Driving awareness of the outsized impact of COVID-19 on women
The Challenge
Leverage the collective power of progressive organizations to fight for women, especially women of color, who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Insight
Building consensus and stability both internally and externally will strengthen your message and impact.
The Solution
A new brand, We Demand More, and a cohesive campaign that guided a coalition of 70+ organizations — including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Women’s March, Supermajority, UltraViolet, MomsRising, and more.
When Congress passed a COVID-19 relief bill in March 2020 that failed to adequately support women, especially Black, Indigenous and other women of color, Planned Parenthood Action Fund joined forces with 70+ women-focused organizations to put pressure on Congress to include women in the next round of relief.
Blue State helped them align on their voice, shape their identity, and get their message out to millions. From naming, visual identity, and strategy to microsite, video production, and grassroots mobilization — we jumped right in with a compressed and evolving timeline.
A brand to build on
With only three weeks from kickoff to campaign launch, we helped the new coalition align on a name and brand and launch a website to articulate their demands and mobilize the grassroots. The visual identity developed for We Demand More was crafted in parallel with the coalition name due to a tight timeline, and reflected the strong voices behind the organization and the urgency of its demands.
Yet it was also important that the look and feel of the brand didn’t favor disproportionately toward one of the coalition member’s brands over another.So, we looked for something that united them all: Vibrant, highly saturated colors and a use of commanding, all-caps, sans serif typography.
We played off these shared motifs to create a system that was both minimalistic and dynamic. Diagonal background elements were also integrated to bolster the sense of urgency. It’s a brand in which each member of the large coalition — with distinct points of view, voices, and visual identities — could see themselves.
“When we say ‘we demand more,’ we mean adequate health and economic relief during the coronavirus pandemic and the freedom from both racial and gendered violence, including white supremacist and state-sanctioned violence.”
We Demand More website
Standing out in the crowd
Once the identity for We Demand More was solidified, they needed to make some noise. To cut through the hundreds of other campaigns and organizations pushing for COVID-19 assistance, we worked together to shape and implement a mobilization strategy that would break through. From grassroots organizing, to earned and paid media activations, to digital toolkits that helped the coalition members mobilize in unison, we helped amplify the message to key audiences.
Throughout the campaign, our teams drove petition signatures to Congress, organized call-in days to flood Senators’ phone lines, and orchestrated “Twitter storms.” We’ve also supported virtual member engagement events and driven earned media stories around the coalition’s efforts.
Out in the wild
As part of our activations, our team hired mobile, audible billboards in seven cities across the U.S., targeting Republican lawmakers and demanding they pass a relief package as soon as they returned to Washington from their summer recess.
The activation coincided with homepage takeovers and ad placements across major news outlets, including The Washington Post, and other key publications across 15 key states.
This public display made things abundantly clear: Women demanded more and they were going to fight to get it.
The stories we tell
To elevate the compelling personal stories of how women were deeply impacted by COVID-19, we crafted a video showcasing four women whose lives and livelihoods had been negatively affected by the pandemic.
Together, we wrote a script based on pre-interviews with each participant, reinforcing We Demand More’s message. Our team recorded both a :45 second and a 1:45 version over Zoom and helped to direct and guide the participant’s delivery for the edit.
To make the video cohesive with the rest of the We Demand More brand, stylized borders and transitions were included to help the video stand out.
The final video highlighted the deeply personal stories of women — from all different backgrounds — whose lives had been altered by COVID-19. It was featured in a livestream led by Planned Parenthood Action Fund to help set the tone and lay out what was at stake.
The fight continues
Aligning and adapting your strategy along the way is key. Through facilitated workshops, our team helped We Demand More coalition members strategize their mission and pivot messaging to stay relevant.
Unfortunately, the struggle for adequate and comprehensive COVID-19 relief is ongoing. But now, this group is prepared for whatever comes next.
