The New York League of Conservation Voters had a mission: to ensure Brian Foley got elected to the 3rd State Senate District on Long Island. Foley’s strong pro-environment credentials made him an attractive choice for the non-partisan, policy making, and political action organization.
NYLCV used many of the same efforts you typically see in a good campaign. They created mailers, TV spots, and asked for donations from supporters. These actions alone might have been enough to get Foley elected, but NYLCV wasn’t taking any chances.
In addition to these traditional campaign methods, they took the campaign to the next level – making the most of software they already had.
First, knowing that awareness is an integral part of any election, NYLCV used their e-Marketing Software Module in their Databank, along with their web site, to get the word out about Foley.
“The Databank played a front-line role in getting the word out to our supporters. We used a variety of platforms, including our weekly e-newsletters, fundraising pitches and member updates to announce each development. thedatabank set us up templates that made contacting and engaging our members a breeze” said Dan Hendrick, Communications Director at NYLCV. All of these emails contained links to their website where supporters could learn more about Foley.
Dan added, “Our goal here was to create a steady drumbeat of news. The slow, deliberate roll-out of our campaign allowed people to digest the complexity and size of our political campaign, and to drive traffic to our web site. Our print mailings were targeted toward donors, so the emails allowed us to offer them cost-effective news updates that didn’t include a hard pitch for contributions.”
Second, they used thedatabank’s new mapping feature to identify a key neighborhood for distributing their endorsement literature door-to-door. They choose a walkable neighborhood with a high distribution of NYLCV members, in order to maximize the impact of their volunteers in the days before the election.
Brian Foley won the election on November 4th. Dan said NYLCV received overwhelmingly positive feedback from their members, who were thankful for an insider’s perspective on the campaign.
As for NYLCV’s future plans, “Our goal now is to translate the electoral success into legislative progress. The Databank will be our partner in this next phase of our campaign — making sure our elected officials deliver on their promises,” said Dan.
For more information on the New York LCV, visit www.nylcv.org.
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