Driving Narrative Change with UnidosUS
How an Aspirational Campaign Broke Through the Noise
The challenge
The 2020 US Census made news about a major demographic shift in America—the Latino population grew by 23%, while the non-Latino population grew by only 4.5%.
In the midst of these changes, some politicians pushed negative narratives about Latino immigrants to score political points. Polarizing rhetoric painted immigrants as “takers” who took jobs and resources away from American workers and taxpayers.
UnidosUS, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, wanted to confront these negative narratives head-on. The organization partnered with Hattaway Communications to drive a counter narrative, beginning in Arizona—a state long shaped by Latino heritage, but divided by political rhetoric.
“If we don’t tell our story, no one else is going to tell it for us.”
—Raul Yzaguirre, UnidosUS
The AHA!
Narrative testing uncovered a powerful insight: The American public already associated Latino communities with shared values like hard work, family, and resilience. Yet many were unaware of Latinos’ many contributions to the country. The “contributor” frame provided a powerful counterpoint to the “taker” narrative.
Hispanics and Latinos* make valuable contributions to our communities, culture, and economy.
Hispanics and Latinos have been an important part of American society for generations.
Strong support shows respondents who rated each statement a 9 or 10. Soft support shows those who rated each statement a 7 or 8.
Opposition shows those who rated each statement a 0 to 6. *National survey of 1,000 U.S. registered voters with a Latino oversample
*In survey research, it is common practice to use “Hispanic and Latinos,” In UnidosUS’s messaging, we primarily use Latinos.
This is an example of “asset-framing,” which highlights people’s aspirations and strengths, such as describing people as “hardworking” and “striving to stand on their own two feet.” Deficit framing, by contrast, defines people by their problems—such as “poor” or “low-income.”
Positive framing that highlights shared aspirations and values leads to higher levels of public support and purposeful action.
The Shift
The “contributor” insight led to the creation of an Aspirational Narrative that celebrated the role Latinos already play in building a better America—for themselves and everyone who lives here.
The narrative framed challenges facing Latinos as “unfair barriers” that hold them back. It also included a call to action to remove those barriers, which would benefit everyone.
The Action
We created the Count On Us campaign to bring the new narrative to life. The campaign shared real stories of Latino entrepreneurs, artists, educators, and firefighters, and distributed data points about their contributions to Arizona, such as:
$2.4 billion in state taxes paid by Latino immigrants in Arizona annually
Nearly 1 million Arizonans employed by Latino-owned businesses
7 in 10 Latinos working in essential fields during the pandemic
Count on Us launched in the midst of a contentious Congressional election season. The campaign targeted non-Latino audiences in the Phoenix area who were seeing a steady stream of divisive, negative narratives.
Every Phoenix TV station broadcast live from the campaign kickoff event.
An integrated campaign strategy with online and offline tactics was designed to break through to voters in the busy campaign season. Billboards and video ads on cable TV, YouTube, Hulu, and other platforms were strategically placed to reach voters in non-Latino neighborhoods.
Social media toolkits equipped community leaders, elected officials, sports teams, and others to spread the new narrative through their channels.
A mix of media aimed to break through to voters in non-Latino neighborhoods
The Impact
The results showed the power of a narrative change campaign to shift attitudes and motivate audiences to take action.
Shifted Public Perception
In just two months, up to a 15% positive shift in attitudes toward Latinos in Arizona
Achieved Massive Message Recall
20% campaign recall—over 3x the average for campaigns of this size
Drove State and National Coverage
Coverage by nearly every major Arizona outlet reached 51 million viewers—for an estimated earned media value of $500,000+
Local media outlets picked up the story in 232 cities across the U.S.—from Alabama to Alaska
Sparked Organic Amplification
Over 1,200 social posts from 738 individuals and organizations in Arizona—including Republican and Democratic leaders—reached 8 million+ impressions
Hattaway Communications provides training, technical assistance, communications research, and related services to government agencies.
Email info@hattaway.com to learn more
