Doug Diny vs. Katie Rosenberg
for Mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin
Doug Diny was the underdog by every measure: a challenger facing a nationally profiled sitting mayor, with the money against him running nearly two-and-a-half times his budget — capped by a six-figure ad dump in the race's final days. We ran his creative end-to-end — strategy, video, photography, storyboarding, and brand. The underdog won.
Get results like these ↗0%
General Election
0
Votes Won
$0K
Doug's Side Spent
$0+
Spent Against Him
General Election
Apr 2, 2024
Margin of Victory
+424 votes
The challenger nobody handed anything to — a four-point upset of a sitting mayor in a race where the big money lined up on the other side.
David vs. Goliath: the money
Reported through late March 2024
Spending Gap
2.4× outspent
Nearly two-and-a-half times Doug's budget lined up against him — most of it dumped in the final stretch. The underdog's message won anyway.
Running as the underdog? That's our specialty. Let's talk strategy →
Underdog by every measure
Doug started this race with none of the advantages. Katie Rosenberg had the incumbency, a national profile, a large following — and when the race tightened, her side dumped a reported $190,000+ into advertising in the final two weeks, more than double Doug's entire campaign budget in a matter of days. Doug's only path was creative strong enough to out-communicate money he could never match, and a brand voters trusted more than the ad blitz drowning the airwaves.
Our role
01
Fall 2023
Launch & brand
Built the campaign identity and visual language that would define Doug against a well-known incumbent.
02
Winter 2024
Creative at scale
Video and photography put Doug's record and vision in front of every corner of the city, week after week.
03
Final two weeks
The last-minute money dump
With the race tightening, Rosenberg's side dropped a reported $190K+ ad blitz — over 2× Doug's entire budget, in days. The underdog held his message and his nerve.
✓
Apr 2, 2024 — Elected
Mayor of Wausau
52% of the vote. Took office that same month.
Tap each phase to explore the campaign →
"Nobody gave Doug a chance on paper — the other side had the incumbency, the party, and a war chest that dwarfed his. Underdogs don't win by outspending. They win by out-communicating. That was our job, every screen, every week, until election day."
— The Bluejack Group
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Get in touch ↗* This case study reflects publicly available election results and general strategic services only. No internal campaign materials, voter data, messaging strategy, or proprietary work product is disclosed. Vote totals from City of Wausau results as reported by the Marathon County Clerk (5,222–4,798, with 16 write-ins). Campaign finance figures are approximate, drawn from reports filed with the City of Wausau through March 18, 2024 and publicly reported independent expenditures; final totals may differ. Total race spending estimate as reported by local press.
Outspent 2.4×
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