Civic Power
A get-out-the-vote nonprofit, scaled to national earned media on a regional budget.
01
— They came to us with
The challenge.
Eight weeks to election day, a swing-state advocacy nonprofit, and a budget a fraction the size of the national groups they were competing with for attention. They needed earned reach, paid amplification, and zero room for missteps.
02
— So we scoped out
The approach.
Three phases, one team. No handoffs between strategy, creative, and execution.
A — Narrative & spokespeople
Built a sharp, defensible narrative and trained three local spokespeople for tier-1 outreach.
B — Earned media sprint
Targeted pitching to national desks tied to local angles — newsroom-ready data, b-roll, and quote packages.
C — Paid amplification
Paid social and programmatic running against earned hits in real time, with a sub-$0.20 cost-per-signup target.
03
— And we transformed
Their business.
Civic Power went from a regional voice to a national one in two months. Coverage compounded — every tier-1 hit fed the paid engine, which fed the volunteer pipeline, which fed the next press cycle.
They doubled their volunteer base in a single quarter on a budget that wouldn't cover a national group's media buy for a week.
— What we set out to do
- Earn top-tier national press coverage
- Convert attention into volunteer signups
- Activate paid amplification around earned hits
04
— Here are
The results.
ROI
Doubled volunteer base in a single quarter.
Agency fees
$135k
Multiple
12x
Return (ROI)
$1.62M
Creative $35k + PR $22k/mo × 2 mo + Advertising $28k/mo × 2 mo = $135k. Return modeled on equivalent paid media value of earned reach.
31
Tier-1 press placements
+412%
Volunteer signups
$0.18
Cost per signup (paid)
118M
Earned reach
"We punched above our weight class. Coverage we'd never have gotten on our own."
05
— And we're still
Working together.
Off-cycle thought leadership for the executive team, owned-channel storytelling, and a standing rapid-response capability for news moments.
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