Bumpersticker Brigade???

[qwlauren35]

From reading I've done here, it sounds like an increase in Kerry/Edwards bumperstickers tends to have a positive effect. So I've been thinking about how to get more bumperstickers into the hands of people who aren't usually politically active.

The idea of a Bumpersticker Brigade is sort of like those folks who stand at the side of a busy intersection and ask for donations. I think it might be quite positive to hand out Kerry bumperstickers at key intersections...

The only problem is... they're not free.
The "Kerry" only stickers are cheaper: 1 @$0.75, 100 @$0.30, 1000 @$0.15; The "Kerry/Edwards" stickers are cheaper: 1 @$1, 100 @$0.375, 1000 @$0.30. (I'm in NC, so we'd have to have Kerry/Edwards stickers.)

So I'm trying to think of a way to pool resources and get a nice BIG supply for such an effort.

Any ideas?

[mongo]

1. Designate one person to make the purchase

And take orders. You can use Paypal to move the funds around. Don't forget that the person making the order will also have some shipping costs to send it out to all the folks on the order.

[qwlauren35]

2. It's HAPPENING!!!

Check it out! I've set it up in Greensboro, NC. Feel free to see what it can look like.

http://volunteer.johnkerry.com/event/view/?id=12455

[floridaguy]

4. Great Job! This should be happening here in Florida and other states.

I'd love to see something similar going on in Florida.

Hello Floridians, let's get on the stick :hi:

[tcdv5]

6. Great idea!

I'm organizing a MoveOn fundraiser Aug. 18--I'll have to do something similar. A visitor to our town from LA this weekend said she was encouraged to see so many Kerry bumper stickers. It gives us all hope!

[volosong]

3. Bumper Stickers

I don't have any idea on resources for the bumpersticker brigade, but we could do with some more (better) stickers.

Some suggestions:


Kerry-Edwards The Right Stuff

Kerry-Edwards Right, Not Radical

George Bush - More Flop than Flip

Vets for Kerry-Edwards - The Army of the Future

[tcdv5]

9. Great slogans!

I especially like "More flop than flip".

[Kire]

5. thanks for the topic

I am a meetup host and I have been buying stickers and bumper stickers like crazy.

The official line of the Kerry campaign is that they don't want us to give out chum for free. This is considered an 'in kind' donation.

I didn't contribute a whole lot to the Kerry campaign itself, so I guess I still haven't reached $2000, but who said I was reporting anything? I am grateful to anybody who offers to pay for the stuff, but I find it too, ahem, Republican like to demand payment from everybody and everything all the time. I'm a Democrat, I like to give handouts.

I will be following this topic with interest. Thanks again.

[qwlauren35]

10. Update

I didn't realize I hadn't posted in a while. Sorry.

I contacted the local Dem HQ and they were putting in an order for 5000 bumperstickers at 10 cents a piece. They let me piggy-back their order, and I got 500 for $50. So I was pretty satisfied with this price to say the least.

The actual brigade hasn't happened yet. It was supposed to be this past Saturday, but got knocked out by Bonnie & Charley. And I'm somewhat disappointed because I had tried to schedule it to coincide with when parents would be in town taking students back to college. But oh well, hurricanes happen.

The good news is that since then, even MORE people have signed up to participate! So I think it's going to be a huge success.

I signed on to be an ACT coordinator (www.actforvictory.org or www.acthere.org) and I'm getting a lot of e-mail about canvassing at grocery stores like FoodLion. I was successful in getting a table set up at K-mart a few months ago. The key is to copy down phone numbers and follow up in 4 weeks to make sure folks get their registration cards and also, we're being taught to literally ASK PEOPLE TO VOTE. Apparently this sticks in people's minds - we'll see what happens on November 2nd.

[marlakay]

7. Doing it a bit on my own

I started my campaigning 6 months ago by buying 50 bumper stickers all sorts of funny ones and serious and my husband who drives Bart in the Bay area gave them to employees through out the bay area. On lots of cars now.

Now I hand out kerry/edwards ones I get from girl I volunteer with for voter reg but its a great idea you have!

[bump-bush]

8. Free Download and Print Bumper Stickers from Bump-Bush.org

I've put together another approach to the bumper sticker problem at:

Bump-Bush.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A bumper sticker campaign to publicize and document the reasons
why all Americans should work to remove President Bush from office.

Check it out at:

http://www.bump-bush.org/

For information about the project go to:

http://www.bump-bush.org/intro.html

Guy

[JDPriestly]

11. The campaign is wrong.

We have to give this stuff out. It is so embarrassing to have to tell people they have to pay for a bumper sticker or a pin. I remember how happy I was as a a kid when someone gave me an Adlai Stevenson button to wear, and how proud I was to wear it. That was the first time I participated in a campaign, and that pin hooked me on democracy for life.

Giving a person a pin or a sticker or a yard sign is a way of telling them they are important and belong in the movement. It wins hearts and minds and binds people to the campaign. The Kerry campaign's stinginess is a huge mistake. It makes the Kerry look greedy.

[qwlauren35]

12. Thank you all for your ideas and support!

Thought I'd take a moment and give a final update. This was such an AMAZING success!!!!!!

Despite shifting the date TWICE due to hurricanes and rain forecast, we had close to 40 volunteers, handing out a total of nearly 500
bumperstickers on 4 corners throughout the city of Greensboro. One
corner, in a predominantly black neighborhood near North Carolina A&T
State University ran out of bumperstickers in TWENTY MINUTES!!!! On
another corner near the local Quaker church & Guilford College gave
theirs out in THIRTY minutes! On the third corner, near UNCG, the
bumperstickers were gone in 75 minutes. And the last, trickiest
corner (no light) handed out 100 stickers in 2 hours.

I am still in TOTAL AWE from the enthusiasm and determination of
those 40 volunteers, all of whom had a GREAT time. On two corners,
folks STAYED for another hour, just waving and holding up Kerry signs.

And the cost... $50. (I went in with a large order and got mine for
10 cents each from www.kerrymart.com)

I absolutely hope that others will give this a try. It's a great way
to turn on volunteers and excite Democratic voters.

BTW, another source for FREE (or cheap in bulk) bumperstickers is:
https://www.moveonpac.org/stickers/