Half-Cent Referendum
Branding, UX, & Marketing
Project Details
I served as project manager and primary designer for the School Cents Makes Sense marketing campaign. This campaign advocated for a referendum on the county’s November 2020 election ballot that, if passed, would implement a half-cent sales tax to benefit Okaloosa's school infrastructure needs.
My team needed to build and maintain a complete digital presence from the ground up. We collaborated with various stakeholders on messaging while I created the visual identity to educate voters on why they should vote "yes." I either created or was directly involved in nearly every aspect of this campaign.
Challenges
There were several significant challenges to overcome to promote this campaign successfully.
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Public opinion concerning the local school district was mixed due to much-publicized yet unrelated issues regarding former elected officials, which led citizens to be less likely to vote for the needed funding. Many citizens also had misconceptions about how the funds would be used.
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Recent economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic added to the unease around additional taxes. For many, the temporary implementation of online learning also increased skepticism toward school infrastructure spending.
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The 2020 Presidential election was a significant distraction to the local referendum, so we needed to drive continued awareness for the entire campaigning period, which kicked off in January and ended in early November. The referendum was the 20th and the last item on the ballot; therefore, my team needed to build enthusiasm for the referendum to combat ballot fatigue.
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Party affiliation posed another precarious challenge. Some studies suggest that Republicans and Democrats tend to have similar levels of support for some education-related issues such as universal vouchers, raising teacher pay, merit pay, etc. However, the Brookings Institution states, "the biggest partisan gap here concerns spending... There are differences on other issues... but these differences hardly pit the parties in opposing corners of the ring. In only one case does the majority from one party oppose the majority from the other. Nearly three-fourths of Democrats favor more spending on public schools, and 54 percent of Republicans oppose it."
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Moreover, a separate local political action committee was working in stark opposition to School Cents Makes Sense. This other PAC launched a rival campaign across the county, posting videos on social media and putting up yard signs to discourage voters from approving any additional school spending. My team would continue to pivot to combat this messaging up to election day.
My Contributions
Project Management
Marketing Strategy
Branding
Logo Development
Graphic Design (Print & Web)
Data Analysis & Visualization
Information Architecture Design
Prototyping & UX Design
Web Design
Copywriting
Scriptwriting
Video Editing
2D Animation
Voiceover Recording & Production
Digital & Print Advertising
Tools Used
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Draw
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe XD
Adobe After Effects
Logic Pro X
Facebook Ads
Outcomes
Successful Yes Vote
Gold ADDY Award (Political Campaign)
Silver ADDY Award (Online Video)
ADDY Judges Choice (Political Campaign)
Branding
I began by creating a suitable logo and visual identity for the School Cents Makes Sense campaign. The visual identity needed to establish a mental connection between this referendum and the students' well-being.
Motifs such as clouds, sun rays, and rounded arrows help evoke a positive and uplifting association. Vibrant, high-contrast primary colors helped reinforce that association and ensure that print media stood out among the sea of other political advertising.
Data Visualization
Because there were so much in-depth data surrounding this referendum, I created custom data visualizations to make the data easily digestible and resolve any potential confusion for voters. These graphics were integrated into the website, social media, and a printable infographic.
Website Design
I designed the information architecture that would eventually become the website’s structure. I constructed wireframes and content in Adobe XD, which was later handed to the front-end team for development. I later created high-fidelity mockups in Illustrator.
I collaborated closely with the software development team to ensure an eye-catching design that also promoted a positive user experience.
Video
Due to the large quantity of information surrounding this referendum, it was clear the campaign needed a tool that would summarize all the data into a single concise message. I donated personal time outside of work to build an award-winning animated video to accomplish this task.
I developed every aspect of this video myself—writing the script, video editing, animating, recording voiceover narration in my home studio, and mixing music.
Marketing Efforts
In conjunction with the website's launch, my team built a strong social media presence, included a wide array of graphics for Facebook.
Along with the Facebook page, I built and maintained a Facebook Ad Campaign to support the visibility required to spread the word within the county.
My team developed an email marketing campaign to drive traffic to the website and encourage people to post yard signs at their residences and businesses. These emails went out to members of the Fort Walton Beach Chamber, parents, and volunteers.
I designed billboards that appeared across the county. Large text and simple graphics ensured the artwork would be easily read from a distance. Clean, eye-catching yard signs and large canvas signs were also distributed and posted around the county.
To appeal to a broader demographic of voters, I designed a full-page ad for the Northwest Florida Daily News and a direct mailer, which was sent to all registered voters in Okaloosa County. I also designed a letterhead and a single-page flyer.
Results
Election Results. On November 3, the Okaloosa County School Board referendum passed with 56% of the vote (62,653 to 50,140), making an exciting victory for myself, Bit-Wizards, and all who supported the School Cents Makes Sense campaign! We showed our appreciation to Okaloosa voters by posting “Thank You” billboards around the county.
Measurable Advertising Results. The campaign’s social media advertising saw positive results. The traffic-generation campaigns reached 18,377 people with click-through rates between 4.36% and 5.41%—fairly high compared to the 0.90% average click-through rate for Facebook ads across all industries. Additionally, a brief, separate ad ran to promote the explainer video I donated. Of the 14,000+ impressions, the video received nearly 10,000 ThruPlays—roughly 70% of all impressions.
Additional Recognition. This campaign and the accompanying video also won a total of four ADDY awards. My team and I were also publicly recognized by the Fort Walton Beach Chamber for our work.
