★★★ THIS WEEK WE ARE SWEARING IN our new Vice President of Communications, WES BATTLE. Wes’ communications leadership includes twenty years of media, political, military defense, and strategy. He will head CRAFT’s communications and media team.

A veteran U.S. Naval Aviator, Wes served as a key advisor and strategist to the Secretary of the Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Randy Forbes.

Wes also brings sports marketing and international consulting expertise to CRAFT, having led and developed an international campaign to successfully reinstate the sport of wrestling to the Summer Olympics. He started his career at George Magazine and covered Madison Avenue for The New York Times.

★★★ CRAFT ADDS SIX MORE TO THE TEAM — NO CONFIRMATION HEARINGS NEEDED. Please welcome TAYLOR MOYER, Account Executive, LINDSEY MCGOUGAN, Digital Media Analyst, JESSICA STOBER, Account Executive, JACK MILLER, Executive Coordinator, GREG SMITH, Account Executive, and KAREN REINSTEIN, Junior Graphic Designer, to the CRAFT team.

Connect with Wes or read more about him.

“CRAFT IS AN IDEA FACTORY”
★★★ Recently, a trade association CEO proclaimed, “CRAFT is an idea factory.” We like that.

As a true differentiator, CRAFT’s investment in creative talent surpasses that of many agencies. Why?

The demand for killer content and messaging is rising, and the barriers to creating them are falling. These are good times. Ideas. Digital. Social. Mobile. TV. Radio. Any way to communicate more effectively and connect more closely is better.

We ignite the ideas that fuel creativity. Because creativity and strategy in equal measure provoke audiences in our digital and social world. People remember what gets their attention. And in our game, a memorable message is everything.

Emotive, inspiring content and captivating imagery is the most effective way to persuade people and engender action. That is why we design winning campaigns and collaborate with brands and trade associations to develop distinctive personalities and identities across a range of industries.

To take our clients’ creative to the next level, we built an in-house creative team of versatile artists and designers. Please meet our artists and see our work.

Let’s see what we can create together!

WE ARE HIRING

★★★   We’re hiring three positions: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE…Check it out here, DIGITAL MEDIA ANALYST…Check it out here, and EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR…Check it out here.

 

CRAFT-ING PAC SUCCESS

★★★ Today’s PACs need to educate and incentivize in a matter of seconds (try 8). Old school tactics and “playing it safe” are less and less successful because they don’t align with modern consumption habits.

Fundraising strategies must combine breakthrough visual content with a mobile-first mindset.

After servicing political action committees for more than 6 years, CRAFT is officially launching CRAFT PACs — providing strategy, creative, and advertising for the future of the PAC community.

CHANGING CONSUMPTION HABITS = CRAFT TACTICS

Social media isn’t just for millennials. If your donors and prospects are “adults,” chances are they are on social media. Last year Pew Research Center reported that 65% of adults use social media.

★★★ CRAFT TACTIC: PAC content needs to be social media savvy for all generations: visually appealing, to the point, and easily digestible.

If it isn’t visual, it won’t sell. There’s a reason Instagram and Snapchat are the fastest growing communication platforms. They use pictures and videos to tell stories.

★★★ CRAFT TACTIC: Say it with a picture. Good creative doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be authentic.

Mobile is 🔑. The average time spent per day on mobile devices last year was 177 minutes—more than TV (168). Look up from your smartphone if you fall into this category.

★★★ CRAFT TACTIC: Try to explain it within two thumb swipes or 15 seconds. Emails, videos, and graphics should be designed for consumption on a mobile device.

CRAFT PAC SERVICES

★★★ Building a powerful PAC brand is the key to making people remember, act, and give. Email us and let’s start CRAFT-ing something together!

★ PAC videos
★ Solicitation campaign materials
★ Fundraising toolkits
★ Sharable infographics
★ Killer presentation decks
★ PAC brand and logo development
★ Message development
★ PAC websites
★ Email templates
★ Email marketing and content development
★ Annual reports
★ Event collateral
★ Data visualization tools for PAC events
★ Targeted social media advertising campaigns
★ Social media strategy

★★★ IT’S AWARD SEASON, AND INSTEAD OF PLAYING ALONG WITH WHAT OTHERS MIGHT RECOGNIZE AS GOOD ADVOCACY OR PUBLIC AFFAIRS WORK, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE CRAFTIES. 

We’re bestowing accolades in categories you might not recognize, with takeaways that show how a creative approach wins in today’s changing media environment. As you tackle your 2016 advocacy and communications priorities, think about what will stand out from the crowd, make your point, and win a CRAFTY.

★★★ 

#1. Best Use of an App for Anything Other Than Its Original Purpose.

Winner: Uber. Uber used its app to show riders how long rides would take if a New York City regulation limited additional drivers. The app allowed users to voice their support for Uber directly to the mayor.

Takeaway: They understand how to turn customers into activists.

★★★ 

#2. Most Creative Digital Food Fight.

Winner: Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. Jeb and Hillary battled it out over 8 hours using Photoshop and snark to one-up each other.

Takeaway: It is better to be fun than stuffy on social—especially when you’re a candidate.

★★★ 

#3. Best Use of Miniature Models During the State of the Union.

Winner: National Retail Federation. NRF prepared tweets and images, connecting NRF’s positions to the President’s during #SOTU.

Takeaway: If you’re going to get noticed while live tweeting, you need creative that stops people in their timelines.

★★★ 

#4. Best Use of a 50 Foot Pole in an Interview.

Winner: Representative Sean Duffy (R-WI). Sean Duffy, an actual Lumberjack, gives an interview to CNN’s Chris Moody on the congressman’s own terms.

Takeaway: The line between hard hitting journalism and entertainment is blurring. Instead of telling your personal narrative, show a journalist what you’re about.

★★★ 

#5. Best Use of Animals in a Video to Subtly Attack an Opponent.

Winner: Android. The “Friends Furever” ad gets buy-in from the audience before taking a jab at Android’s rival.

Takeaway: Who needs harsh attack ads? Getting an “Awwwhh” from your audience while cleverly differentiating yourself is effective and memorable.

 

CRAFT LAUNCHES CONSUMER ADVOCACY, HEADED BY CORY MARAN

★★★ Changes in media consumption have given birth to a new generation of activists – consumers. These new activists are impacting regulatory and legislative efforts by targeting brands, businesses, and industries. If you aren’t engaging consumers like they’re constituents online, then you’re missing an opportunity to activate audiences on your behalf. CRAFT’s HEAT Advocacy campaigns leverage data, digital and social media to turn customers into advocates.

★★★ CRAFT’s CORY MARAN, a rising expert in advocacy campaigns, will officially head up CRAFT’s latest consumer advocacy program.

→ → →Learn more about CRAFT’S CONSUMER ADVOCACY here.

QUICK READ

★★★ In case you missed it, check out CRAFT’s  recent piece on how digital democracy is turning consumers into activists. The article shares how companies like Uber, Airbnb, United Healthcare, and People Magazine aren’t relying on traditional lobbying to protect their interests. Audience interaction with media and politics is forcing dramatic change. Read the MediaPost here.

 

LEADING THE CHARGE

★★★ CRAFT’s HEAT Advocacy drives consumer and constituent engagement like never before. Here are some of the latest battles we’ve waged on behalf of our clients:

1. West Virginia wanted to become the 26th Right-to-work state. CRAFT helped make it a reality.

★★★  The West Virginia Workplace Freedom Coalition partnered with CRAFT to help pass Right-to-work legislation in the state legislature. The stakes were high, with West Virginia poised to become the 26th Right-to-work state.

West Virginia’s business climate presented an uphill battle: a state with deep union history, with recent job loss, looking for an economic solution that appeased all interests.

CRAFT executed a multi-phase campaign, designed around the legislature’s interim and regular sessions, driving constituents to urge elected officials to make the “Workplace Freedom” bill a priority in the 2016 general session.

CRAFT built the campaign infrastructure and produced its digital and social media advocacy, targeting individuals most likely to support freedom, fairness, and choice in the workplace.

With the opposition dedicating heavy resources towards this campaign, we faced a competitive environment. Given near certain expectations of a veto from the Governor, we knew we had to reach as many elected officials as possible. Our campaign drove individual letters from constituents of each of the 34 state Senators, and 82 of the 100 Delegates.

As a result, the legislation not only passed in both the state House and Senate —  it did so with a veto proof majority.

At a time when relationships are in constant flux with changing offices and staff, campaigns like this one are letting elected officials know what the electorate really wants.

2. New York restaurants were singled out by Governor Cuomo. CRAFT gave constituents a platform to voice their concerns.

★★★  Governor Cuomo wanted to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour only for fast food workers in New York State. His scheme included circumventing the legislative process by having an unelected board mandate the increase. Besides utilizing an unfair process, the wage increase discriminated against the fast food industry, potentially crippling small businesses in local communities. On behalf of a coalition, which included the National Restaurant Association, the NFIB, and the International Franchise Association, CRAFT launched a campaign to educate New York residents of the unreasonable act and encourage them to express their outrage over it. The campaign targeted conservatives with small business interests in Republican represented districts, generating hundreds of emails to the unelected board protesting the unfair measure.  

✪ Generated hundreds of letters to board members
✪ Delivered over 400,000 ad impressions to 175,000 people
✪ Ads produced 8,769 website visits

 

3. Franchisees faced a discriminatory fight in Kansas City. CRAFT leveled the playing field.

★★★ Kansas City Mayor Sly James and the City Council proposed a discriminatory minimum wage increase that would have only affected small business franchisees. The proposal would have forced many small business owners to close their doors, since they were going to be treated differently than non-franchised small businesses.

On behalf of the International Franchise Association, CRAFT developed and implemented a campaign to raise awareness of the unjust proposal. The campaign deployed a landing page, radio and digital advertising targeting the Mayor, city council members, and their constituents. By doing this, we applied direct pressure on the key decision makers, demanding equal treatment for franchise business owners and forcing policymakers to reconsider the measure. Ultimately, the discriminatory language was stripped from the final version of the legislation – a win for small business owners in Kansas City.

✪ 250,000 Kansas City residents reached on Facebook
✪ 5,180 clicks to the website
✪ Over 2.6 million impressions

WE ARE HIRING 

We’re hiring Account Executives. Learn more about managing accounts at our cutting-edge agency here.

 

6 for 16: TRENDS IMPACTING ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS CAMPAIGNS. ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT THESE NEW TACTICS, TOOLS, AND TECHNOLOGIES? 

#1 ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL: Large-scale public affairs campaigns are being replicated at small-scale levels – all the way down to municipalities and school board brawls. In 2015, our local campaigns spanned from western Pennsylvania to Kansas City, MO to McCall, ID. Watch for more local programs in 2016.

#2 YOUR CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR LOBBYISTS: Uber won the year by leveraging its customers to fight bad policy, restructuring the app to show New Yorkers how long it would take to catch a ride if Mayor de Blasio’s new rules took effect. Lesson? Leverage your most valuable asset – your clients and customers.

#3 NEW SOCIAL MEDIA ARE CHANGING THE GAME…AGAIN: According to Snapchat, twice as many 18-24 year olds watched the first presidential debate via Live Story than on TV. Journalists are using Periscope to bring their social media followers to the front row of news, turning them into micro-broadcasters. Look for new platforms to change the game again in 2016.

#4 VIDEO PRODUCTION IS MOBILE FIRST: Instead of producing “web videos” for desktop, video producers are crafting content for mobile first. Notice those captions on every Facebook and Twitter video? That’s so you can absorb all the auto-play video content you want, without sound and without embarrassing yourself in meetings.

#5 INFLUENCER MARKETING IS… WELL… INFLUENTIAL: More than a quarter of all branded search results is user-generated content – not developed by a marketing team. Influencers, social media advocates, and bloggers are talking about brands and issues online. Clients are reaping the benefits, making more than $6 on every dollar spent on influencer marketing. Pitch them… pay them… Do whatever you need to do to engage influencers in 2016.

#6 SECOND SCREEN? NO. FIRST SCREEN: A few years back, everyone referred to being on a mobile device while watching TV as using a “Second Screen.” The script has flipped. According to Google, the average time spent per day on mobile devices is 177 minutes, compared to 168 minutes on TV. What else? 50% of mobile devices account for half of all video views on YouTube.