GMMB Response to the Water Foundation
Contact: Traci Siegel, Traci.Siegel@gmmb.com
Supporting election workers with Issue One
The last few years have borne witness to unprecedented attacks on our democracy — on the public servants, institutions, and buildings themselves that have anchored and guided our country for centuries. But Americans did not sit idly by. In 2022, we stood up, fought back, voted, advocated, engaged… and together, made our voices heard. Leading the charge was Issue One, working tirelessly to fix our political system and build a democracy that works for everyone. GMMB was honored to partner with Issue One on this critical work, from bringing election workers to the White House and preparing them for briefings, to facilitating media tours of polling centers, to delivering powerful ads and organic content to millions of viewers in support of election workers, election integrity, and electoral reform.
GMMB helped Issue One fight the Big Lie with a simple truth: election officials are our friends and neighbors. To do it, we interviewed officials from across the country, planned and executed a multi-city photoshoot, and wrote and produced video ads, print ads, op-eds, and longer form videos as a way to tell their stories, elevate the challenges they face every day, and put a human face on our elections as part of the Faces of Democracy campaign. GMMB planned and executed a multi-city photoshoot of local election officials from across the country, using the assets in print, digital, and video ads that humanize election workers and raise awareness of the threats they face.
With stories related to election security and the Big Lie dominating news coverage in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms, GMMB also worked with Issue One to develop a robust earned media campaign to help position Faces of Democracy election officials as the go-to experts for reporters and media outlets covering the topic. GMMB pitched more than 100 reporters in television, print/online, and radio/podcasting, letting them know officials were available and willing to speak about election security and their personal stories of facing threats for doing their jobs, offering opportunities for tours of election facilities, and coordinating coverage with interested reporters, securing coverage in high profile national media, including Politico, USA Today, Reuters, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, and more.
GMMB also worked with Issue One to raise its profile in the democracy community with thought leadership, including leading a large-scale research project with top partners including Civic (Re)solve to conduct an unprecedented survey of the American electorate to better understand how Americans understand and feel about their democracy, and what might move them to take action to protect it. We synthesized the research results and identified key findings, and drafted a report, series of one-pagers, and presentation deck to share with key stakeholders in the community.
Restoring America’s faith in our electoral process will be no easy task — and it’s only just begun. In 2022, Issue One was on the frontlines of this effort, helping to shape a national narrative about the integrity of our elections, lifting the curtain on how and why our Democracy works, and elevating the voices (and faces) of the very people who risk their lives to protect and preserve it. Here’s some of the results:
- GMMB brought the story of election workers directly to influencer audiences with a targeted paid digital media campaign, reaching 475,262 individuals with more than 1.2 million impressions during the launch week of the Faces of Democracy Campaign. Digital video ads served online via Trade Desk (a programmatic media partner), placing ads on key news and information sites such as CNN, MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
- GMMB secured earned media hits in more than 2 dozen media outlets, garnering a reach of 1.38 billion in high profile and local news outlets across the country.
- GMMB developed and executed paid media campaigns to protect and strengthen our elections, targeting lawmakers and influencers on both sides of the aisle, generating more than 4 million impressions and 5 thousand clicks.
