Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 campaign for Mayor of New York is a groundbreaking mix of organizing, creative work, and constructive politics.
more than “good at social”
A common reductive and somewhat cynical assessment of the Mamdani campaign is that he won because he was good at social. Opponent Andrew Cuomo replied in one of the debates as to what he learned from the primary, “I did not do enough on social media, which is a very effective medium now.” And Vanity Fair published the absurd sentences, “The power of memes, merch, and vibes did not work for Kamala Harris. It did, however, work for Zohran Mamdani.”
The suggestion is campaigning is just superficial stuff for the hoi polloi, or it’s all interchangeable, or a random gamble, or… who knows ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯. But going to Shepard Fairey for a “street art” poster to recapture the magic of Obama’s vibe almost 20 years ago is a choice. As is hiring random influencers you don’t understand, or trying to associate with an apolitical pop star to reach gen z (who later implied tweets ≠ endorsements) .
What Mamdani did cannot merely be bought, which is probably infuriating to people who only have money to offer. Though money certainly helps. NYC campaign finance policy matches small, independent donations 8-to-1 and that can pay for a lot of creative work. But as with many good works, a lot came together in a unique place and time.
Marketing and media can and should be a reflection of what’s on offer, making it instantly clear and accessible to those who may benefit from it. Aside from social, Mamdani’s success stems from popular policy positions, deep and broad community organizing, rhetorical skills, a boundless courage and energy to do stuff, and personal charisma. The campaign work was a big ingredient in a whole package. The resonance of good creative work is always rooted in some truth, in a way that meets the moment.
The success of this work stems from fundamentally understanding the power of art, who to work with, and how to work with it. Perhaps that comes from his experiences growing up on his mom’s film sets or his music career. There’s also a sense he values human labor, and can identify and acknowledge people who do good work. This is in contrast with most politicians and policymakers who often have no idea what’s good or not creatively and fundamentally don’t think it’s important anyway. It is in even starker in contrast to those farther to the right who increasingly define their aesthetic with AI and nostalgia – perhaps the only option if you can’t find any humans willing to work with you.
Creative work is not just a box to check, a task to assign, a line item in a budget. It has its own strategy and complexity that, when done right, can touch people on a different level and make nebulous and new ideas tangible and accessible. Awareness of this leads to being able to…
- find the right creative people who compliment or even embody core elements of what you want to do, perhaps through networks built over many years
- give them clear strategy and messaging to work with
- even better if the strategy aligns with their own personal values and vision, inspiring them on a deeper level so they in turn can inspire voters, donors, and endorsers
- and let them cook
Though if I had to name one key, replicable ingredient in his special sauce, it’s that his work ties to policy goals and progress. He makes his political work the subject – as clear and fun and important as he sees them. You don’t even see that attempted very often, and almost never done well. Divorced from policy or goals, campaign marketing often occupies a totally separate place where candidates are either trying to attack another politician or attach themselves to some unrelated funny, famous, or cultural relevant thing to go viral.
He clearly sees creative work as more integral than any US politician in recent history, at least since AOC ushered in the slant. But upon that foundation, there are a lot of people that brought it all together.
the work…
Strategy
Creative director Andrew Epstein talks to Financial Times about the overall approach and how creative worked with core campaign message and on the ground organizing. Epstein talks more on his history in the Jacobin interview, How Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Crafted a Winning Message.
A couple articles that go into the technology and logistics of the campaigns include
- How I helped Zohran Mamdani turn 45,000 social media clicks into a real-life army of volunteers by Gabriella Zutrau in FWIW
- How Mamdani’s Influencer Strategy Signals the Next Phase of Digital Campaigning in Campaign Now
- How Zohran Mamdani turned social media engagement into votes in Campaign.
- Zohran’s Victory Proves That Public Campaign Financing Works, Jacobin
Campaign Brand Design
Identity design was done by Forge, a worker cooperative. Read more at How Bollywood, Cabs and MetroCards Led to Zohran Mamdani’s Winning Visual Campaign, Hollywood Reporter.
The custom font was designed by Matthew Hinders-Anderson.
Kara McCurdy was his campaign (and previously wedding) photographer. She talks to PBS News in the interview Photographer reflects on capturing Zohran Mamdani’s improbable rise to prominence.
Posters were designed by Tyler Evans.
Social & Paid Media
Social Media Partners
Many influencers co-created social video that ranged from straight-forward to dreamy to absurd.
In an instagram post about a recent art show with Mamdani, Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York shares an old DM from him showing both his sensibility and approach.
Other Notable Posts
The campaign itself ranged in tone based on what was called for – educational, fun, joyful, stern, strong, personal, provocative… leading up to the succinct campaign finale.
The Xitter posts shown are currently very hard to find on platform search even with the high engagement. As of this writing, results exclusively show negative and inflammatory posts on Mamdani, some with no engagement at all. Unsurprising given its political agenda, but notable in archiving this time accurately.
Andrew Cuomo’s independent run ratio
Mamdani fundraises off of Cuomo’s independent run announcement on Xitter, and then thanks him on Instagram for the boost.
The Scavenger Hunt
This post kicked off a community event mixing history, IRL social, public transit, exercise, and fun. But he also gets in some dunks on incumbent Eric Adams’ corruption, including a very specific brand of chips.
The name is Mamdani
One of many reaction videos to the viral debate moment.
“Endorsements“
Until It’s Done
Halloween
Spreading the word right before the election.
Making the older folks misty
Election night win, campaign finale
Traditional Earned Media & Paid Ads
They also did highly targeted traditional paid media ads for slots on Fox News and The Bachelor. And scored a gamut of TV interviews (Daily Show, Democracy Now, Fox News, The View) and magazine covers across the political spectrum.
User-Generated Content
They held multiple voting sticker design contests. And inspired voters came up with their own campaigns like Hot Girls for Zohran.
Zohran & Beyond
Work in Office
His creative sensibility carried through an ambitious transition period and a cinematic swearing in at midnight on New Years. He also was part of a moving and inspiring inauguration the next day demonstrating the importance of ceremony and how it can be used to express culture and values, not just put you to sleep while going through the motions.
He also continued to communicate what he’s doing and why – a crucial yet often overlooked part of governing. Notable examples include…
- The HungryPanda press conference with a red panda at the Prospect Park Zoo, thus promoting a local non-profit attraction, showing cute animals on the internet, and condemning a shady delivery app all in one go.
- Practicing “pothole politics” by taking 311 calls and going out with the street crew.
- Explaining the Rent Guidelines Board and why and how tenants should get involved.
- Kicks off settlement wins over not giving fast food and retail workers advanced schedules in a live video report at the combination City Hall and Taco Bell.
- Posting before and after photos of unit improvements after going after bad landlords.
- Posting a unique St. Patrick’s day message about Ireland’s political history.
- Sharing how he’s getting ICE political prisoners from NYC released.
- Making a fight night / tour poster to hear landlord complaints.
- Sharing a short film on a neighborhood’s Black history.
- Announcing paid opportunities for emergency snow shovelers for DSNY.
- Doing a press conference with “New York’s cutest” to announce a RFI for universal childcare.
Others on the strategy and significance of the work…
- Art.coop co-founder Caroline Woolard cited this as a powerful example of the need for cultural organizing at the Creative Labor, Creative Conditions gathering.
- Hammer and Hope wrote about how ZOHRAN MAMDANI HELPED US LOVE NEW YORK. WE HELPED NEW YORKERS HATE ON ANDREW CUOMO: Scrappy leftist organizers are learning their political campaigns “can succeed by being creative and speaking the truth in interesting ways.”
- Molly Crabapple wrote We Fucking Won: Here’s to you, Zohran Mamdani. And here’s to us, New York.
kindred campaigns
- Designing a winning campaign: We spoke to the 26-year-old behind Catherine Connolly’s graphics: Irish shopfronts, Celtic symbols and the tri-colour were among Anna Cassidy’s inspirations, The Journal.
- Rae for LA, LA mayoral campaign 2026
The Opposition & “Trumpian AI”
In contrast, Fast Company notes Andrew Cuomo floundered for a style, got some negative attention for social graphic design, and ultimately went with a controversial and legally dubious approach described as “Trumpian AI”.
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