Challenge

The polls do more than posts.

In 2018, the midterm elections were dominating the national conversation. Several hot- button issues were filling social media feeds — gun violence, reproductive rights, the Supreme Court — but all the political chatter wasn’t getting people to the polls. So we set out to create something that would help.

Approach

Telling people to vote is boring.

And ineffective. But putting a bunch of issues people are insanely passionate about front and center might provoke some action. So, we created a rallying cry, inspiring citizens to insert themselves in the democratic process.

Wherever you stand, the vote needs U.

It was as simple as removing “U” from these issues, and letting people connect the dots. Voting shapes progress on key issues that you care about more than the politicians running. And if you don’t vote, you don’t get a say.

Campaign headquarters.

Our website offered visitors the ability to share hot-button issues on their social media. Plus, prominent links to register and locate a polling place. And we built grassroots support with posters, buttons, stickers, shirts, and more.

Political hijacking.

We built a Chrome extension visitors could download and flip on — taking over their browsers by replacing keywords with issues they could share on their social spaces.

Results

The results are in.

The Vote Needs U earned 3.5M impressions via national media coverage, stirred some healthy debate in towns that found our messages too controversial for outdoor, and got new voters registered in 38 states.