New Design 2

Challenge

Novitas Communications was tasked with creating a narrative that really connected with different groups, like women and Latinos, showing them how Proposition 112 could harm education, community, and job opportunities.

About

Proposition 112 was a ballot measure that aimed to increase the setback distance for new oil and gas development projects, including fracking, to a distance to at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, and water sources. If passed, the measure would have severely restricted new oil and gas development in Colorado, leading to economic losses and job cuts.

Solution

Novitas Communications worked with Spirit of Colorado to lead a rapid-fire issue campaign against Proposition 112 less than two months before the midterm election, focusing on print media, social media, and TV/radio. The group aimed to persuade women and Latinos through carefully-crafted messaging that emphasized how education, community, and opportunity would all be negatively affected by the passage of Proposition 112.

Through print media, the group succeeded in placing numerous letters to the editor and op-eds, targeting hyperlocal papers such as the Glenwood Springs Post-Independent, the Sterling Journal-Advocate, and the Greeley Tribune. Spirit of Colorado was also mentioned in election finance coverage and wrap-up articles after the election. Overall, the group saw a total of 30 mentions, a reach of 8.8 million.

Results

Working off of carefully-crafted messaging, the group blasted social media with anti-Proposition 112 content in both English and Spanish. Through the use of paid promotions, social media saw a reach of over 1.6 million and successfully targeted women and Latinos, in particular. A strategic mix of superb video content and informative static images posts helped us capture our audience’s attention in the cluttered social media marketplace, and then inform and persuade them.

This led to a remarkable average click-through rate of 2.72% (the average for promoted content on Facebook is 1%). Three ads achieved above a click-through rate higher above 7% and the top performing piece of content was an article about a Colorado mayors’ rally against Proposition 112. Overall, the combination of great content and effective data-led audience modeling made the Spirit of Colorado digital campaign a success, serving 1.5 million ads that energized a critical 250,000 voters on Proposition 112.

Not only did Proposition 112 fail statewide by a wide margin (43% yes to 57% no), but areas that we targeted failed even more spectacularly. In Pueblo, which we heavily targeted because of its working class population, the measure failed 62 to 38.