A political consultant is, at the simplest level, someone who helps candidates win elections. In this video, political consultant Jay Townsend breaks down the three things nearly every consultant is hired to do: help candidates find their words, help them raise money, and help them advertise.
What is a political consultant? Here’s the short answer: they’re people who help candidates win elections. What candidates hire consultants to do falls into three broad categories. Candidates need help with their words, and they hire consultants to help with that. Candidates need to raise money, and they hire consultants to help with that. Candidates have to advertise, and they hire consultants to help with that. Practically every consultant advising political candidates does one of these three things.
The first is helping candidates with their words. Here’s the truth: all candidates need help with this — not because they don’t know what they think or lack views on things, but because communicating what they truly believe doesn’t always come naturally. They need someone to help craft speeches, someone who can take what they want to say and communicate it clearly on a website, someone to help them prepare for a press conference, a debate, a town hall where they may face angry voters, or a television, radio, newspaper, or podcast interview.
This isn’t unusual — we’ve all had moments where we wanted to say something but weren’t sure how, and a friend or colleague suggested a better way to phrase it. Candidates are no different, and while running for office, they’re pressing the flesh, raising money, and juggling a hundred other things. So they turn to someone and ask, “How do I put this? How do I express my view on this position?” They pay political consultants to help them find the right words.
The second category is fundraising. With rare exceptions, candidates need help raising money, because they can never have too much of it. Whatever you think about the cost of running for office today, the fact remains that all candidates need money, and in most free democracies, private citizens provide it.
What can a consultant do to help? They may know people who’ve given to candidates in the past and can help open doors to those donors. They can help a candidate sort through their own list of friends and acquaintances and coach them on how to convince someone to write a four-figure check. They can craft the right words for an email explaining why someone should give to this particular candidate and why it’s urgent. There are people who write expertly worded text messages and craft compelling digital ads that entice people to give, even people who’ve never donated before.
This is an entire industry, and it’s only going to grow. The bottom line: if you’re a consultant who can raise more money for a candidate than what you’re being paid, you add genuine value to a political campaign.
The third category is advertising. We’re inundated with political ads, and there are consultants who specialize in commercial television, cable TV, connected TV, and over-the-top (OTT) advertising. There are consultants who know how to finely tune and craft a radio ad, experts in persuasion mail, experts in creating compelling digital ads, and experts in buying digital ad time and space at the cheapest price for the greatest volume.
Message, money, and advertising — those are the three things a candidate needs, and the three things nearly every political consultant provides.
Q: What does a political consultant actually do?
A: Political consultants generally help candidates in one of three areas: crafting and delivering their message (speeches, debate prep, media interviews), raising money (donor outreach, fundraising emails and ads), and advertising (TV, radio, digital, and direct mail).
Q: Why do candidates need help communicating, even if they know their own views?
A: Knowing what you believe and knowing how to express it clearly and persuasively are two different skills. Candidates are also managing dozens of demands during a campaign, which leaves little time to carefully craft their own speeches, website copy, or answers for interviews and debates.
Q: How do political consultants help candidates raise money?
A: They open doors to known donors, help candidates sort through their personal networks for potential contributors, coach candidates on asking for larger donations, and craft persuasive fundraising emails, texts, and digital ads — including ones aimed at first-time donors.
Q: What makes a fundraising consultant valuable to a campaign?
A: If a consultant can raise more money for a candidate than the candidate is paying them in fees, they’ve become a net positive investment — genuinely valuable rather than just an expense.
Q: What kinds of advertising do political consultants specialize in?
A: Specialties include commercial television, cable and connected TV, over-the-top (OTT) advertising, radio, persuasion mail, and digital advertising — including both the creative side and the media buying that gets ads in front of the largest audience at the lowest cost.
Jay Townsend has spent more than 40 years advising candidates at every level of American politics. Browse the full library of free campaign resources at JayTownsend.com or subscribe to Jay’s YouTube channel for new videos every week.
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