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2023

Gretchen Whitmer

  • Launched Governor Whitmer’s Fight Like Hell PAC while modernizing her team’s digital program.
  • Delivered a 408% return for direct-to-donate campaigns on Facebook, Google Search, and Twitter.
Gretchen Whitmer standing in front of a podium at a Michigan Democrats convention.
Fight Like Hell PAC

Challenge

Governor Whitmer hired Authentic to modernize her online fundraising program and to support the launch of their new organization, Fight Like Hell PAC. This new group is dedicated to championing critical issues and supporting Democratic candidates who share Governor Whitmer’s commitment to equitable policies, social justice, and community empowerment.

Our team moved swiftly to develop a fully-functional website and brand within a five-day window, complemented by a complete audit of Governor Whitmer’s email, texting, and paid media programs. From there, we dramatically improved their email deliverability, leading to substantially higher open and donation rates from grassroots donors. Our paid media team delivered a 408% return-on-ad-spend in the initial digital fundraising ads we ran for the Governor.

The success of Fight Like Hell PAC stands as a testament to the potential of speed and precision in digital fundraising and advertising.

Services

General Consulting, Online Fundraising, Digital Advertising, Design and Development, Logo and Branding, Graphic and Web, and Mobile Messaging.

Strategy

With a tight timeline, our team used our proven process beginning with a comprehensive audit of the Whitmer team’s digital assets with a particular focus on email deliverability and database management to maximize open and engagement rates.

From there we worked with the Governor’s team to build a detailed voice guide to ensure our content was deeply rooted in Gretchen Whitmer’s unique and authentic voice. All the while, our creative team worked quickly to build a bold and dynamic brand for Fight Like Hell PAC that would demonstrate the energy and enthusiasm Gretchen Whitmer brings to everything she does.

By launch day, we had designed a program that maximized the Governor’s ability to communicate and activate her online supporters, from an email and texting program rooted deeply in Gretchen Whitmer’s unique voice, to digital ads that converted new donors to the program — wrapped together with a vibrant branding campaign that stands out in people’s feeds.

Outcome

Our partnership with the Whitmer team, along with the branding strategy that we highlighted in this brand awareness case study, has been a tremendous success.

Throughout the launch of Fight Like Hell PAC and in the weeks and months that followed the launch of our branding campaign, our team has:

— Modernized Governor Whitmer’s digital program across the board; 

— Created direct-to-donate ads with 408% return-on-ad spend; 

— Corrected serious email deliverability issues with the fundraising program; 

— Dramatically increased open and donation rates; 

— Developed fresh and bold new branding for Fight Like Hell PAC;

— Launch new website and video to generate earn media: fightlikehellpac.org; 

— Reactivated a substantial number of inactive subscribers (through Authentic’s proprietary inactive algorithm); 

— Helped the Whitmer team navigate a tough summer slump in 2023 without burning down their email list.

Next Project

Immigrant Justice Fund