Generation VOTE
August 2020 — January 2021 | Bucharest, RO
Project Overview
Social media initiative that aims to demystify politics and make voting cool for the Z generation in Romania in response to multiple election cycles where young people were the least represented demographic. The three main pillars of the campaign were education, resource-sharing and memes.
My Contribution: Content Strategy, Engagement Strategy, Partnership Outreach, Media Coverage
The Team: Tushar Advani, David Mihai, Alexandru Danescu
The Problem
In 2016, the 18-24 age group was heavily underrepresented in Romania's local and general elections. Most efforts to address this issue were made by the media, which demonized and put the young generation under heavy scrutiny.
The Solution
Creating a community that speaks the same language as the Z Generation, has an age-appropriate tone and finds the young voters on the channels they are most familiar with. Generation VOTE crowdsourced funny catchphrases and calls to action that were turned into shareable posts by a team of 25 graphic designers from Romania. Moreover, the information was delivered through very succinct and visually captivating posts and Reels that are easy to watch, understand and share.
Educational Materials
Built partnerships with local experts and organizations (in this case Dear Society) to create educational materials for demystifying laws and logistics behind local and general elections in Romania.
The Election Turnout
Successfully contributed to a 49% rise in voting presence of the 18-24 age segment in Bucharest during the 2020 Local Elections compared to 2016.
Contributed to keeping the 18-24 age segment’s turnout steady at the 2020 General Election while other segments dropped by 13%-18%.
The Effect
Recruited & coordinated a team of 450 ambassadors for online and offline campaigns
8,000 Instagram followers in 4 months
230,000+ views on Instagram Reels
22,000+ views on IGTV
2,600+ Instagram posts saved by the followers
10,000+ Instagram post shares
13 articles published
Collaborated with 50+ influencers with 200,000+ Instagram followers
900 Romanian Lei revenue from selling merchandise
500 Romanian Lei raised through donations
Artist Features
By partnering with two well-known graphic designers (Illustrescu & Ilustaria), the project launched a call to art campaign that gathered submissions from over 25 artists who brought to life some of the project’s mottos
Special Campaigns
During election-weekends, we provided the community and our partners with template posts they could post to show solidarity with the youth voting movement Generation VOTE created by “closing” their accounts for a while.
Press Highlights
English
VOTE Generation: Two young people start a campaign encouraging Romania’s youngsters to vote
(Romania Insider)
Romanian
Pana se trezeste lumea (Decat o Revista)
Generatia VOT, o gasca unde mersul la urne e ceva cool. Tara, tara, vrem votanti! (Cariere)
Alegeri locale 2020 (Digi24)
Incearca noul modul de cautare din Republica (Republica)
Revenirea Generatiei VOT (Romania Curata)
Partnerships
Funky Citizens
Forum Apulum
National Student Council
National Student Forum
Hope4Humanity
Dear Society
Vot Corect
Expert Forum
Activist Factory
Her Time Romania
Girl UP Romania
Rock Monsters
The Budget Project
Local student organizations