Voters are moved when they can see how an issue touches their family and those they love. At McKenna Media, we have secured victories for ballot measures and advocacy campaigns with effective TV, radio and digital advertising that resonates with voters and speaks to their lived experience.

Fix Horry County Roads

Horry County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country, and the infrastructure is struggling to keep up. We worked with XXX to help pass Ride IV, a ballot referendum that funded important road and infrastructure improvements across the county. The marginal tax increase passed with over 60% of the vote even in traditionally conservative Horry County.

Kentucky Anti-Voucher Constitutional Amendment

Kentucky public schools were under threat in 2024 when school voucher advocates put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to defund public schools and enshrine the vouchers system in the state Constitution. We proudly worked with the KY Democratic Party to film Lt. Gov and former teacher Jacqueline Coleman, successfully fighting back against the effort.

Nashville Transportation Ballot Initiative

Traffic, gridlock and unsafe roads plagued Nashville for years, but solutions had eluded lawmakers time and time again. Mayor Freddie O’Connell had a plan to change that, and he turned to McKenna Media to help get it done. We made three ads promoting Nashville’s “Choose How You Move” transportation improvement plan, winning the ballot initiative by a dominant 2-1 margin.

 

YES ON QUESTION 2 STATEWIDE REFERENDUM

An opportunity to bring a new source of funding to Maryland schools was on ballot in 2020 by allowing sports betting in Maryland. McKenna Media worked with the Yes on Question 2 Campaign to create the television and digital advertising urging voters to vote yes on a ballot measure and provide critical funding to schools suffering during the coronavirus pandemic. The referendum passed overwhelmingly with 67% approval.

Mississippi Black Woman’s Round Table “Future”

In this animated Super Bowl commercial, the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable calls Black women to action—on and off the field. The game is on, the stakes are high, and as the football transforms into a ballot, the message is clear: voting is our power play.

 

ACLU – From Home Confinement to Clemency

In early April 2020, the ACLU came to McKenna Media with an urgent need: advocate for the immediate release of incarcerated Americans who were in danger of losing their lives to COVID-19. Our mission was to create an ad campaign to pressure those in positions of power to do the right thing by releasing elderly and vulnerable incarcerated people from prisons and jails before it was too late. We needed to deliver a compelling, emotional ad that would drive change quickly – all while operating under the restrictions of working in a pandemic.  

Within a week, we worked with the ACLU to deliver two 30 second spots.

Featured on national TV:

We aired the spot on national TV to draw attention to the issue, and directed our message to state leaders in city capitals like Columbus, Harrisburg, Hartford, Oklahoma and Richmond, resulting in the successful release of tens of thousands of endangered Americans.

Families were told the change would be permanent, but in a cynical about-face days before leaving office, the Trump Administration declared that those individuals would have to return to prison after all.

It was now up to the Biden Administration to reverse the callous decision, a decision that would change everything for families like Jesse Rodriguez’s. Like so many others in home confinement, Jesse had found employment, enrolled in a local college and was raising his young children at home. The ACLU jumped into action, working with partners at FAMM to hold the Biden Administration accountable to its commitments on criminal justice reform.

Our job at McKenna Media was to tell Jesse’s story and send an urgent call to President Biden: To use his powers of clemency to keep families like Jesse’s together.

The ad ran on national TV and in a targeted cable buy in Wilmington, Delaware, where the President was spending Labor Day weekend. Weeks after our targeted communication, the Biden Administration announced it would start the clemency process for families like Jesse’s.

Strong Schools Maryland and Maryland State Education Association

Following an extensive evaluation of Maryland’s schools, the state’s largest education stakeholder along with a group of education advocates trusted McKenna Media to explain what better public schools would mean for Maryland families.

Leading a paid and earned media effort, McKenna Media reminded Marylanders what better opportunities and outcomes our kids would have when schools are fully supported.

Blueprint TV ad:

Digital ad:

ADDITIONAL ADVOCACY WORK

  • End Citizens United
  • FWD.us
  • Truman National Security Project
  • People for the American Way
  • American Bridge
  • It’s Time Network
  • United Nations Foundation
  • ONE Campaign
  • New Hampshire Voices for Healthcare
  • Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association
  • Maryland Beer Wholesalers Association