Skimming the headlines, the news that two Vice Presidential candidates were picked can sometimes feel lost amid more salacious headlines about resignations (real and attempted), accusations and gaffes on both sides. And in what has truly become a #WTF2016 election, it’s easy to accept this as par for the course.

But in reality, this type of sensory overload isn’t exclusive to the election. Far from it.

In today’s media environment, we know there will always be an infinite amount of content and news competing for a finite slice of our time. And with the ability for local news to simultaneously break globally, this kind of congested news cycle has become the new norm.

So what does that mean for political candidates – and brands – trying to carve out their own moment in time, whether to announce a VP selection or a product launch? Let’s take a look at how the world came to know of former Governors Pence and Kaine as our 2016 VP contenders:

Trump Picks Pence

At 10:50am on July 15, Donald Trump announced Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, making news as he has so often before — in a Tweet.

The decision to leverage Twitter made a lot of sense for Trump. It’s a platform he’s relied on heavily (though he is exploring new options), it’s where his core supporters know to go to receive his messages, and it’s a simple activation for a campaign that prides itself on running lean. So much has he defined himself through the use of Twitter, it’s become a common refrain among his critics. Most recently, Michelle Obama made a not-so-subtle reference to Trump’s penchant for posting in 140 characters.

And, also like so many before it, the Tweet did not come without a few bumps in the road.

The Friday morning post followed a series of mixed reports that claimed Pence was and was not picked and a hastily cancelled more formal press conference following the tragedy in Nice. The weekend news cycle was capped with what was widely regarded as an uneven interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes.

Clinton Calls on Kaine

One week later, Hillary announced her pick. This time through SMS.

On July 22, Clinton supporters received a text message alerting them that Virginia Senator Tim Kaine would be their party’s Vice Presidential nominee. For Clinton, like with Trump, she brought the news to her supporters directly without the media filter. Unlike Trump, she chose a channel that is more personal and, in a way, “closed” – a Tweet is a lot easier to share across platforms than a text.

Capitalizing on trending or popular content, Clinton’s program, “Texts from Hillary,” was inspired by the viral Tumblr page that has graced the internet for years. However, it goes beyond pop culture to demonstrate the sophistication of her ground game and data archiving, which has been built from the start of the campaign as a way to develop a more personal relationship with her base.

Alas, not all was smooth sailing for team Hillary-Kaine. Soon after her announcement, the wind in her sails went slack as controversy prompted by Wikileaks forced Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s resignation.

So, what can communications marketers learn from these roll outs?

Be True to Yourself: Execute a strategy that makes sense for you and your key audiences. Finding new and innovative means to reach constituents certainly provides its advantages, however make sure you don’t do so at the risk of alienating loyal supporters. Your brand ambassadors shouldn’t be the last to know. Being true to yourself will help you be true to those who support you and help you further build trust.

Be Nimble: A major part of any announcement is planning for it. Increase your odds of success by anticipating possible scenarios where you would need to nimbly react and adapt. With myriad publishers and platforms, coupled with the velocity in which news breaks today, it’s important to know that your news may not always be the news.

Sustain Your Message: The announcement is just Day One. Just as Trump and Clinton used their VP announcements to kick off a week’s worth of news from the conventions, so too do brands need to leverage the momentum generated by a signature event or announcement. This includes amplifying earned media placements across owned channels; incorporating key messages from the announcement into C-suite speaking engagements, where possible; and, finding new moments in time to create news that supports the announcement.

Greg Romano is an account supervisor in Washington, D.C.