Yes 4 JCPS

What We Did

Strategic Planning
Media Relations
Public Involvement
Social Media
Marketing & Advertising
Photo & Video

The Challenge

In the fall of 2020, Jefferson County voters would consider a “tax levy question” – one that would raise the local school property tax by 7 cents per $100 of assessed property. This would generate about $51 million in new revenue for the district and help fund overdue construction, renovation and academic improvements in JCPS schools.

Yes 4 JCPS, a 501(c4) committee, hired C2 Strategic in early September to drive support at the polls. The campaign faced multiple challenges: 1) Most voters were unfamiliar with the ballot measure; 2) Other issues like the pandemic and higher profile ballot races dominated the media; 3) Early voting compressed the campaign length; and 4) Schools were closed to in-person learning because of the pandemic, leaving many parents frustrated or angry.

The Solution

C2 Strategic synthesized two rounds of public polling and developed a layered communications plan that relied on tailored messages to different parts of the city as well as key endorsements from trusted bipartisan voices – including elected officials, professional athletes and business, labor and community leaders. The team leveraged those messages and endorsements with earned media, direct mail, digital ads and organic and paid social media with a relatively slim budget for a campaign of this size. C2 Strategic leaders sought out the best value opportunities for connecting with likely voters.

The Results

Through well-designed, strategically placed digital advertising efforts, the campaign generated more than 4 million combined impressions in about six weeks. Social media organic content and marketing delivered key messages to the most persuadable voters, reaching more than 350,000 people and generating more than 365,000 engagements. The campaign performed well above social media marketing industry benchmarks for average costs for engagements and click throughs to the Yes 4 JCPS website. Videos performed especially well, with more than 750,000 views on Facebook alone. Through earned media, the team generated a measured reach of 74.3 million people at a publicity value of more than $930,000.