In mid-March, the Idaho Governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The order deemed thousands of businesses as “non-essential,” forcing them to close. As the shutdown persisted, many Idahoans lost their jobs and businesses. They worried about how they were going to provide for themselves and their families.

In April 2020, Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) launched “Stay-At-Home” stories. In this series, IFF called attention to small business owners whose livelihoods were lost or at risk as a result of the economic lockdown. They highlighted Alisha Anderson, a cosmetologist who wasn’t able to work for weeks and received no help from the government; Tina Bui, a salon owner who had to lay off all her employees; and Evan Pruett, a bar owner who wasn’t sure his business could survive the shutdown.

SPN: What was the story?

IFF: We published 14 stories of Idahoans whose businesses and lives were devastated by Idaho’s stay-at-home order. These people’s livelihoods were declared “non-essential,” and IFF showed the human cost of government picking winners and losers.

SPN: Who was your audience and why?

IFF: We wanted to reach Idahoans outside of IFF’s usual audience with the message that   the government shutdown order was hurting many Idahoans economically, in some cases doing more damage than the virus itself. Our objective was to stir emotion and cut through the rhetoric of “Shutdowns are ok because they’re saving lives.” The shutdown wasn’t saving these people’s lives.

Our secondary audience included existing members of IFF’s audience, as well as Idaho legislators.

SPN: How did you find the story and share it with your audience?

IFF: We collected stories using a social media poll, where we asked people to share how the stay-at-home order affected their businesses. An IFF staffer then called the individuals who submitted the most compelling stories. After ten-minute phone interviews, we wrote the stories and published them on IFF’s website and social media pages, along with a pictures of the Idahoans and their businesses. The stories on social media garnered dozens and sometimes hundreds of comments in support of these business owners.

SPN: How did your storytelling effort influence the policy discussion? How did it boost your brand?

IFF: We wanted to position our organization as a champion of the people, standing for those declared “non-essential” who lost the government lottery and whose livelihoods were shut down. Stories of real business owners were a powerful way to show how government aid wasn’t coming through. They also inspired people to see how they could rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

IFF pointed to these stories when we received accusations of being out-of-touch and willing to let people die of COVID-19 to stick it to the government. The stay-at-home stories directed the narrative back to government’s incompetence and gave evidence that the stay-at-home “solution” truly wasn’t the best for many Idahoans, regardless of the freedom issue at stake.

As a result, our email list and social media following more than doubled over last year’s recruitment. Through these powerful stories, IFF connected with a larger audience of Idahoans who are now listening to our policy platforms and message of freedom.

For their work to call attention to the economic impact of Idaho’s shutdown order, Idaho Freedom Foundation was a 2020 SPN Communications Excellence Awards Finalist for the Powerful Storytelling Award.