When Stormy Dean announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination for Nebraska’s governor, direct marketers were given one of their own to root for – or against – in a political horse race.
"You have to get with the information age," Dean said. "The candidate that uses all the information available the most effectively has a tremendous leg up."
He should know. As chief financial officer of information service company infoUSA, Dean’s got the resources to do a highly targeted direct marketing campaign, the likes of which is rarely seen in elections.
But Dean doesn’t start with a host of advantages. He got into the race relatively late, declaring in February for a May 14 primary and a November election. He’s not even running unopposed in the primary. Joining him on the quest for the Democratic nomination is Luis Calvillo, a retired gas station attendant who was the Democrats’ candidate in 1998.
But he doesn’t need to worry about brand advertising. He has the best candidate’s name since Jesse "The Body" Ventura ran for governor of Minnesota. And unlike Ventura, Dean’s had his moniker since birth.
While Dean refused to comment on specific direct marketing plans, he acknowledged that he would be tapping into infoUSA staffers’ database knowledge, and that that the ability to append telephone numbers and other information through the company’s consumer file could prove useful.
For now, Dean is concentrating on public appearances to jump-start his campaign, although he is not averse to inbound telemarketing. Questioned about his potential fundraising activities, he replied "When people like you call up, I ask them for a contribution."
Even if infoUSA chooses not to supply Dean’s campaign with information on Nebraska voters, Dean should take heart. "We’ll sell him all the data he wants," offered an employee at Little Rock, AR-based Acxiom, an infoUSA competitor.
