Reason Rally

Giving Voice to the Secular Community

How do you get society to take a marginalized demographic seriously? Frame the message in a way that appeals to a wide audience. That’s what Red Rooster Group did to promote Reason Rally 2016 at the Lincoln Memorial, the largest secular humanist and atheist gathering in the United States, produced by a coalition of 22 organizations.

Services

Brand Positioning & Strategy
Messaging
News Releases
Articles
Advertising
Collateral Design
Website Design
Coordination of Coalition Members
Public Relations Support

THE CHALLENGE: Shifting the Tone

The first Reason Rally in 2012 had been an occasion for people to celebrate their non-theism. It had generated mostly negative headlines in mainstream press about “godless” people. The goals for Reason Rally 2016 were to galvanize more people — not just atheists — to the cause of separation of church and state, and to remove the stigma associated with not believing in god.

THE ISSUE: The Unaffiliated Are on the Rise

Non-believers are on the rise, and facts — not faith — are becoming more important to voters. A 2015 Gallup Poll found that among those between the ages of 18 and 24, 31% claim no religious affiliation. In the 45-49 age group, 16% are unaffiliated. A Pew study found that almost half of American adults do not care if a presidential candidate is an atheist. We developed the PR campaign to bring these facts to the attention of the media and elected officials.

THE SOLUTION: Framing the Message in a Positive Way

Red Rooster Group came up with the theme “Speak Up for Reason!” and positioned the rally as a “Voter Block Party” to emphasize the political clout of this demographic.

A Robust Public Relations Campaign

Website showcasing the inclusive message, roster of speakers, rally schedule, activities such as Advocacy Day, and DC trip planning information.
News releases showcasing the growth of the unaffiliated/atheist population in the U.S. as well as the important of separation of church and state.
Social media messages tying into current events.
Weekly conference calls made sure that everyone was on message for the next week.
Articles and blogs for coalition members to use in their publications.
Digital advertising for social media and websites.
Outdoor advertising in Washington, DC.

THE RESULT: A Positive Change in Coverage

Reason Rally 2016 was covered by major media as a gathering of voters, instead of “godless” people. The message that secular voters are a growing, reasonable segment of the population was reinforced by all media coverage. After the event, the message continued as bloggers opposed to non-theism discussed how to deal with the growing number of secular Americans.

The coverage changed from the dismissive Fox News report on the 2012 Rally to Fox’s on-message report in 2016 and on-site coverage by CNN, resulting in positive news coverage and successful reframing of the message about this demographic.

Red Rooster Group was supported by Sayles & Winnikoff Communications for media outreach and speaker coordination services.

“We looked at quite a few PR firms for Reason Rally 2016, but Red Rooster Group went far beyond the others in learning about our organization, the larger community we work within, and our project. They set a strategy for the communications that not only appealed to our own community, but engendered support from allies and even those with whom we haven’t typically seen eye-to-eye. Their website redesign was efficient and beautiful, while still being easy for my staff to use. They helped us get unprecedented media coverage with a consistent, positive message. All this was made even better due to their staff’s fun, engaged, and friendly working relationship.”

— Lyz Liddell, Executive Director

Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation

Raising Awareness and Funds for Breast Cancer Research

Our multi-faceted campaign raised awareness of the cause, motivated 100 people around the country to host fundraising events, and raised $200,000 for the organization.

Event Branding

A clean symbol of a dove made from three parts, each with three arcs reinforces the concept of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

Event Microsite

To encourage peer-to-peer fundraising, we updated the organization’s fundraising platform with bold, energetic graphics, and lots of resources to help people host successful events.

Emails

We redesigned the emails to be more attention-getting and more personal, with appeals from others in their communities. Each had a clear call to action. These efforts dramatically increased the response rate.

Before

After

All the emails we designed followed suit, with clear, compelling graphics that reflected the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day brand while warmly welcoming people to the community and making clear the actions people could take.

Social Media

We produced a comprehensive social media campaign to generate interest and motivate people to host events and donate.

Printed Materials

We developed a range of print materials as part of the overall marketing outreach to support people who were producing local events.

Public Relations

A vigorous public relations outreach campaign to publications, websites, and blogs achieved a wide range of local and national coverage for the organization. As a result, more than 100 events were held around the country, raising more than $200,000 for the organization.

State Proclamations

In addition, to create credibility for the cause, we reached out to state governments to declare March 3 as Triple Negative Breast Cancer Day. Eleven states issued proclamations, which we touted on social media to bolster community and awareness in those states.

Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange

To gain even more publicity for the organization, we arranged for the client to ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. The ceremony was covered on network and cable broadcast news, with the organizational logo featured prominently.

Media Coverage

CNBC Squawk on the Street
CNN American Morning
FOX NEWS Your World
FOX KTVU Morning News (San Francisco)
ABC KXTV News 10 Good Morning (Sacramento)

Results

As a result, more than 100 events were produced around the country, raising $200,000 and greatly increasing awareness of the organization and its cause.