The Sierra Club used a recent speech about climate change by President Obama to engage their base with an SMS campaign designed to create a telling image of national support for the President’s “bold climate plan.”
After the speech was over, the Sierra Club sent out a text broadcast to their members asking for their zip code, and their opinions about this new plan “to cut carbon emissions & boost clean energy.” They used the resulting geographic data to build a map that shows the responses. The map demonstrates widespread backing for the measures from all over the country.
Here are a few examples of what some participants had to say:
[I]t’s an important move towards a cleaner future. It is also important in the war against global warming. (Montgomery, Alabama.)
It is about time! We can build a sustainable economy. (Jordan, Minnesota)
On behalf of my four year old, thank you [Mr.] President. (Clinton, Connecticut)
We need clean energy for the future of our kids! (Salinas, California)
You can add your response, see what people are saying, donate to the Sierra Club, or spread the news about this exciting step in environmental protection here.
How Mapping Can Help Your Organization
A map of people’s opinions is a great way to gauge support for policy ideas. If your issue is in the news, you can use this publicity to create powerful and concrete visual evidence of the level of nationwide engagement. The resulting image is also a wonderful reminder that there are many citizens who care deeply about your issues.
To make a map, all you have to do is send a text broadcast to your list asking people for their thoughts and opinions. You then can plot a spreadsheet of the responses on a map using Google Maps – it’s that easy!
Contact your Upland Mobile Messaging account strategist for more information.