The Census Can Change Things
CLIENT: HARRIS COUNTY & CITY OF HOUSTON
Every ten years, our nation fills out the census to determine how resources and representation are allocated within states, counties and cities. Harris County and the City of Houston came together to hire us for a campaign that encouraged everyone in Greater Houston to fill out the 2020 census.
Market research showed us that people were distrustful of the census, both for income and citizenship purposes (among other reasons… relationships to government among such a diverse and international population is certainly complex).
Playing on the success of Obama’s “Change”-themed campaign to rally those our data showed less likely to fill out the census and leaning on hopeful, colorful imagery inspired by Sister Corita Kent, I wrote and designed a campaign that focused on the positive change we could enact if we received all the funding possible.
My role:
Collaborative concept, creative direction, copywriting, design, research, community engagement components
Additional credits:
Market research by partner Lopez Negrete Communications
Informed by data from January Advisors
Produced while employed by The Black Sheep Agency
The hand-drawn nature of the illustrations made the campaign approachable and friendly, a metaphor for the things our community could build together.
Trusted influencers for the various cultural and religious communities in Greater Houston could use their social profiles to promote the campaign.
The headline was paired with a shifting, three-part subheadline that gave examples of what could be changed through census funding, and those three parts were customizable per location or per audience. In this case, an outdoor billboard spoke about "Streets. Sidewalks. Parks."
This spray chalk kit could really get our message out into the community, marking improvement needs or, more positively, used by the city to mark repairs or improvements after they had been made.
Hashtag #OurCensus positioned the census as less of a government intrusion (like many of the community perceived it) and more of a community improvement tool. Buttons made it wearable.
This poster spoke specifically to families with children, with a subhead mentioning "Schools. Neighborhoods. Opportunities." The tagline for this campaign reads "It's for everyone."
Community-generated artwork brought people together to discuss neighborhood improvement.
Many local organizations held census events to encourage understanding of the census and the benefit of filling it out.
Door hangers could get our message into apartment complexes, retirement homes and specific neighborhoods that had historically needed home visits to fill out the census.