Youth Vote Coalition Branding Campaign
by Holly Teresi, Public Communication ‘04
Background
When I began working at Youth Vote Coalition nearly two years ago, it was just settling into its new role as a year-round organization with a national headquarters. In the past, it had created a brand identity but renamed itself every election cycle. With each new name, the organization also varied its “signature" colors.
Now, two years after its official establishment, it was time for Youth Vote Coalition to stop appearing like a campaign and step into the role of being the grandfather organization of the entire youth vote movement. This meant greater sophistication. But the organization' s budget was smaller.
An aggressive public relations campaign became necessary, first, to position Youth Vote as a valuable participant in the 2004 election cycle and, second, to help it raise money for the future. Here are the ideas I developed and implemented to help Youth Vote Coalition achieve its goals.
Three Goals: Updated Brand, Greater Awareness, More Money
Until two years ago, Youth Vote Coalition was structured as a campaign that disintegrated after every election cycle. It had not updated its marketing materials or attempted to create a unique brand identity since it became a year-round organization.
My first goal was to create a brand identity that could be easily identified with the organization; one that would incorporate its present look, but also present a more contemporary, eye-catching appearance. I wanted the brand to resonate with young voters and be visually pleasing for broadcast media.
My second goal was to use the brand to raise the profile of the organization. With over 100 organizations dedicated to increasing young voter turnout, Youth Vote Coalition was getting lost among the crowd; yet most of those organizations belong to the coalition. Given the intense use of celebrities to attract voters and media attention, Youth Vote Coalition couldn' t compete for airtime. Instead, I chose to frame Youth Vote as the media expert about the total effort of more than 100 organizations working on this cause.
My third goal was to increase funding to the organization. I hoped that a successful media campaign on CNN, Fox News and other outlets would result in larger foundation donations. I realized that Youth Vote Coalition would often be competing for the same dollars that are spent to support grassroots activities, but foundations are likely to give their money to whichever organization they see as most qualified.
Appearances on mainstream news programming would distinguish Youth Vote Coalition from the other organizations working on this cause and give it the appearance of being credible, qualified, and stable.
Tactics
The first step of the branding campaign was brainstorming new ways to use our logo. It was important for me that “Youth Vote" become its own entity so people would identify it as the brand. This would allow Youth Vote Coalition to use its brand identity in a variety of environments.
Ultimately, I wanted the organization to be identified by its color and font rather than the environment of the logo. However, I needed a new environment to make this distinction clear. After attending the Democratic convention, the executive director realized that transforming Youth Vote Coalition' s logo into a brand identity would allow it to become a rallying call for young people. She decided to create a campaign slogan, which I implemented to help distinguish the organization' s brand identity from its logo.
From these first conversations came the creation of "I am the Youth Vote." The campaign became the public relations campaign for Youth Vote Coalition in 2004. It was structured to work within the 20 Million LOUD! campaign of which Youth Vote Coalition was a member. “I am the Youth Vote" became a way for Youth Vote Coalition to identify and brand itself and not compete with the 20 Million LOUD! campaign.
A Sophisticated Script, Slogan and Strategy
As I began creating the new image for the logo and thinking about television, I realized that the organization lacked sophistication. I realized that changing the background color from white to black implied sophistication.
Although I made that initial decision for other reasons, I soon realized that the implied sophistication was an unexpected goal that I was trying to accomplish by reworking the Youth Vote logo.
I took this concept of increased sophistication and applied it to every part of the re-branding process. The organization ordered t-shirts, buttons and yard signs all with the new look. In addition, I felt it was necessary to play off the whimsy of our colors in an innovative way. While talking with the program director, I learned that Youth Vote Coalition' s field sites would be knocking on doors the weekend before Election Day.
I looked at a calendar only to realize that Youth Vote Coalition' s canvassers wouldn' t be the only ones knocking on people' s doors--Halloween was the Sunday before Election Day. This led to the idea of giving treats to potential voters. Creating a promotional candy wrapper seemed like a great way to incorporate the calendar and add a cheap prop that would leave an impact on the receiver. I chose to order lollipops that were orange and blue to mirror our colors and have them embossed with a white check mark in a box or the word “vote."
The sticks were imprinted with Youth Vote Coalition' s Web site address. After ordering many of the promotional items needed to equip Youth Vote Coalition' s field sites, I proceeded to worked on adding sophistication to the organization' s national materials such as the Web site and media kit.
Web site Wake-Up Call
The next component in re-branding the organization was updating the Web site. The old Web site had been in existence since the organization began utilizing the Web several years ago; now, we had received a grant to make the site more accessible and easier to navigate.
I hired a young Web designer to change the dated look of the site and to create unique menus for each type of user. This included a separate press section that was more bland than the press sections at other sites but easily accessible. For example, Rock the Vote and MTV' s Choose or Lose both have innovative sites; however, they also have a lot of visual stimulus that is unnecessary and annoying to press users, although provocative to younger audiences.
Because I wanted to balance the needs of these two users more effectively then Youth Vote Coalition' s counterparts, I chose to create two layouts. This does have drawbacks. For instance, any information shared by both users must be created twice so users see the aesthetics designated for their user type.
This is more costly, but I feel the most effective way to serve the needs stipulated in the grant was “to make a more youth-friendly" site while also providing an easy-to-use resource for the media. With all of these promotional items in place, I realized I had a public relations plan in mind. Until now, I was largely fulfilling the need of Youth Vote Coalition' s field sites and grants, but my decisions were based on a larger communication strategy.
I went to work formally writing out that strategy, which is attached as Appendix A. The communication plan I developed called for using the new image of Youth Vote to increase media attention and, subsequently, increase funding. However, Youth Vote was still using a standard pocket folder ordered from Staples with a sticker of the logo on the front cover—a very “nonprofit" look that didn' t convey the more important message that the organization was in its 10th year of doing this work and was an expert on the topic of youth civic behavior.
The Media Kit Gets a Make-Over
Since a media kit is the organization' s face to the press, I felt it was imperative to support Youth Vote Coalition' s updated identity with a new media kit. The time needed to design a kit made it impossible for me to complete this task in-house, so I hired a graphic designer. This increased level of expertise also enhanced the image of the organization. Looking at the kit, it is obvious that a designer was hired to create it. This dedication to image shows the recipient that the organization is serious and credible.
The media kit was intended to be young and trendy yet sophisticated, trustworthy, and experienced. Youth Vote Coalition' s kit needed to be able to compete against those of its multimillion-dollar partner organizations like MTV, the New Voter' s Project, or Rock the Vote. These organizations have put resources into their media relations and it shows by how much media coverage their organizations receive.
To increase the profile of Youth Vote, I had to identify audiences. Did I want to speak to young people, the media, or both? The answer to this question came down to resources. I felt that our partners in the 20 Million LOUD! campaign were effectively talking to young people.
Therefore, I chose to focus my attention on creating Youth Vote as the media expert. To do this, we needed to target widely viewed outlets such as CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNCB and the broadcast networks' news departments. I felt that by being included at the table with Bob Scheiffer on Face the Nation or talking with Peter Jennings on the Nightly News, Youth Vote Coalition would gain credibility by association.
The goal was to talk with high profile news people to increase the organization' s status and influence donors and decision-makers to support Youth Vote. I wanted to make donors believe that if Bob Schaeffer or Peter Jennings chose to put Youth Vote Coalition on their programs, then it must be the best organization dealing with this topic.
Placement Power
To increase media placements, I utilized the new media kit and Youth Vote' s multiple media lists. My first step was to sort through all the media lists and create one list. To this list, I added media bookers, executive producers, and celebrity news anchors. I targeted these people with a sleek mailing that included a black envelope with hand applied postage, a white address label that featured Youth Vote Coalition' s logo in the return address, a personalized cover letter hand signed by me and printed on letterhead.
The mailing also featured the media kit, including the five-step inserts about the organization, its history, facts about young voters, the complete coalition list, and the outcomes of the organization' s experiments with Yale University. Also included in the kit was a copy of the Best Practices guide, a media release printed on letterhead and a color copy of the executive director' s biography and photograph.
In addition to this mailing, I mailed 200 plain envelopes to the remainder of the press list. These kits included all of the same material but lacked the cover letter and biography. Many of the journalists on the remaining list were friends of Youth Vote who have covered the organization in the past, making it unnecessary to include the previously mentioned items.
Evaluation
Overall, the campaign was a success. The branding campaign was well received by all of our sites. The program director and campaign coordinator got a great deal of positive feedback from the hosts of the field sites. Some sites that received 300 t-shirts said they did not have enough materials to meet the demand.
Although supplying the sites was important, I wanted to dedicate resources to media relations, which constrained the amount of promotional items I was able to purchase. However, to ensure that I did not undersupply the sites, I consulted with the program director before placing any orders and was able to match her requests.
Afterthoughts
I think the branding campaign was successful because it was a twist on something many of Youth Vote Coalition' s field organizers were familiar with from working with the organization over the past 10 years. Before, the treatment of the logo was boring in comparison to many of our partner organizations. Now, people were asking for Youth Vote Coalition' s promotional items just as much as its partners.'
This was an enormous milestone considering how many resources Youth Vote Coalition' s partners have for their materials. Many of Youth Vote Coalition' s partners have full-time graphic designers utilizing the latest technology on staff; whereas I produced the new treatment for the Youth Vote working with Microsoft Publisher while performing other tasks as the organization' s communications director.
By re-branding the organization, Youth Vote Coalition gained increased credibility and was able to increase the profile of the organization. Although Youth Vote Coalition did not have more media hits than Rock the Vote or Choose or Lose, Youth Vote Coalition's outlets tended to be geared toward a national audience. Veronica De La Garza, Youth Vote Coalition executive director, appeared on CNN' s Headline News, The Dennis Miller Show, Channel One, and BBC. National media outlets tended to prefer Youth Vote Coalition over other civic engagement groups.
At this time I have no way to evaluate if my campaign increased interest by funders. In the coming months, Youth Vote Coalition will learn whether or not the re-branding campaign had an impact on this audience based on inquiries about Youth Vote and money awarded or donated to the organization. Appendix A
Youth Vote Coalition' s Election 2004 Public Relations Plan
October 18 - November 12
Prepared by
Holly Teresi Resources Youth Vote has a limited budget, but a press list of over 200 reporters, ranging from national television personalities to local newspaper reporters and name recognition of many young people. The organization has done little to actively carve a role for itself in the past; therefore, there are few to no organizational obstacles. Being an election year, the timing for such a project is excellent because so many media outlets devote an extra amount of space/time to voting during this time period. They need more content, thus, increasing the likelihood of getting good coverage.
Objectives (Non-Youth Media)
1. Brand the organization as the expert voice on the youth civic participation movement.
2. Build trust and confidence among reporters by being accurate and being a great resource for their articles and programming.
3. Obtain high visibility/exposure.
4. Create a positive view of young voters.
Objectives (Young Voters)
1. Brand the organization as modern and exciting.
2. Build trust and confidence among young voters.
3. Provide young people with the information they need to be successful voters.
Planned Activities (Non-Youth Media)
- Create media kits that provide reporters and “bookers" with information about Youth Vote and promote a perception of professionalism, trust, energy and savvy. Stay away from youthful themes. ($2,500)
- Send out an alert with the kits that Youth Vote will have speakers available for media programs from October 18 - November 12. ($300)
- Change the press page of the Web site to include a digest of the coalition' s press releases, a calendar of events, a sign-up for reporters to receive alerts when new items have been added to the calendar, links to the story section and message boards of the voter' s page and access to the organization' s logos and pictures. ($750)
- Cold call Youth Vote's media list to inform them of available speakers and book appearances. Work with NAPS to create a press release about the youth turnout to drop the day after the election with the goal of getting widespread coverage of the youth turnout. This would require cooperation from organizations conducting exit polling such as PEW and/or the Voter News Service. This may include research from the 2003 Media Project.
Planned Activities (Young Voters)
- Create a more user-friendly voter's Web page where young people will be able to register, find their polling place, research the candidates and download Youth Vote materials like their shirt logos, posters, etc. Young people will also be able to submit their story about how politics affect their lives, read blogs of young people doing work in the field and talk on message boards with other young people. ($750)
- Create collateral material (promotionals) for the people in the 20 field sites to give away. Materials include: shirts, pens, pins, lollipops, and yard signs. ($10,000)
Evaluation
- Quantify the number of media appearances by Youth Vote Coalition.
- Quantify the web traffic to the press section of the YVC website.
- Quantify the web traffic to the voter section of the YVC website.
- Quantify the total number of voters under 30.
