Campaign to Pass a Smoke-Free Workplace Law in Texas
Challenge:
Despite increasing support for a statewide smoke-free workplace law among a large majority of Texans, lawmakers have yet to pass such legislation in Texas. A coalition of eight nonprofit organizations from across the state hired Noble Strategic to help them achieve their goal to pass a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law in Texas. Effectively framing the issue and demonstrating widespread support from constituents across the state was essential in the effort to secure support from Texas lawmakers who were on the fence or opposed to the legislation.
Strategy:
Noble Strategic developed and implemented a comprehensive public affairs strategy to secure support for a smoke-free workplace law from key Texas lawmakers.
Through proactive media relations and grass tops and grassroots recruitment and mobilization efforts leading up to and throughout the 82nd Legislative Session, Noble Strategic drastically increased awareness of the numerous benefits of and widespread support for a smoke-free workplace law among media, lawmakers and constituents across the state. We worked to secure positive media coverage of the issue through news conferences, news releases, editorial support, opinion-editorials and letters-to-the-editor while strategically framing the campaign’s messages to resonate with key audiences.
Noble Strategic also managed a field team of nine individuals who worked to educate and recruit influential organizations, local elected officials, business leaders, chambers of commerce and other constituents of target communities in support of the legislation. We then worked with the field team to create “heat” for the issue among key Texas lawmakers by mobilizing these supporters with a steady stream of calls-to-action through outreach calls, email alerts, aggressive social media efforts and online advertising campaigns.
Result:
Though the bill did not ultimately pass, the legislation had more support and momentum than in any previous effort and was closer than ever to passing in the 82nd Legislative Session.
In less than a year, Noble Strategic played a large part in building one of the largest and broadest grassroots movements ever seen in Texas:
- Tens of thousands of Texans signed on to support the coalition’s effort to pass a statewide smoke-free workplace law, as well as more than 100 organizations, business groups, musicians and leaders of diversity and faith groups from across the political spectrum.
- We worked to increase the coalition’s Facebook “likes” from fewer than 4,000 to more than 29,000; Twitter followers from about 250 to more than 2,400; and grassroots database supporters from fewer than 14,000 to more than 27,000. We secured editorial support from nearly every major daily newspaper in Texas.
- We distributed more than 100 email alerts to educate, inform and activate Texas constituents in support of the issue.
- Our calls-to-action resulted in more than 8,000 contacts to lawmakers by Texans in support of the smoke-free workplace legislation throughout the 82nd Legislative Session.
- Seven opinion-editorial pieces and 19 letters-to-the-editor authored by influential third-party groups and individuals were placed in newspapers throughout the state.