The Leesburg Grid

Before you can talk about delivering your message, you have to develop your message.

1. THELEESBURG GRID
Before you can talk about delivering the message, you have todevelopyour message.
#WePlaytoWin Chris Faulkner, National Strategist [email protected]

2. Simple and straightforward, the
Leesburg Grid is a clear way to hone
your messaging strategy and
thenstayon message –hard for
many to do but an important aspect
of a successful campaign.
THELEESBURG GRID

3. THELEESBURG GRID
Quadrant 1: What you want voters to
think about you.
Quadrant 2: What you want voters to
think about your opponent.
Quadrant 3: What your opponent wants
voters to think about you you.
Quadrant 4: What your opponent wants
voters to think about them.

4. THELEESBURG GRID
Quadrant 1: On Election Day, what does John McCain
want voters to think about John McCain?
Quadrant 2:On Election Day, what does John McCain
want voters to think about Barack Obama?
Quadrant 3:On Election Day, what does Barack
Obama want voters to think about John McCain?
Quadrant 4:On Election Day, what does Barack
Obama want voters to think about Barack Obama?
John McCain vs. Barack Obama

5. THELEESBURG GRID
What to Look for
Once you’ve formed the basics of your message and what you anticipate your competitor or
opponent’s message to be, you can now look for areas of contrast that will allow you to
define yourself (before your opponent or competition does) and define your competition
or opponent (before they define themselves.)
Who to Talk to
Delivering the right message at the right time through the right medium only matters when
you are talking to the right audience. Survey research and historical vote data are the best
resource to develop the right audience to talk to.

6. THELEESBURG GRID
Staying on Message
It makes sense that the stronger a memory, the longer one will recall it. That’s why staying
on message is so important to any successful campaign or marketing plan. It takes time to
burn in a message, and an omni-channel approach provides more bites at the apple to
deliver a compelling, creative and memorable message across mediums.
This is the basics of how to develop your messaging strategy and stay on message. Polling,
opposition and industry research, and historical analysis are all important components of
creating a winning message.

7. TRY CREATING
YOUR OWN
LEESBURG GRID

8. THANK YOU!
#WePlaytoWin
Chris Faulkner, National Strategist [email protected]