The premise

In November 2016, Prop V and Prop HH appeared on ballots in San Francisco and Oakland, asking voters to consider placing a penny-per-ounce tax on distributors of high-calorie, low-nutrition sugary drinks. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence linking sugary drink consumption to obesity and chronic disease, the American Beverage Association was funding a multi-million dollar opposition campaign fueled by deceptive claims that the initiative would pass a “grocery tax” on to consumers. We were brought in to set the record straight.

The work

We built a digital brand from scratch that created visual cohesion between the ballot initiatives, which was brought to life on social media, display advertising, video outlets, and tailored websites for San Francisco and Oakland. We used polling to identify our key audiences and built a creative suite that we refreshed throughout the campaign to follow a linear, three-phase message funnel. We started with awareness, familiarizing voters with the ballot language and outcomes of a “YES” vote. We built to persuasion, highlighting the health risks of soda consumption and deceptive marketing tactics by Big Soda. We ended with mobilization, helping voters create an action plan for Election Day.

The results

• Increased awareness by 22 points between our campaign launch in September and Election Day

• Drove a 6-point increase in message agreement and 3-point increase in issue support, contributing to a decisive win on Election Day.

• The Soda Tax passed with 62% support in San Francisco and 61% in Oakland.