Written by Caitlin Huxley (Guest Contributor)

What its contact stacking, really?

Contact Stacking is about reaching the right people, in the right way, at the right time. That’s the game.

It means blending every outreach channel – field, mail, phones, ads, events, fundraising – into one responsive system where every touch builds on the last.

But with a smart contact stack, you’ll still find a way to reach them.

In my system, there’s one shared list, one coordinated plan, and one unified funnel.

If someone replies to a text, that should inform the field team. If you miss them at the door, follow up by mail or phone. If someone RSVPs to an event, pull them from the next generic blast and shift them into a personal track.

Contact stacking works because the system adapts.

Campaigns still plan in silos

Most campaigns still plan outreach by channel – field, mail, phones, digital – often without coordination.

Sometimes they overlap by accident. Other times they clash: field knocks without pre-contact, mail ignores door IDs, texts go unanswered, and digital ads float without targeting.

To voters, it feels random. Like noise. Contact Stacking fixes that by turning scattered tactics into a connected system.

What each channel does best (when stacked)

Texting
Use it to:

• Prime for doors

• Respond to signups

• Invite to events or livestreams

• Ask for opt-ins to call or donate

Doors
Best for:

• Collecting IDs that feed the stack

• Reaching non-responders

Mail
Best for:

• Event invites for supporters

• Compare/contrast pieces for undecideds

• Targeted negative hits to opposition

Phones
Best for:

• RSVP follow-ups

• High-dollar asks

• Hard-to-reach areas

Digital ads
Best when paired with:

• Sign-up or event drives

• Supporting more active channels

Petitions, referrals, social

• Use petitions to qualify new leads.

• Encourage relational outreach and friend invites – but track everything.

• DMs and supporter chats help maintain connection (but are hard to match to voter files).
  
  

Structure is the strategy

Contact Stacking requires planning. One where your tools talk to each other, your teams share data, and every voter interaction is treated as part of something bigger. The way you’ve designed your contact stack deserves its own page in your campaign plan so the whole team knows where they come in, and what comes next.

When you write your outreach strategy, when you build your budget, and when you coordinate with your vendors you need to make sure they’re all working together. This can only happen if you set the structure early. Your campaign plan should answer not just “How will we reach voters?” but “What happens after we do?”

That’s the Contact Stack.