Friends of Khanh – Campaign Communications Director

My friend and colleague asked me to support her in her primary election for State Representative in early March, 2020. Little did we know that weeks later a pandemic would sweep the country, drastically changing everything about the campaign and making communications a critical aspect of our path to victory. I was the only paid communications staff person for the campaign, and drafted and advanced our communications plan and social media strategy. I was tasked with coordinating video production with outside vendors, and helped script and direct three inspiring campaign videos. I was a member of the campaign communications brain trust, and primary content creator on the majority of email and social media content.

My three phase communications plan was, loosely-summarized, Phase 1 – The Power of Community, demonstrating a wide array of community supporters; Phase 2 – Voice of the District, demonstrating Khanh as representative of all that makes HD46 great; and Phase 3 – Get out the vote (GOTV). Structurally, the campaign pushed email messaging as a core strategy to activate and engage the base (donors and volunteers), Facebook to grow the base and generate new volunteer and donor leads, and Twitter to stay in touch with motivated supporters and endorsers. Each phase of the campaign was marked by a video reflective of the central messaging of that phase. I also helped design and message test our digital advertising and mailers, which all followed the communications plan I created. The campaign was successful due to many factors, primarily that Khanh was the right choice for the district. She won the primary with 86% of the vote.

Phase 1 Video: Power of Community, which I led on scripting.

Phase 2 Video: What is an American name?, which the campaign produced in partnership with a local civic organization. I was a light touch on this video, but it was reflective of the communications plan and talking points I’d drafted earlier on.

Phase 3 Video: Letter to Maya, which I helped the candidate to conceive and led on scripting:

Shareable Graphics:

Emails sent during the campaign have been lost to time. The timeline of the emails is preserved below to indicate the flow of the communications plan.

Pro-Choice, Health, and Caring – March 17th, 2020 – Announcing our pivot to pandemic protocol. This was part of Power of Community messaging, while addressing emerging needs. We used the moment to talk up Khanh’s reproductive rights bona fides, while simultaenously supporting Covid response.

Power of Community Launch – April 9th, 2020 – Having spent a month racking up endorsements, I led our team on scripting and directing this powerful video to end Phase 1.

What is an American Name? – May 9, 2020 – Produced in partnership with Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), this video ended Phase 2, demonstrating that Khanh is a candidate for HD46, which contains the most diverse census tract in the state.

Letter to Maya – May 13, 2020 – Due to pandemic-related delays, Phase 3 GOTV communications overlapped with Phase 2. Just one week after Phase 2 ended, this final campaign video “Letter to Maya” helped generate considerable voter and fundraising interest in the campaign, and articulated an inspiring vision for the future of the state.

In This Together – our final GOTV email. – May 18, 2020 – Showcasing the wide variety of endorsements for the campaign.