase is exactly what it sounds like. At this point, we will already have determined a design direction and since one of the things Shellie needed was a logo, I already had three draft options ready for her to choose from.
These initial concepts would get us started and once we decided on a direction, we could move forward from there.. Shellie chose option 3, which was the option I hoped she would choose. The icon with the three wavy lines and stars held so much symbolism. One thing she said in her campaign was that she wanted to “build a bridge for the next generation,” so it does somewhat symbolize a flag, but those wavy lines are a bridge and those stars are the next generation.
Once she chose that initial concept, we discussed some edits to align it with her overall vision. In the next round, I changed the font and added some color.
We all decided against the red version, but her team really loved the white and blue versions. One of the things she asked for was a more modern version that might resonate with younger voters, which is why one of them has a gradient background. We didn’t like the gradient with the white, so I added a different shade of blue, which we loved. This version would only be used sporadically.
Now that we had nailed down the logo and color palette, we were ready for phase 3.
Phase 3: Develop
The next phase is all about developing the marketing materials using the logos we created in phase 2. This is where the bulk of my time was spent.
Shellie and her team had a very specific list of things they needed in various colorways, file types, and aspect ratios. Among them were varying sizes of yard signs, highway signs, and billboards, plus a few extra wishlist items.
Each time I would finish a design, I created a video walking through it and sharing my reasoning for making the decisions I did. Shellie would watch it and either email or call me to discuss revisions, and then we would repeat with the next design. We were in touch all day long and developed so many different designs. Here are a few.
Phase 4: Delivery
At the end of the Design Day, I finalized and exported 57 files into a shared Google Drive folder. Shellie received an email that contained a link to the folder, which was highly organized by design > size > file type > color. She could access and download the entire folder onto her computer and share the correct design and file type with the correct vendors.
The goals for the day were to:
✅ Create a standout logo
✅ Develop various marketing materials
✅ Get it done fast
All the boxes were checked. It was a successful day!