CREATive campaign 2018
Voting is Sexy, launched in summer 2018, was a series of creative interventions — online, in public spaces on campus and in the classroom — that made voting more visible, less confusing, and more appealing to college students in the November 2018 midterms.
Our high energy, non-partisan project engaged students to co-create and test creative tools that could energize and increase voter participation amongst their peers. We worked with over 50 students in three U-M units and our campaign, which included a range of events, environmental graphics, social media, and videos, reached several thousand students across campus and beyond!
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Here are 8 of our favorite creative interventions:
1
Artscapade Presence
We designed a participatory installation for this Welcome Week event for 2000 freshmen at the U-M Museum of Art. Students were invited to share their thoughts about voting and celebrate being new voters in playful photo-ops with peers.
2
Registration Graphics
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Students developed environmental graphics for the Stamps School hallways to demystify and encourage registration. A map activity made plans for voting visible, reminded students of deadlines and offered QR code links to states with online registration.
3
Michigan Theater Thursdays
In collaboration with the Stamps School’s weekly lecture series, we established a regular presence in the lobby of this majestic theater with timely prompts, answers, merch and snacks. Video shorts, made by our School of Music, Theatre and Dance partners, were screened for an audience of 800-1200 before the guest artist and clarified key voting information with humor.
4
Absentee Voting Explainers
We took on this confusing topic (which was particularly complicated in Michigan in 2018),
in a range of formats: videos, posters and social media stories.
5
Registration Mentors
Our students were trained to help others navigate the registration process. Their peer-to-peer interactions (in classroom presentations and at campus events) were fun, empowering — and effective!
6
White Board Speech Bubbles
This versatile tool for instant photo-ops encourages students to articulate their values — or just have fun. Students could pose with a ready-made message or personalize their expression of voter identity.
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7
Social Media Nudges
Our student-crafted Instagram messages — playful Sex(y Voting) Ed tips — clarified key tripping points. Another series, #MyVoteMattersMonday on Twitter, connected students to each other by posting handwritten reflections about why voting matters.
am I registered to vote?
Our colleagues in the UM School of Music, Theatre and Dance, worked with their students to translate the energy of our campaign into their own creative language. Ranging from playful improvs to carefully scripted and produced voting vignettes, their videos added extra sizzle to the project.