APPROACHES

• Digital ads

• Paid phonecalls/texting

• Targeted email

• Wearable buttons

• Social media

• Posters

• Pop-up website

CHALLENGES

1. Women, and the issues important to women and girls, fail to be prioritized in public policy.

2. Single women are a large and growing part of the electorate but historically have lower rates of voter participation.

INSIGHTS

Representation matters. When women voice their power through their vote, a more representative electorate will be reality. In planning for this campaign, as the Women’s Fund Creative Director, I focused on the use of compelling visuals in GOTV campaigns. By creating a series of GOTV graphics, the campaign would build on the desirability of the Women’s Fund brand while disrupting the landscape of visuals typically associated with voting, politics, etc. (red, white and blue; stars and stripes).

In addition to creating compelling graphics, the goal of the campaign creative was to communicate specifically to women all the ways that voting can be done that wouldn’t disrupt their already busy lives and schedules. Simply put, our communication materials were directly letting recipients know when, how, and where they could vote and providing them with all of the information to remove barriers—language, work scheduling, etc., while creating a powerful emotional response to feeling empowered. With the trusted brand of the Women’s Fund, out ofthe ordinary designs and approachable copy allowed us to directly reach women voters. Utilizing these strengths, the effort had three phrases:

1. Voter Registration

2. Early Voting

3. Voter Turnout on Election Day

Through the process, our goal was for local women to use their voice in local politics while building a more representative electorate in our community.

SOLUTIONS

The Women’s Fund developed visually compelling digital ads designed to empower women and show how voting can fit into busy lives. Ads were delivered to targeted voters using identified IP addresses, allowing us to compare engagement between those who received the ads and a control group—measuring impact and effectiveness.

Ads directed voters to OmahaVotes.com, a bilingual (English/Spanish) resource hub with information on voter registration, early ballots, and key voting resources. This digital strategy was supported by paid phone calls, texts, emails, social media, and on-the-ground outreach materials.

Through partnerships with nonpartisan nonprofits, the campaign extended beyond Douglas County and amplified statewide GOTV efforts. A key partner, the Nebraska Civic Engagement Table (NCET), provided voter data, demographic insights, and trend analysis, and trained staff and volunteers to use texting software (Hustle) to directly engage voters and increase turnout.

RESULTS

Voter registration rate in targeted areas increased by 2.46%, resulting in 54 new voter registrations among our target population.

• 10,928 page views of the pop-up site OmahaVotes.com

• 1,106 early ballots requested

• 55.6% voter turnout

• 11,922 women were texted by advocates to help them make a voting plan (increasing their propensity to vote going forward)

• 72,781 digital ads were served

• 10,853 phone calls made to a targeted list to help make voting plans