Rebuild Democracy
Challenge
In an era of record-low trust in government and institutions, drive progressive change by better understanding voters and taking strategic action.
Impact
Trust research identified key dimensions of understanding the American electorate.
Established a new organization with a strategic presence and sharp strategy in a crowded political landscape
Successfully engaged low-trust voters with a highly-targeted campaign using content that achieved a 12.6% engagement rate, 3-4 times above industry average
Our Work
Strategy
Novel Messaging assisted Rebuild Democracy in establishing their organizational footprint, strategy, and brand from the ground floor. During the primary we represented them in coalition spaces, provided media consumption and message testing research, and helped inform the investment of their political resources.
During the General Election we continued to help shape their strategy by turning their trust research into voter-targeted campaigns utilizing content creators.
Creator Program
We knew Rebuild Democracy’s best option to make an impact on the 2024 general election was to execute a creator program across the seven battleground states. Using what knowledge we gained from the trust research, we built a robust program targeting voters from three tracks: “wellness moms”, “fitness bros”, and “penny-pinchers”. We recruited creators for each track, and produced targeted content using our effective messaging strategy.
Through this targeted content campaign, 19 assets targeting all 7 battleground states were posted across multiple platforms. This generated an engagement rate of 12.6% (3-4 times over industry average), a strong indication that this campaign resonated with its intended low-trust audience.
Research
Rebuild Democracy and Novel Messaging partnered with Lake Research Partners to conduct a comprehensive deep-dive on voters’ trust in political institutions. This included an in-depth taxonomy of voters, conducting focus groups, and RCT Message Testing.
Armed with the takeaways from this work, we identified the most-effective messages that resonated with alienated voters.
We amplified our research across the progressive ecosystem through op-eds (including in the Washington Post), presentations for key stakeholders in our ecosystem, and briefings for content creators.
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