WHAT DO SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS HAVE IN COMMON? 1. A Provocative Position that Informs Everything 2. A Specific Audience that has a Reason to be Engaged 3. A Message/Tone that is Aligned with Campaign Goals and Brand Identity 4. Bold, Diverse, and Evolving Tactics to Drive the Message Home 5. Relentless Focus on a Broadly Relatable, Understandable, and Winnable Issue. 6. Emotion.
THREE SAMPLE CAMPAIGNS Creative Paid Media: Truth Initiative The Ultimate Event: Small Business Saturday A Lot of Everything: Keystone XL
CREATIVE PAID MEDIA TRUTH INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
TRUTH INITIATIVE: CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW GOAL STRATEGY KEY TACTIC ▶ Reduce tobacco-related ▶ Drive a wedge between ▶ Paid Media. fatalities. tobacco industry advertising and their youth audience.
CREATIVE PAID MEDIA TRUTH INITIATIVE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
AN ENGAGED AUDIENCE o From initial pilots throughout the campaign’s existence, the Truth Initiative allowed its target audience, teenagers, to become an active and leading voice in its strategy, messaging and creative development.
COMPELLING CREATIVE o Truth Initiative placed the iconic "1,200" TV spot featuring body bags being dumped outside the headquarters of Phillip Morris, the largest cigarette manufacturer in the U.S., to visualize the 1,200 deaths caused by tobacco each day.
A DEFINED YET EVOLVING BRAND o Truth Initiative kept its fundamental hard-hitting messaging while making gradual tweaks to its style and target audience to remain relevant for nearly two decades.
CREATIVE PAID MEDIA TRUTH OUTCOMES + IMPACT
TRUTH INITIATIVE: OUTCOMES Studies estimated the American Legacy Foundation's "Truth" campaign prevented 450,000 American teens from smoking during the 4 years following the campaign's launch in 2000. Studies also estimated the campaign saved between $1.9 billion and $5.4 billion in health care costs in its first two years.
TRUTH INITIATIVE: WHY IT WORKED 1. A Provocative Position: Not smoking is a rebellious act. 2. The Right Audience Incentive: Stick it to the man. Teens, take the lead. 3. The Right Message/Tone: Framing of Teens vs. Tobacco companies = “Truth” vs. “The Man”. Hard -hitting, edgy, guerilla-style messages developed by teens, for teens. 4. The Right Tactics: Compelling, creative paid media placed at the right moments (TV award shows geared towards teens).
THE ULTIMATE EVENT SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW GOAL STRATEGY KEY TACTIC ▶ Boost sales for ▶ Launch Small Business ▶ Events x Social Media AMEX' small Saturday, a new business customers and shopping drive brand affinity. “holiday” encouraging Americans to shop at local, small businesses.
THE ULTIMATE EVENT SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
EVENT PLANNING MADE EASY o Provided toolkits to small businesses, including packets of logos, in-store displays, customizable posters, and buttons. o National Ambassador Program to enlist Chambers of Commerce to sign up local businesses. o Bought Facebook advertising inventory and provided it to participating small business for free.
THE RIGHT PARTNERS o Partnerships were made strategically to help broaden brand and expand tools for businesses: FedEx donated signs; YouTube, Foursquare, and Twitter provided free social media support. o Partnerships with social celebrities on Facebook and Instagram asking users to sign a pledge to #ShopSmall made the event seem “hot,” and gave consumers a reason to want to get involved/use the hashtag. o Governors and mayors held press conferences in support of the day.
EYE-CATCHING SOCIAL MEDIA o High-quality, well-branded and strategically placed social assets made #ShopSmall a “ fomo ” moment. o Allowed local businesses to post about their Small Business Saturday events and experiences on the official AmEx Instagram account.
THE ULTIMATE EVENT SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY OUTCOMES + IMPACT
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: OUTCOMES In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a motion declaring Small Business Saturday an official day. In 2015 95 million people shopped small in 2015, including President Obama who took his daughters to a local bookstore on Small Business Saturday and pledged to shop small.
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY: WHY IT WORKED 1. A Provocative Position: This big bank thinks you should shop local. 2. The Right Audience Incentive: Do what you’re already doing the weekend after Thanksgiving (shopping), but feel better about it. 3. The Right Message/Tone: Shopping small is hip, insta-worthy, and good for the community. Implied: This isn’t about AmEx, this is about you. 4. The Right Tactics: Empower the audience to create a grassroots movement, align incentives, make it easy to participate.
A LOT OF EVERYTHING KEYSTONE XL CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW
KEYSTONE XL: CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW GOAL STRATEGY KEY TACTICS ▶ To reengage & ▶ Stop President Obama ▶ The entire campaign reenergize the American from approving the toolbox. people around climate Keystone XL pipeline change following the proposal. failed Copenhagen climate summit and to build a broader, more active constituency for cause.
A LOT OF EVERYTHING KEYSTONE XL WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
COALITION BUILDING o NRDC, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, 350.org, and others came together to drive the campaign. o Investment in the affected communities rather than organizing just those who already believed in the climate cause in D.C. and big cities along the coasts. Ranchers, farmers, and Native American groups like “Idle No More” and “Bold Nebraska” joined movement o Collaboration between cowboys and Indians - historical antagonists, icons of the American West, unlikely allies - was powerful and compelling.
LOBBYING o Tribal councils passed resolutions opposing Keystone XL and Tribal Chairmen delivered declarations to President Obama with thousands of signatures. o In February 2012, 800,000 messages called-in to the Senate. o 400,000 official comments submitted.
RALLIES, MARCHES, PROTESTS o August 2011, 1,253 protesters were arrested for a sit-in outside the White House fence. o Protestors at every stop along the campaign trail during the 2012 election. o February 2013, protestors were arrested outside the White House, included the Sierra Club's Executive Director. o 50,000 people at the Forward on Climate March in February 2013. o "Reject & Protest" week of events in D.C. (2014) featuring a concert by Willie Nelson, teepees where visitors could learn more about the issue, cowboys and Indians riding horses in the concluding march.
LITIGATION o Sierra Club filed suits against the State Department for the conflict of interests in those performing the impact assessments, which spurred two Inspector General investigations. o The coalition supported a suit in Nebraska challenging the governor's authority to approve the pipeline in the states.
SCIENCE AND SPOKESPEOPLE o Leading scientists and activists including Bill McKibben, James Hansen, and others published pieces arguing that developing tars sands would mean "game over" for climate, that we need to leave the remaining fossil fuels underground, that the extraction process is too carbon-intensive and would only perpetuate rising temperatures.
A LOT OF EVERYTHING KEYSTONE XL OUTCOMES + IMPACT
KEYSTONE XL: OUTCOMES In November 2015, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL proposal. 5 weeks after the veto, President Obama signed the Paris Agreement pledging to reduce carbon emissions. President Trump has now reversed both decisions.
TRUTH INITIATIVE: WHY IT WORKED 1. A Provocative Position: The climate change fight boils down to Keystone XL. 2. The Right Audience Incentive: Making your voice heard is easy, and makes you part of a global community, and this is something tangible we can win on. 3. The Right Message/Tone: The broad, abstract issue of climate change can be fought on a single, relatable and tangible issue. Fight this pipeline, win on climate. 4. The Right Tactics: The world is at stake, so we’re going to use everything and the kitchen sink. Let’s be bold, creative, and take risks.
BIG TAKEAWAYS
WHAT DO SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS HAVE IN COMMON? 1. A Provocative Position that Informs Everything 2. A Specific Audience that has a Reason to be Engaged 3. A Message/Tone that is Aligned with Campaign Goals and Brand Identity 4. Bold, Diverse, and Evolving Tactics to Drive the Message Home 5. Relentless Focus on a Broadly Relatable, Understandable, and Winnable Issue. 6. Emotion.
QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ANSWER WHEN CAMPAIGN PLANNING 1. What is your campaign bringing to the table? What is your unique, provocative identity? 2. What’s in it for your target audience? 3. What is your message in one sentence? Who is saying it, and to whom? 4. How can you push the envelope when sharing your story? What bold tactics can you take that align with your brand?
RULES TO LIVE BY 1. Find or Create Tension. 2. Everything is Political and/or Emotional. 3. Win Those You Need to Win. 4. Show, Not Tell. 5. Strategy Before Tactics. 6. Do ONE Thing Well.
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