Death Penalty Fail

Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national organization that works to transform the justice system from one that harms to one that heals. Their work includes ending the death penalty, strengthening programs that help crime survivors address trauma, and promoting trauma-informed responses to violence that can save lives and help heal communities.

The campaign funder, Virgin Unite, works to unite people and entrepreneurial ideas to create opportunities for a better world.

Reach
How could we reach millions of people in just 3 months? The campaign’s media partner, SunDog Pictures, had spent two years making films about the death penalty in the United States and reasons supporting its abolition. They used a variety of arguments that appealed to both liberals and conservatives with the intention of covering the entire voter base. EJUSA and Virgin Unite needed an online and offline campaign that used these films to convince voters to vote against the death penalty.

Multi-platform digital marketing campaign
We created a multi-platform campaign using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Email as well as Google AdWords. Over three months, we promoted the films on these platforms, asked people to rethink the death penalty, and create compelling visual content to engage people online. Using carefully crafted audience targeting, we ensured that our messaging reached different groups of viewers.

3 Million Reached; A High-water mark for Anti-Death Penalty Initiatives
We reached almost 3 million people with our films and messages. The #DeathPenaltyFail campaign contributed to the decline of the death penalty. While we lost the ballot initiatives by a small margin, our films had a huge impact on people, creating conversations and recruiting evangelists online. Additionally, a voter panel survey we conducted for the David Rockefeller fund also illustrated that online advocacy films can change the minds of viewers on the Death Penalty and are a powerful tool for social change.