People NOT Politicians – Missouri

The Challenge

When the Missouri legislature called for a special session to redraw their congressional maps in August of 2025, People NOT Politicians Missouri knew immediately they had to prepare to launch a referendum campaign that would put any new maps up to a vote. They wanted both local attention to ensure public awareness, volunteers, and signatures, as well as national attention to highlight Missouri’s role in the national redistricting battle and cement their organizational brand. 

Our Role

GPS Influence provided strategic communications counsel to help garner both local and national earned media coverage, create a new media strategy, and shape the narrative around both the referendum and the organization’s brand. Our team created the messaging and strategy that took this defense of democracy startup from zero to sixty in under 30 days.

Our Approach

The strategy focused on reaching audiences through modern news ecosystems, including social media, podcasts, newsletters, and traditional media. We utilized regular press events, timely press releases, and a deep bench of relationships with local and national outlets to stay on top of a story that evolved quickly and to keep Missouri’s referendum in the conversation. Long-term, we sought to continue the organization’s democracy advocacy work by conducting media training, highlighting the team as leaders in this space, and crafting written material so they could own the narrative.

Results

• Planned and staffed multiple virtual and in-person press events, including press conferences with coalition partners and a rally at the Missouri Capitol.
• Received over 300,000 signatures on the referendum from all counties in Missouri.
• Secured placement in both top-tier national outlets (e.g. New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, NPR, POLITICO) and hundreds of local and regional outlets. 
• Utilized placements with new media outlets such as podcasts, Substacks, and influencers for broad reach.
• Launched a Substack for the organization to aid in brand narrative.
• Selected as a finalist in the Best Public Affairs Campaign category at the 2026 Reed Awards, recognizing the success of this work.

Outcome

In the face of unrelenting opposition from elected and unelected officials, our team raised local and national awareness, shaped the narrative, and positioned the campaign as democracy defenders. Additionally, earned media from the campaign directly shaped AI search results, with half of the top sources cited in ChatGPT responses about Missouri redistricting coming from GPS-secured coverage.