A New Brand Drives New “Waze” To Educate Voters

One new brand, a major innovation on Waze, a million vote reminders, and demonstrable engagement in our target audience.

Associations and issue organizations can play a key role in educating and motivating voters. In 2018, Red Edge worked with its longtime clients at Associated Builders and Contractors to develop a powerful and engaging new civic-engagement platform: We Build America. The campaign included:

• A well-researched, creative brand identity
• A web-based action site that linked civic-engagement tools, including ways for voters to find their polling place, information on key issues that impact employees’ mobs, information on endorsed candidates, and more
• A first-of-its kind GOTV reminder ad campaign on the directions-app, Waze, where we delivered more than 1 million tightly targeted voter contacts
• A brand video that demonstrably increased construction employees’ pride in their job and interest in voting

Waze: Targeting precisely the right audience to turn out to vote for free enterprise, Red Edge and ABC pushed more than 1 million reminders to Waze users whose voter file and consumer data files indicated that they are 1) employed in construction and 2) support free enterprise and pro-growth tax policy.

Brand Anthem Video: In the broader picture, We Build America is in its first cycle and delivered hundreds of thousands of views for this video exploring the importance of construction to the U.S. and its electoral system. We focused on the pride employees feel and used that as an initial connection point and updated and tailored a parable to engage viewers:

Red Edge tested the video, which garnered powerful results:

• After watching the video, 85% reported feeling pride in working in the construction industry, including 35% who were very proud
• After watching the video, 75% said they were motivated to vote for free enterprise

This was not the first collaborative innovation for ABC and the Red Edge digital media team. Previously, the association and firm developed the ABC Action iOS and Android App, dubbed a “game changer” for its 2013 introduction which drove an immediate 3x increase in grassroots activity by ABC members. The key to success: getting into phones of construction employees, who are on the road and onsite all day — not sitting at a desk.

For more on Red Edge’s fun history of exploring new technologies, see case studies about Facebook, Snap, augmented reality (here and here), and pioneering powerful programmatic in the digital-right space (fun version here).