June 15, 2023
Announcing the 2023 SPN Communications Excellence Awards Finalists
The SPN Communications Excellence Awards recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in marketing, communications, and media across the state think tank Network. Winners will be announced at a special reception at SPN’s 31st Annual Meeting in Chicago. Winners will receive a grant to pursue future projects, as well as a trophy to honor their effort and results.
SPN is proud to highlight these finalists and to share their success with the Network.
This award recognizes work that increases the positive awareness, reach, and influence of a state think tank’s brand. A powerful brand means an organization has a seat at the policy-making table. Lawmakers and media see the organization as a trusted resource for quality research and information, and citizens look to that organization for information and guidance on important policy issues.
Institute for Reforming Government: Center for Investigative Oversight
In 2023 the Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) launched the Center for Investigative Oversight (CIO). The CIO’s mission is to conduct and support rigorous, independent, and objective oversight of Wisconsin’s Executive Branch. The impetus for this project was the recognition that although the Wisconsin Legislature has the constitutional authority and obligation to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch, in practice it was not doing so. The CIO aims to change that by helping the Legislature learn to exercise its oversight function while separately investigating administrative waste, fraud, and abuse that can become the subject for future legislative oversight hearings. To launch the CIO, IRG focused on four separate steps: 1) Infrastructure building such as web development and branding, 2) Building a grab and go oversight “Toolkit”, 3) Conducting their own investigations to complement and suggest legislative efforts, and 4) Intensive legislative outreach to identify champions and further equip them to re-take the constitutional authority of the legislature. Through earned media, digital advertising, and a range of other marketing efforts, IRG has already shifted Wisconsin’s public discourse into expecting more state legislature oversight, and their next efforts will focus on harnessing that energy to demand the legislature do its job.
Kansas Policy Institute: Making Kansas Tax Cuts Cool Again
Since the perceived failure of Kansas’ 2012 tax cuts, the state’s Overton Window has allowed for little-to-no discussion of tax reform. But, following shake-up elections in 2022, Kansas Policy Institute (KPI) spotted an opportunity to make inroads on this problem. Through paid advertising, website content, and videos, KPI took a “myth busting” approach to the many incorrect narratives about what caused budget issues the last time the state attempted to cut taxes. Over the course of the campaign, and with the best cost-to-conversion ratio that KPI had ever seen, they grew their audience by over 2,000 highly motivated citizens concerned about taxes. These voices were then elevated, along with strong messaging, to lawmakers who were able to find the courage to pursue reforms. In the end, a tax reform bill that would have saved taxpayers as much as $1.4 billion was able to pass the House and the Senate with overwhelming majorities. Unfortunately, while the state House overrode the Governor’s veto, the Senate fell two votes short in the override. While the tax bill therefore didn’t become law, KPI was able to boldly boost the brand of tax reform in a state that has laughed at the idea for the past decade, while positioning KPI as a trusted authority on future tax reform efforts.
Texas Public Policy Foundation: Building the Bulwark of Liberty
Everything is bigger in Texas, and communication departments are no exception. As the Texas Public Policy Foundation has grown, it has become a state and national authority on a range of policy topics. To reach new audiences they have continuously built out their communications department, and in 2022 they finished construction on an entirely new Austin based production and broadcast studio. The studio features everything: three separate “stages,” professional video and lighting equipment, editing studios and software’s, and so much more. Through this, TPPF has not only improved its existing products, but launched several new communications products. These products, and the improved quality of all TPPF content, helped them set new personal records in media mentions and appearances, and in social media engagement. Furthermore, TPPF has had multiple lawmakers tell them directly that their videos are great, further entrenching their reputation among key policymaking audiences.
This award recognizes organizations whose communications and marketing efforts have led to expanded audiences and increased capacity for educating diverse audiences in their states and giving them a voice in the state and local policy decisions that affect their lives.
Commonwealth Foundation: Owning the Narrative
Pennsylvania is a purple state, which has recently been at the center of national attention when it comes to Senate and Presidential races. Within this political landscape, it takes a special kind of attitude to stay principled while also building the alliances that make reform possible. This is a needle that Commonwealth Foundation (Commonwealth) has threaded successfully for years. But, they’ve always struggled when it comes to the traditional media, which can hamper their other efforts. Two of the state’s most respected newspapers are very left-leaning, and have historically been hostile to including pieces from center-right groups like Commonwealth. So, in 2021, Commonwealth began direct outreach to these newspapers focused on pitching specific authors with direct ties to the publication’s interests, and positioning these authors as respectful and credible voices whose perspective is worthwhile during public discussion. Today, Commonwealth’s Executive Vice President and their Director of Policy Analysis are regular contributors to both outlets. While these efforts were ongoing, Commonwealth also worked to expand their relationship with Franklin News Foundation’s Center Square publication. Between these two initiatives to reach more left and right of center audiences, Commonwealth has grown their reach and credibility with the liberal audiences and policymakers needed to enact policy in Pennsylvania, while at the same time maintaining their brand and reputation as principled defenders of the free market for their existing conservative allies.
John Locke Foundation: Spanish Language Carolina Journal
Roughly 7.5% of North Carolinians primarily speak Spanish, and overall the state’s Hispanic population has grown by 40% in the last decade alone. But, the John Locke Foundation (Locke) noticed that there was a serious dearth of pro-capitalism limited-government content written or produced in Spanish. So, in 2022 when Locke launched their new website and underwent some rebranding efforts, they made sure to include Spanish-language resources. This included the launch of a Spanish version of their Carolina Journal, known as Noticias Carolina, and a corresponding email newsletter. To craft these products, Locke hired two Spanish-language native contractors who were aligned with the organization mission. Not only have these contractors helped to expand the Journal’s content production, but they’ve also appeared at multiple Spanish-language conferences on Locke’s behalf.
Opportunity Arkansas: (non)Debatable Newsletter
The best audience expansion efforts aren’t focused on numbers alone; instead, they focus on the quality of the audience. For start-up think tank Opportunity Arkansas, casting a big net to get as many audience members as possible was not only ineffective for advancing their strategy, but also too labor intensive for their small staff. Instead, Opportunity Arkansas focused on creating highly valuable content in their (non)Debatable Newsletter focused on the organization’s key audience – policymakers. Knowing that the reforms they most wanted to see would rely on legislative and gubernatorial support, they conducted direct outreach to legislators, administrative heads, and staffers in the executive and legislative branches. Not only did they get the initial signups they were hoping for, but in looking at their metrics they noticed something amazing…forwards were driving most of their subscriptions, including by very high-ranking officials and key policymakers. For the newsletter as a whole, they boast an already impressive open rate of 60+%, but for their key policymaking audiences they see open rates averaging above 75% with some hitting a perfect 100% over several weeks. Their level of success with the highest-leverage audiences shows that quality of content and relevance to the audience can be highly effective at driving an audience strategy, all of which contributed to the many legislative wins that Opportunity Arkansas saw throughout the 2023 legislative session.
This award recognizes storytelling work that improved an organization’s brand and contribute to positive policy change.
Foundation for Government Accountability: Opportunity & Dependency with Watered Gardens Ministries
Given that this Network operates in the policy space, it makes sense that most of our work centers around government solutions or government caused harms. But, sometimes, we get to celebrate the successes of the civil society we all know solves problems the best. And that’s exactly what the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) did through their partnership with Watered Gardens Ministries. This ministry focuses on helping people with addiction and poverty issues through encouragement and connection to work opportunities. Through a series of videos, averaging over 30-thousand views each, FGA was able to demonstrate the importance of a helping hand that encourages self-sufficiency rather than dependence on the government. By coupling these videos with their research, FGA can present policymakers across the nation with fact and feeling based arguments, and evidence, for the power of work-focused poverty alleviation.
The James Madison Institute: Building Stronger Bonds – the Story of an Extraordinary Tallahassee Family
When Harold and Talethia Edwards bought a house in Tallahassee’s Bond Community more than a dozen years ago, they figured it would just be a starter home. However, the more time the Edwards spent making this first house a home that could accommodate their growing family, the more they grew to love and appreciate their community, eventually deciding that they wanted to stay and continue to raise their eight children right there in Bond. Rather than pursue a different community, they wanted to improve their own, and they soon became allies of The James Madison Institute (JMI) in calling for school choice reforms like Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). The Edwards family graciously allowed JMI to share their story, which provides a great encapsulation within a single-family unit of the many types of students that education choice benefits. These examples include, but are certainly not limited to, their musical son who plays five instruments, a studious daughter that skips grades, an artist, a chess club starter, and even a preteen with a genius IQ receiving mentoring from a scholar at Florida State University. From private schools and charter schools to specialty classes and programs, the Edwards meticulously crafted the best education they could for each of their unique children. Meanwhile, JMI helped to elevate these stories and put them in front of lawmakers. This was one of the many factors that led to Florida’s passage of HB1, an education reform package that extends the state’s ESAs to all students, and made other voucher programs like those the Edwards had been using even more flexible.
Yankee Institute: Connecticut Inside Investigator Exposes Opportunities for Mental Health Reform
The Yankee Institute launched an investigative journalism project in April of 2022, entitled the Connecticut Inside Investigator. Managed separately from Yankee Institute, this outlet has quickly built a reputation as a credible source of news with its own distinct brand. Through this outlet, Yankee has been able to investigate abuses of power, failings of government, and a wide range of issues important to Connecticut that the Institute itself wouldn’t usually be able to dedicate time towards. One such investigation, which was originally supposed to be a single-case examination of the convoluted mental health system of Connecticut, quickly spun into its own award-winning multi-year accountability project. Starting with the story of 13-year old Stacy who suffered in the state’s care, Yankee was able to put a very real face on the failure of the state to adequately address the problems in their mental health system. This story gained widespread publication, spurring a statewide conversation and resulting in several tips from citizens concerned about abuses and failures they’d also witnessed. Among several stories that came from those tips, some highlights include finding a private non-coercive peer-to-peer support model that was barred from helping people in Connecticut, and exposing the failure of the state to follow through on a pledged mental health task force. Yankee has gained new audiences through this storytelling, built bridges to potential allies in the future, and helped to position themselves as solution-oriented organization working with anyone who wants to improve Connecticut.
Winners will be announced at a special reception at SPN’s 31st Annual Meeting in Chicago.
If you would like to suggest any changes to the summaries above, or if you have any relevant information to share, please reach out directly to SPN’s Manager of Strategy Development Gabriel Green (green@spn.org).
