Politicians understand something about audiences that most agencies don’t: you have to meet people where they actually are, not where it’s easiest for YOU to reach them.

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That’s why politicians still campaign in diners and town halls instead of going all-digital.

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We learned the same thing working with NYSERDA, New York State’s green energy agency. For five years, our job was to reach people in small towns upstate. Places with one grocery store, a few churches, and a library. A lot of people in these towns aren’t scrolling Instagram or TikTok. Some have Facebook, but they’re not all in on digital, all the time.

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So we went hyperlocal. Penny savers. Flyers at the grocery store. Postings at the library. We talked to the people that lived in town like a friend. We met them where they were, not where it was easiest for us to reach them.

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In 2026, the creative playbook defaults to digital. But sometimes the right channel isn’t an ad platform. Sometimes it’s a bulletin board at the library.

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