CNN: Turning the US election campaign coverage on its head

8 November 2016

CNN International is the number one international TV news channel across EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin America – and CNN’s portfolio of news and information services reaches more than 392 million households worldwide. CNN’s strength is breaking US news coverage – with more journalists on the ground than any other broadcaster, it provides greater insight and analysis.

And so CNN’s Content Sales department saw the 2016 US Presidential Election Campaign as the perfect opportunity to make this point. We were asked to create a direct mail piece for current and prospective clients – aiming to engage with and ultimately sell CNN content to broadcasters around the world.

The concept of ‘CNN: 360° coverage’ perfectly positioned the broadcaster to examine breaking election stories from every angle, covering all the twists and turns on the journey to the White House.

The direct mail piece is a bespoke CNN Election Journal. One side is branded as Democrat, but flip it around and the other side is Republican. It includes key 2016 campaign dates and handy facts about the parties and candidates. The two sides meet in the centre spread of the book, and readers are therefore forced to rotate it, reinforcing the ‘360° coverage’ concept.

In what has been the most controversial US Presidential Campaign ever, owners of the journal could get the facts they needed, make a note of memorable quotations, and record the bad-tempered CNN TV debates featuring the polarising and controversial characters involved.

The Election Journal was such a popular idea that the initial print run of 100 rose to 1,200. What could Trump that?