HomeMy WebLinkAboutII. B. PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR PROPOSED REFERENDUM 4.29.2025Possible Charter Change
Referendum Public Education
Campaign
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC BRIEFING
Nancy Bloom, Public Engagement Manager
Kelsey Blevins, Channel Manager
April 29, 2025
1
Purpose
Receive City Council’s direction,pending the May 6
vote,on the scope, strategy and funding for a potential
public education campaign to further inform residents
on the referendum question to enhance voter
confidence heading into the polls.
2
Public Education
•Total # of Registered Voters: 348,643 (as of January 1, 2025) - 66% voter turnout
Nov. 2024
•Past public education campaign budgets: $383,174.85 for election system input;
$251,263.66 for redistricting
•Increase in early voter turnout impacts communication efforts/timeline
•2022 Resident Survey: Top Four Preferred Communication Sources from City
•#1 -- Local TV
•#2 -- City Website
•#3 -- Facebook
•#4 -- Direct Mail
3
Public Education: Disseminate & Educate
Owned Media (free)Earned Media (free)Shared Media (free/almost free)Paid Media
#2 - City Website*#1 - Published Content by Media
Partners*
Distribute Materials at
Community Events – Grassroots!
#4 - Direct Mail
Postcard*($182,000)
#3 - City Social Media*Digital Toolkit for Neighborhood
Associations (192)
Paid Media Buy?
Email Databases 15K+
(Previous SpeakUp VB
participants, Be In the Know,
Community Meeting attendees)
Community Public Forum Support
City Staff Intranet (7,500
employees)
Business Community – Shared QR
Code
AccessVB Cable Channel Service Bill Insert
Library/Rec/CVB/EcoDev/Cultural
Affairs Collab – Distribution Lists
4
Public Education
•Direct mail sent to every registered voter at least once (pending Post
Office delivery)
•Direct mail:$182,000 for 348,643 postcards mailed to registered
voters, bulk rate postage
•Increase reach and frequency of message to the public requires a
mix of owned media channels, earned media coverage and paid
media
5
Paid Media Example
Using figures from the March-May 2023 advertising buy for the UVA election system
feedback campaign, Communications Office worked with a local advertising agency for
the following paid media plan in addition to direct mail:
$15,000 radio ads
$15,000 digital ads
$9,000 newspaper print ads
$50,000 TV ads
$5,000 in printed materials
& translation services
6
Options for Consideration
Cost Activities Considerations
No Additional Costs/Current Resources -City website/intranet social media, email,
AccessVB and shared displays
-Local media outreach
-Community events
-Reaching those already engaged with
the City
$190,125 -All the above
-Direct mail ($182K)
-Water/Sewer bill inserts ($3.1K)
-Printed materials and translation ($5K)
-Low frequency of message for those
not engaged with the City
-May not reach non-registered but
eligible voters
-Not all registered voters
receive water/sewer bills from City
$229,125
(+$39,000 from tier above)
-All the above
-Radio ads ($15K)
-Digital ads ($15K)
-Print ads ($9K)
-Expands reach and frequency with
non-engaged, non-registered, and/or
multilingual audiences
$279,125
(+$50,000 from tier above)
-All the above
-TV ads ($50K)
-More inclusive reach
-Increased frequency, awareness
-Increased cost closer to election
7
City Council Questions/Discussion/Direction
8