Approach

We deployed a highly targeted, multi-channel digital media program to reach two overlapping but distinct audiences:

• Young Voters Of Color (18–35)
  
  • Built a custom universe of unregistered voters in this demographic by purging the voter file.
  • Ran programmatic video, display, social, and streaming audio ads using platforms like Meta, YouTube, and Spotify.
  • Focused on interest-based targeting that over-indexed with our target demographics. Focused on interest-based targeting that over-indexed with our target demographics.
• College Students
  
  • Geofenced students in all University of Wisconsin college towns, including Madison, Milwaukee, Eau Claire, and La Crosse.
  • Used tailored creatives on social, digital video, and audio platforms.
  • Innovated with Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH): deployed TouchTunes jukebox ads in bars within 1 mile of college campuses. These ads included QR codes that allowed students to register to vote directly from their phones.

Throughout, we optimized creatives and placements for cost efficiency and completion rates, including aggressive A/B testing of video lengths, placements, and audience segments.

Creative

Results

• Impressions: 21 million total impressions on our content
  • 11 million more than projected — a rare overdelivery during a high-demand election cycle.
• Total Video Completions: 3.75 million
  • Video Completion Rate: 68% overall
  • Best-performing were 15-second videos, driven by unskippable inventory.
• TouchTunes DOOH Campaign: 1.4 million impressions served
  • 12,369 QR code scans for immediate voter registration
  • Voter Registration Site Traffic: 29,773 total young voters driven to register
• Cost Efficiency: Despite being in a top-tier battleground state, our CPMs decreased as Election Day neared, defying standard industry trends.

Why It Matters

This campaign didn’t just deliver numbers — it redefined what youth voter registration outreach can look like. By blending cutting-edge media targeting with physical placements in real-world social spaces, we closed the gap between online motivation and offline civic action.

We proved that innovation in digital strategy doesn’t just mean flashy creative — it means meeting people where they are, respecting their attention, and making participation easier than ever.

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Awards

• 2025 Reed Award for Best Voter Registration Campaign Nationwide