To better understand support of all (3) initiatives, Blue Earth Marketing conducted polling of likely Nebraska voters to help determine over-all messaging. Polls indicated favorable support for all (3) initiatives with the number one key issue with likely voters being property tax relief. Polling information was crucial to over-all messaging as it provided a road map for creative moving forward. Initial messaging strategy was crafted around voting “For” all 3 measures will significantly reduce Nebraska property tax. Additionally, a key messaging strategy was educating voters on the fact that Nebraskans are already spending over $400 million a year at casinos in surrounding states, which formed the campaign slogan/committee name: Keep the money in Nebraska. This simple messaging was easy for Nebraska voters to understand and support which played a key role in all (3) initiatives passing overwhelmingly.

Our initial research indicated a strong opposition from special interest groups regarding all (3) initiatives. To what degree at the beginning of the campaign was yet to be seen but during the first couple of weeks into the “roll-out” campaign it became very clear what our client was up against. Blue Earth Marketing was prepared for a negative campaign by the opposition and shifted messaging to address the negative and fear-based tactics rolled out by the opposition. We recommended to our client not to abandon the original positive messaging of property tax relief and keeping the money in Nebraska but to supplement a campaign counter-attacking the opposition’s false advertising.