American Experiment wins national award

Center of the American Experiment’s “Think About It” radio campaign won the State Policy Network’s Communication Excellence Award in the Bold Brand Boost Category last week at SPN’s annual meeting in Orlando, FL. The Think About It campaign was a series of radio ads with a structure and voice that carried through the entire campaign. The ads all began with the phrase “think about it” and then raised questions about current public policy topics. For example:

Think about it: Black and Hispanic students in Mississippi perform better in reading and math than Black and Hispanic students in Minnesota…”

Think about it: Governor Tim Walz is forcing California’s electric car mandates on our state…”

Think about it: In just ten years, the Minnesota state budget grew from 14 billion dollars to 26 billion dollars…”

American Experiment produced each radio ad using the same voice talent in an effort to build familiarity over time.

The original campaign began with five different ads that rotated during Minnesota’s 2021 legislative session. The goal was to buy enough ads to penetrate both the Twin Cities and statewide radio markets. The campaign delivered almost two million impressions in the first quarter of 2021, including broadcast and streaming ads.

Three of the radio ads promoted a website that featured a specific call to action, including reaching out to legislators and/or signing a petition.

American Experiment recently produced a new Think About It ad for the summer campaign supporting Minnesota police: “Think about it: Murders in Minneapolis are up one hundred and eight percent so far in twenty twenty-one. Shootings and carjackings are even worse…”

There was significant audience engagement to the Think About It campaign. The radio ads that included calls to action contributed to thousands of emails sent to legislators, including 834 emails sent to each member of a conference committee as they were deliberating Green New Deal provisions (which were eventually dropped).

“The ads were heard millions of times by hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans, and they helped raise the awareness of American Experiment’s brand,” said John Hinderaker, President of Center of the American Experiment. “We made a substantial commitment to this campaign, and using a consistent theme like Think About It made it more effective as a brand-building effort.