Media, entertainment and consumer brands band together to ‘advance civic engagement’ before US election
More than a dozen media, entertainment, and consumer brands, have announced the creation of the Civic Culture Coalition, which works together to advance civic engagement both internally in their own companies and externally through public awareness on-screen, online, and in their respective communities.
I am a voter.
The Coalition will deploy its cultural relevance, resources, and reach not to sway one way or another on divisive details, but to unify around a central truth: that our democracy works best when we all participate, according to a release.
Participating organizations include: the Ad Council, AMC Theatres, Anonymous Content, ATTN:, AwesomenessTV, Bad Robot, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), DoSomething.org, Entertainment Industry Foundation, iHeartMedia, Lyft, SB Projects, TOMS, Tumblr, Univision Communications, Vice Media and others.
The Civic Culture Coalition also announced the launch of ‘I am a voter.’, a nonpartisan public awareness campaign powered by pop culture to shift the way people think about voting and ultimately increase turnout in the 2018 midterm elections and beyond. The campaign seeds a cultural shift through storytelling – from PSAs to conversational content – that mobilizes the public to pledge to be a voter and get involved with partnered nonprofit organizations.
“The Coalition harnesses the reach and resources of each of the member companies to weave voting into everyday life for a wide and inclusive audience, with the unified goal of creating a more engaged and active electorate,” said René Spellman, an executive with the CAA Foundation. “The campaign is designed to encourage Americans to establish a voter identity – ‘I am a voter,’ rather than ‘I vote’ – and to celebrate voting as an expression of self rather than as simply a behavior.”
‘I am a voter.’ today (September 17) also launched powerful civic technology to engage and educate voters. First, a website powered by Democracy Works’ TurboVote tool helps anyone across the country register now, and volunteer to register others too, at iamavoter.com. Second, a user-friendly text message platform that invites Americans to text VOTER to 26797 and get up-to-the-minute election updates, reminders and everything they need to cast their ballots and engage with our partners’ tools and events.
To offer additional resources and reminders to voters, ‘I am a voter.’ aggregates and amplifies 501c3, nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration tools from Democracy Works, HeadCount, Rock the Vote, Vote.org, Voto Latino; public events such as rallies and parties at the polls by When We All Vote and #VoteTogether; and national coalitions ElectionDay.organd National Voter Registration Day.
“$4.1bn will be spent by partisan groups to reach ‘likely voters’ that are neither fully representative of the world we live in nor the entertainment audiences that consume and create culture in America,” said Debra Cleaver, chief executive officer of Vote.org. “The Coalition operates at a level above the contests and political noise to help nonpartisan resources reach voters, and we’re thankful to I am a voter. for supporting organizations that offer culturally relevant opportunities for volunteers.”
Influencers and celebrities have already shown their support for ‘I am a voter.’ by wearing the campaign’s official pin and t-shirt. The pin was worn throughout New York Fashion Week by designers and influential industry leaders, including, but not limited to Jeremy Scott, Maria Cornejo, Cynthia Rowley, Waris Ahluwalia, Timo Weiland, Pamela Love, Ali Wentworth, Sophia Bush, Sarah Hyland, Debra Messing, Henry Winkler and Rebecca Minkoff, among others, with onsite campaign support from Prabal Gurung, Rosetta Getty and Chloe Gosselin. ‘I am a voter.’ activations have continued on the red carpet in the lead up to the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.
In celebration of National Voter Registration Day on September 25, various coalition companies will join together in a “media shutdown” on their owned platforms and push a single message: Register Now. Vote November 6. The shutdown will last three minutes – the time it takes to register to vote.
Through National Voter Registration Day, digital influencers will release content around the theme ‘Register While You Wait.’ The content will remind fan bases that registering, or checking to make sure they’re registered, is quick and easy.
And beginning next week, the Ad Council and coalition members will distribute campaign content to media outlets nationwide that will run in donated media time and space.