CASE STUDY: Why Targeting Matters

The Problem
The Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts (AWPHD) had multiple levies on the ballot in various communities to build new hospitals, increase access to services, purchase new ambulances, and more. Many previous ballot attempts had failed by narrow margins. The AWPHD needed an affordable yet effective way to reach voters, make them aware of the levies, persuade them to support the plans, and motivate them to return their ballots. An additional hurdle the AWPHD faced in many measures was needing to garner 60% of the vote for each levy to pass in addition to meeting strict legal guidelines for engagement.

The Goal
The Majority Strategies team recognized immediately the need to analyze the data and identify the key audiences for awareness, persuasion, and turnout, considering the demographics of the areas with a levy on the ballot. We determined the right audiences of voters in three hospital districts who could be persuaded to support the issues as well as turn out and cast their ballots.

The Plan
The voter contact plan was crafted with a heavy emphasis on direct mail as well as live calls and text messages. We exclusively used live calls in small communities to protect the local feel and prevent any insinuation that a larger outside group was attempting to influence the outcome of the levies. There were also a high number of landlines in the area.. The goal was certainly persuasion but even more so turnout to meet the threshold needed in addition to the 60%-passage requirement.

The Results
Four of the five levies we were engaged in met the turnout threshold as well as the 60%-passage requirement.

Across the 3 hospital districts, 69.7% turned out in the 2022 general election, with a high in one hospital district of 80%.

2,463 voters in these districts did not vote in the 2018 midterm but did turn out in 2022.

We saw a clear turnout lift for the targeted voters in each district when compared to the overall turnout:

This lift is also notable in that our targeted voters turned out at a higher rate despite turnout statewide being down from 2018, dropping to 63.8% in 2022 compared to 71.8% in 2018.

Key Takeaways
Success begins with good targeting to ensure the right creative message is delivered to the right people on the right medium and effective planning to stay within budget.

“Partnering with Majority Strategies has made a big impact on the success rate of our measures. Their team is savvy, responsive and attune to the unique needs of our members. Working together has meant that more Public Hospitals have passed funding measures that will create a generational benefit to local healthcare here in Washington State.”
– Matthew Ellsworth, Executive Director, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts

View the full case study here.

Ready to get started? Contact the Majority Strategies team today.