Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law

The Challenge

The Brennan Center for Justice (BCJ) at NYU Law is one of the most influential nonpartisan law and policy institutes in the country, dedicated to improving our systems of democracy and justice. In 2022, following a series of controversial decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), BCJ committed to a project promoting court reform—most prominently, the need for term limits. This required delivering a message making the case for term limits and getting that message in front of policymakers while issues surrounding recent SCOTUS decisions were fresh in the minds of those affected.

Our Role

GPS Influence works with Brennan Center’s communications team to raise awareness and shape messaging around litigation and priority legislation, as well as amplifying the work of state-based coalition partners working on the ground to protect voting rights and elections. We accomplish this through a variety of earned media tactics, including direct media outreach via rapid response to issues of interest; media pitches offering BCJ experts as a source regarding key court and legislative action; and assisting in the development and placement of op-eds and guest essays by BCJ experts. But considering the timing element involved with the SCOTUS reform issue, GPS moved beyond traditional earned media tactics and drew upon its in-house expertise to launch a direct-contact paid digital media campaign.

Our Approach

To reach policymakers and drive public support of SCOTUS term limits in a timely manner and to maximize effectiveness, GPS launched a multi-faceted paid media campaign to coincide with the beginning of the court’s term in October, running through the end of Q4. The campaign was a mix of digital ads, videos, and high-visibility digital outdoor signage in the Washington, D.C, metro area—thus virtually guaranteeing delivery to policymakers and members of Congress.

Results

The campaign exceeded expectations in terms of reach, consistently exceeding benchmarks—some by wide margins. Among the tactics deployed:

• Politico Huddle Newsletter Takeover: In-newsletter banner ad garnered 634 total in-email clicks, generating nearly 75,000 impressions; online edition generated an additional 142,000 impressions;
• Video OTT Campaign: A high-quality video campaign ran for 10 days, with a video completion rate of 72%, reaching 95,134 viewers, with nearly 500,000 impressions;
• Digital Billboard Campaign: High-visibility billboards throughout the D.C. metro area yielded more than 1.3 million impressions;
• Union Station/Metro Center Bus Shelter Campaign: Two-week campaign yielded more than 3.2 million impressions.

Outcome

Conversations regarding SCOTUS reform and term limits continued to be a frequent topic throughout Q4 2022, with more than 5,500 articles appearing in mainstream media publications addressing judicial term limits. In Q1 2023—the first quarter following the conclusion of the campaign—that number dropped to 2,200, an indication that the aggressive, D.C.-focused paid media campaign accomplished its goal of increasing awareness and public conversation on the topic during a critical period.