Be Woke.Vote · 2018
Be Woke.Vote 2018: a get-out-the-vote platform produced like a network
Darrick Angelone cofounded Be Woke.Vote in 2018 with Robert F. Smith and Deon Taylor to reach young voters of color, Gen Z and Millennials. AONE Creative conceived the platform with them, created its entire digital brand, led the creative direction and ran the digital, and the campaign drew more than 150 million impressions.
- Be Woke.Vote
- The Messy Truth
- Roland Martin Unfiltered
- 150M+ impressions
- 2018
- Be Woke.Vote
- The Messy Truth
- Roland Martin Unfiltered
- 150M+ impressions
- 2018
- Be Woke.Vote
- The Messy Truth
- Roland Martin Unfiltered
- 150M+ impressions
- 2018
The brief
Young voters, reached where they watch
Be Woke.Vote set out to educate and engage a young, diverse electorate and open up the political conversation. The answer was programming: conversation series with well-known voices, made for the platforms young voters already use, with the voter tools one tap away.
AONE Creative conceived Be Woke.Vote with Robert F. Smith and Deon Taylor, created its entire digital brand, led the creative direction and ran the digital: the website and voter tools, the social channels, distribution and the paid media campaigns, all delivered through Hyper Engine.
What we did
Series, platform and distribution
- Series
The Messy Truth with Van Jones
Van Jones sat down with Jamie Foxx, Kim Kardashian, will.i.am, Chelsea Handler, Michael Ealy and more on why voting matters. Watch Chelsea Handler · The Messy Truth case study
- Series
Roland Martin Unfiltered
Roland Martin talked power, history and the ballot with Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Dr. James Lawson, Chuck D, Erika Alexander, Erica Ash and more. Watch Erica Ash · The Roland Martin Unfiltered case study
- Platform
Site and voter tools
Plain-language help to register, check a registration, vote by mail and find a polling place, plus election reminders.
- Podcast
Audio first, then video
We developed the series into a podcast: 22 audio episodes in the weeks before the 2018 midterms, then 26 video episodes from January to August 2019, when most podcasts were still audio only. It went out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn.
- Media
Paid media campaigns
Our team ran the paid media campaigns for Be Woke.Vote in 2018 and again in 2020: more than $3 million in paid media across the two election cycles, from the buys to delivery. More on media buying
- Events
BET Experience and Essence Festival
In 2019, voter registration at BET Experience at L.A. Live, with more than 1,000 visitors, and a booth shared with MOBB United at Essence Festival, with more than 2,000, alongside MOBB United’s Champions for Change Breakfast.
Results
Reach, engagement and recognition
- 150M+Impressions
- 50M+Voters reached
- 20M+Engagements
- Time featured The Messy Truth with Van Jones, with Jamie Foxx, in 2018
- Revolt TV picked up The Messy Truth with Van Jones, all twelve episodes, in 2018
- Webby Awards, 2019: a nomination in Social, News and Politics, and a Webby Honoree in Podcasts, Best Host
Campaign figures: AONE Creative campaign reporting.
On set
Kim Kardashian and Van Jones
Kim Kardashian was one of the guests Van Jones sat down with for The Messy Truth in 2018.
What it taught us
Programming that earns attention
Young voters gave Be Woke.Vote their time because it was worth watching. Real conversations, with the voter tools one tap away, did more than an ad could. We bring the same approach to every campaign we run, and AI platform development now lets voter tools like these answer questions in plain language, drawn from official election sources.
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Campaigns
Need to reach young voters?
Be Woke.Vote reached young voters of color with series, stars and voter tools, and drew more than 150 million impressions. Tell us the cause and the date that matters.