No on Proposition CC Skipster Ad

Challenge

The early polling showed our opponents winning, which was not a surprise because they had a massive spending advantage: about $4.4 million compared to our side’s approximate $200,000. One key thing that we learned from polling was that our opponents were targeting younger voters, a major Colorado voting block. Additionally, the polling we commissioned showed younger voters breaking in the wrong direction. We knew that we needed to fight back and compete for this key demographic.

Once our research identified this weakness in our campaign, we directed resources at influencing young voters, and ended up turning this challenge into a strength.

This research ultimately led to the Skipster ad, which featured a whimsical hipster styled character proclaiming that the passage of Proposition CC would mean that the state could keep future TABOR tax refunds. It was simple, clear, and convincing.

About

In the months leading up to the November 2019 general election, Novitas was asked to help shape the political landscape in opposition to Proposition CC, a tax increase that would undermine the state’s taxpayer protection provision in the Colorado Constitution, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). A key provision of this proposal would allow future TABOR refunds to be kept by the state government.

Solution

Our objective was clear: defeat Proposition CC at the ballot box in the 2019 general election. Registration for younger voters trends Democratic, so many of them were already receiving messaging in support of the tax increase. Our goal was to win over a sizeable minority of them, at least 25%, to tip the scales in our favor.

The goal of the Skipster Ad was to raise awareness about the truth behind Proposition CC among young Colorado voters: Proposition CC was a tax increase that would eliminate TABOR refunds forever. We wanted to find a creative, fun way to engage and educate the younger generations of Coloradans who were active on social media, and ultimately lead them to vote against Proposition CC. The Skipster Ad caught their attention and promoted our messaging to young people across the state.

Our budget for young voter outreach was $20,000.

To win under such a substantial funding disadvantage, we needed to be smart about how we spent money. With this in mind, our tactics for younger voter outreach were conducted primarily through Instagram and Facebook.

Skipster was one of many social media endeavors, but it garnered the most attention among both supporters and opponents of Proposition CC. It had double the impressions and reach of any of our No on CC social ads. The ad reached 44,809 people on Facebook and Instagram, and garnered 100,899 total impressions.

Proponents of Proposition CC re-posted the ad because they were upset by it, resulting in more attention for our side. The ad so infuriated our opponents that they even sent it to TV stations for truth tests, thus further spreading our message. The debate created from this social ad accomplished No on CC’s intended goal of engaging and educating younger voters.

Results

This ad was an important contributor to No on CC’s victory by an 8% margin. The final result was 54% to 46%, in favor of No on CC. Even with a campaign budget a fraction of the size, the No on CC campaign secured a victory and thus demonstrated finances are not the only indicators in an election. Our efforts revealed the truth of a deceptive initiative to young voters, and motivated them to action at the ballot box.