Citizens today are increasingly reluctant to sign up for any sort of tax increase, even when the money is destined to support improvements in communities. Yet, for a recent ballot initiative in the Tampa, Fla. area, business leaders were able to get an initiative passed with the help of a communications effort stressing exactly where the money would be spent.
Local government officials and business leaders in Hillsborough County, Fla. hoped to convince citizens to vote for a sales tax increase to fund improvements in schools, roads and construction of a new stadium for the local National Football League team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
When the passage of the sales tax ballot initiative appeared in jeopardy during the summer of 1996, a business political action committee, the Fund for Community Investment, retained Austin, Texas-based public affairs firm Public Strategies Inc. to help communicate the initiative's merits to the voting populace. The fund was supported by area businesses, such as NationsBank Corp. [NB], and the owner of the Buccaneers.
Although the stadium funding accounted for only about 12 percent of the money generated by a new tax, many were concerned about use of public money for a stadium--even though it would be owned by the government, rather than by the team. A milestone in the effort was reached when representatives of the football team and government leaders reached an agreement whereby the team gave control of the proposed stadium to the city of Tampa and the County. Reaching this agreement was the key to gaining enough support for the tax proposition to be placed on the ballot for September 1996, said Jeff Eller, a former Clinton White House communications staffer now a senior vice president at Public Strategies.
Polling Data Aided
Early in the planning, Public Strategies executives learned that they would have to overcome a wary populace if the ballot initiative was to have a chance at the polls. Many voters in Florida remembered earlier claims--since proved wrong--that all money from the state's lottery would be used to fund education.
A poll of voters in July--two months before the vote--showed that voters would support a tax increase only if the benefits were shown to be "community-wide," said Eller. Clearly, if the initiative was seen only as a stadium vote, it would not pass.
Given voters' skepticism, the team working to promote the sales tax increase realized that they would have to emphasize very specifically the projects that tax monies would fund. The plan was to name specific projects--such as a notorious highway intersection--as well as to spell out overall percentages earmarked for various infrastructure categories (i.e. highways, schools). For example, voters were told that the proposed new stadium was to receive only 11.7 percent of the tax money raised.
Direct Mail and Ads
Public Strategies executives chose to get a message out to the public via direct mail and television advertising.
With voter turnout predicted to be about 150,000, the team executed a direct mail effort in the final weeks of the campaign to reach about one-half--75,000--of the likely voters. Polling data showed that about 17 percent of voters were "persuadable," said Eller.
These voters had concerns about the tax, especially the stadium funding, but the measure covered enough other community improvements, such as schools, that they would be willing to support it, i reluctantly.
A second direct mail effort was planned about one week before the vote, but because of limited funds, this money was spent instead to saturate local TV with ads supporting the tax increase. Like the direct mail, the ads stressed the specifics the measure would fund.
Measure Wins Comfortably
Prior to the Sept. 3 vote, Eller was hoping that the measure would win, with between 51 and 52 percent of voters in support. The outcome was slightly better--about 53 percent in favor and 47 percent opposed. Eller believes a high voter turnout, 50,000 more than expected, contributed to the margin.
Offering his assessment of why the communications effort succeeded, Eller said, "I think we had two good tactical things that helped us win this race--some really specific polling data that let us construct ballot language that could pass, and the focus groups" that helped in the selection of the most compelling advertisements (see sidebar, this page).
(Fund for Community Investment, c/o Hinks Shimberg, 813/254-7567, ext. 227; Public Strategies Inc., 512/432-1910)
Scrolling Text Ad Listing Specifics Was Key
When a business-supported political action committee in the Tampa, Fla., area sought to build support for a sales tax increase to fund infrastructure improvements, the group knew it faced a public averse to tax hikes, and skeptical of claims about where the money would go.
To address these concerns, Public Strategies Inc., Austin, Texas, the public affairs firm working on the ballot campaign, crafted a low-key television ad. The no-nonsense ad featured scrolling text that listed, line by line, the specific projects for which money would go. Focus group testing showed the ad was popular with voters in favor of the measure, as well as with those who did not support the initiative.
This ad was used to flood the airwaves for the six final days leading up to the vote. On average, each voting adult in the area saw the ad at least 10 times during this period, said Eller, a senior vice president at Public Strategies. Because there was no advertising by the interests in opposition to the ballot item, the heavy saturation plan apparently pushed the vote in favor of the measure. "This was a positive spot. There was no organized paid opposition. Nothing moves voters like positive TV [running unopposed]," said Eller.