Aspirational Communication Wins a Historic Victory
When Gallup first surveyed Americans about same-sex marriage in 1996, only 27 percent supported marriage equality. Advocates had framed the issue in terms of discrimination, civil rights, and the legal benefits of marriage. The movement lost 30 ballot measures on the issue.
The Human Rights Campaign and MassEquality, a grassroots advocacy organization in Massachusetts, asked Hattaway to help to change the dynamic. We teamed up with psychologists who specialize in emotional research to conduct in-depth research with “ambivalent” voters, who had mixed emotions about the topic.
Exploring the aspirational, social, and emotional dynamics of the topic uncovered a powerful insight: Many voters shared the same aspirations for marriage as same-sex couples—a lifetime of love and commitment.
Reframing the issue around that shared aspiration led to a new storytelling strategy, focused on authentic examples of couples who stayed together through thick and thin. The new narrative helped millions of Americans to change their minds.
In recent years 7 in 10 Americans surveyed support marriage equality—a powerful example of “durable attitude change.”
