Channeling skepticism into civic power in the South.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS
SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER

Credits:
Phillip Allen, Creative Director
Rentato Martinez, ACD/Copywriter
Stephanie Flores, Art Director

Challenge: Young Black and Brown adults across the Deep South care deeply about the issues shaping their communities, but many feel shut out of the political process. Years of voter suppression, confusing systems, and politicians who only show up when they need votes have made civic participation feel transactional and disconnected from everyday life.

Strategy: We built a multi-year campaign platform that acknowledged that skepticism while positioning SPLC at the forefront of protecting the progressive values young people care about.

We anchored democracy to the issues people actually deal with day to day, including affordability, health care, education, housing, voting rights, and fair representation, while giving them clear, navigable pathways to show how their voice still moves things at the federal, state, and local level.

As the political climate grew more restrictive and intimidating, the work evolved right alongside it, shifting from building awareness to helping people register, understand changing requirements, and vote with confidence.

Results: The platform has consistently outperformed and adapted across three years of shifting political conditions:

• Follow Our Fight (2024) delivered 17.4 million impressions and a 3.38 million completed video views at an 89.95% completion rate.

• Together We Fight (2025) Meta ads hit a 1.28% click-through rate, nearly 3x the platform benchmark.

• For the 2026 Mississippi primary, a tightly targeted two-week push drove a 12.48% search click-through rate and over 4,200 Taboola clicks, both well above benchmark.