MILLION MOM MARCH
THE ISSUE
The Million Mom March made headlines on Mother's Day 2000, when more than 750,000 mothers and supporters gathered in Washington, DC
to demand tougher gun laws.
After this historic event, the Million Mom March transformed
into a national grassroots organization with more then
225 chapters in 46 states.
Seeking to build on the momentum from the Mother's Day rally, Burnside & Associates designed and led a national get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign to educate voters and, consequently, influence
the 2000 Congressional elections.
THE SOLUTION
To maximize the effectiveness of the Million Mom March's limited resources, Burnside & Associates identified 25 competitive Congressional races where participation
by local Million Mom March chapters could have an impact
on the race by increasing turnout of voters supportive
of stronger gun laws.
Burnside & Associates provided detailed political analyses of
the races and developed a field and media strategy
tailored to the local political dynamics.
Specifically, Burnside & Associates:
- Developed and implemented a comprehensive GOTV campaign
in seven priority Congressional races for the organization.
Utilizing experienced field organizers, over 400,000 pieces of mail were sent to targeted demographics.
More than 200,000 voters were contacted by phone and over 15,000 households were canvassed the weekend prior to Election
Day.
- Conducted workshops across the country for Million
Mom March chapter leaders and volunteers in order to
empower members to be effective advocates for tougher
gun laws. Topics included grassroots advocacy, public
relations, GOTV tactics and ways to influence the political
process.
- Designed a paid media campaign featuring billboard,
radio and print advertisements to augment the field
efforts in the seven top tier races. Burnside & Associates handled all aspects of the advertisement
production and placement.
- Developed an earned media campaign to reinforce the
organization's message and policy goals. Media activities included
kick-off events simultaneously in 22 cities, local rallies and forums, press conferences,
speaking engagements for Million Mom March spokespeople,
as well as print and broadcast feature stories on local
chapters.
THE RESULT
By mobilizing like-minded voters to the polls, the Million Mom March was
instrumental in the election of candidates in favor
of stronger gun laws in a majority of priority races,
despite being vastly outspent by opposing groups. The
paid media reinforced the Million Mom March's message and maintained the organization's visibility, while the earned media campaign consistently
generated favorable coverage for the organization and
established chapter representatives as local resources
on the gun policy debate.
In addition, by providing professional training in
media and election activities, Burnside & Associates empowered the local Million Mom March chapters
to successfully organize at the grassroots level. These
tools have facilitated the organization's transformation from a march to a movement.
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