As election season heats up, we’re working on a number of get-out-the-vote spots for our old friends at The Environmental Voter Project. Their mission is to “identify inactive environmentalists and transform them into consistent voters to build the power of the environmental movement.” If you want to dive deeper into what that means, here’s the launch video we made for them several years ago.

For the 2024 election, we’re making a series of YouTube spots that are specifically targeted at known demographics in select “battleground” states that — thanks to our quirky electoral college system — will likely decide the presidential election. The target demographic contains potential voters that not only are environmentalists, but also consistently under-participate in elections.

Here’s a look at a recent one we did for Arizona. As you watch, pay close attention to the messaging. Each shot is carefully considered…

EVP founder and executive director Nathaniel Stinnett walked me through the behavioral science “nudges” that inform each script line:

  • More and more Arizonans are voting each year: This leverages the behavioral psychology concept of “trending norms.” Most people — because we’re social animals — feel pressure to conform to normative behavior (i.e., what your peers are doing), but that pressure is even greater when the norm is trending away from you (i.e., more and more people are doing this thing that you’re not doing!). It essentially elicits FOMO from our targets.
  • Record-breaking numbers: This is basic peer pressure.
  • Don’t be left behind: This reinforces the FOMO feeling related to the trending norms mentioned in the first bullet point
  • Be a good voter: This is turning our desired action (voting) into a description of someone’s identity (good voter vs. bad voter). It’s much more powerful to equate the act of voting with the type of person someone wants to be than it is to try to logically convince them of the value of voting.

So there you have it: The science behind persuading unengaged voters to get out there on election day and make a difference. We’re looking forward to releasing spots for more states before November 5!