Winning an Uphill Battle

Protecting Equal Marriage Rights in Massachusetts

When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court legalized same-sex marriage, the state legislature went to work on a constitutional amendment to overturn the historic decision. At the time, only 50 members of the 200-member legislature voiced support of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples. Public opinion was split right down the middle, with polls showing only half of the state’s voters supporting marriage equality.

MassEquality, the state's leading grassroots advocacy organization, engaged the team at Hattaway Communications to help design and execute a groundbreaking campaign to win an uphill battle.

Extensive research, guided by our aspirational communication methodology, informed the development of a series of messages that spoke to the values and aspirations of voters: No discrimination in the Constitution. Love and commitment deserve protection. Who are we to judge others? It’s wrong to vote on rights.

The messages were delivered through a fully integrated campaign that utilized a mix of online advertising and organizing, extensive grassroots mobilization and constituency-building, news coverage and television advertising.

Emotionally resonant ads rose above the pitched political battle and put a human face on the issue by highlighting the stories of couples and families. The ads generated tens of millions of ad impressions and doubled weekly traffic to MassEquality’s website.

As the five-year battle dragged on, MassEquality was concerned that its grassroots supporters would tire of the effort. We conducted unique research and message development with core supporters to find out how best to rally the base for the home stretch of the campaign.

The research-based message and integrated media campaign helped MassEquality recruit a statewide volunteer network for the campaign’s final push—resulting in 20,000 postcards and 2,000 phone calls to legislators, 139 constituent meetings with legislators, and 1,114 letters-to-the-editor in state newspapers.

The battle for human rights was watched around the world. When the legislature held its final vote, MassEquality had persuaded 151 lawmakers to cast their ballot against the discriminatory amendment. Surveys showed that public support for marriage equality had increased by 10 points.

Today, all couples and families share the same rights and responsibilities under the state’s civil marriage laws.

Services 

• Public opinion & core supporter research
• Message development
• Grassroots organizing
• TV, print and online advertising
• Direct mail
• Media relations

“Energetic organizing and strategic communications worked together to help win an uphill battle.” – DeeDee Edmondson, Political Director, MassEquality

“MassEquality used every tool available to convince legislators, persuade the public and keep supporters motivated.” – Alex Cole, Hattaway Communications