Our Work

In 2019, Vantage was asked to develop a comprehensive public affairs strategy to prepare for, and defeat attempts to harm the pharmaceutical industry and their organized labor partners. The focus of this effort was to get targets to engage with the PILMA brand and use the brand to promote an agenda—highlighting the partnership between labor and industry, peripheral issues like safe medicines, and most importantly to defeat harmful legislation.

Vantage proposed a website redesign and a digital program that raised the profile of PILMA and built a grassroots online coalition to engage with select targets on key legislation on the state and federal level.

The new site was designed to be brighter, easier to read and allow for key features to be more prominent. We also incorporated forms on the home page and a back-end system to make taking action simpler and in a way we can easily track and retarget users.

The digital advertising program served ads to nearly 620,000 people nationally. We began with three audiences broadly representing different groups. By carefully optimizing our ads for specific outcomes, we were able to train the computer to build “Look-a-Like” audiences. Drawing from thousands of data points, these computer-built audiences are much more accurate than any exclusively human-built model. The Look-a-Like audiences engaged with ads at a significantly higher rate than the original audiences.

Across the board we saw improvements in CTR between the original audiences, the Look-a-Like audience created and the Retargeted audience. The CTRs for the retargeted audience saw a significant jump, showing the value of increasing awareness in an audience and taking them through a sequence of messages.

The Look-a-Like audience of 2,160,000 people created through this program can now be used nationally and to any district to engage with targets.

In August 2018, after nearly two years of a public affairs and campaign effort, Vantage defeated Proposition A (Right to Work) in Missouri. Soon after Right-to-Work was signed into law in 2017, the No on Prop A campaign was formed to give Missouri voters a say in the matter. The referendum on Right-to-Work appeared on the August 2018 primary ballot as Proposition A. We were the original strategic consultant on the ground that built the campaign from the ground up, advising and convening investors, researching and honing the message, setting up a campaign structure, and then executing the campaign.

When we first started on this project, the odds were not in our favor with many expecting a loss in the fight to repeal Right-to-Work. Right-to-Work laws have been successful in 27 states and are supported by most of the Republican Party. Missouri voted heavily for Trump in 2016 and has 2% less union membership than the national average. These factors created an uphill battle for the No campaign.

Vantage served as lead strategist and direct mail consultant. Although early polling showed a slight advantage for the No campaign, it also showed that African Americans and non-college educated voters were easily persuaded by “yes” messaging and that we needed to solidify and turnout our base in a low-turnout August primary.

We used well-tested messaging in each mailer and tailored the messaging to the specific audiences. The messaging also echoed what was being said on tv, radio, and digital. Our main points of “wrong for Missouri” and “protect your pay” were consistently used to solidify our brand and drive home the best-testing messages. This direct mail campaign communicated to over 728,000 households throughout the campaign.

Ultimately, Missourians made history by rejecting Prop A with a two to one majority (67% to 32%). It was the first time voters overturned a RTW law through a ballot referendum since Ohio voters did so in 2011, a campaign that Vantage also won.

Since 2019, Vantage Public Affairs has partnered with a statewide coalition in Missouri to oppose legislation aimed at legalizing video lottery terminals (VLTs) in bars, gas stations, and family restaurants. This recurring legislative threat has required a persistent and aggressive response—and we’ve delivered just that.

By building and managing a strategic digital advocacy campaign, we’ve grown a list of over 20,000 highly engaged grassroots supporters across Missouri. This list is not only large in number, but also evergreen—with advocates consistently opening emails (with rates as high as 40%) and taking action year after year.

Our work has gone beyond collecting names. Through targeted digital advertising, we’ve ensured the right message reaches the right people—primarily working men and women whose voices resonate with lawmakers. By keeping the base informed and action-ready, we’ve helped our client maintain a visible, sustained opposition to this harmful legislation whenever it re-emerges.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS:

• • Over 20,000 active advocates recruited and retained

• • 40%+ email open rates, demonstrating consistent engagement

• • Year-over-year mobilization aligned with legislative sessions

My Health On My Terms is an initiative designed to empower union workers with the tools and knowledge to address obesity and advocate for healthier workplace environments. Vantage Public Affairs was brought in to help expand the reach of this message and drive tangible action—particularly by encouraging downloads of a newly developed Obesity Toolkit.

Through a robust digital advertising campaign, we generated nearly 30,000 toolkit downloads—alongside an additional 27,000 downloads of complementary resources. Our campaign featured authentic storytelling from real union leaders who shared their personal journeys with obesity and health improvement, creating emotional resonance and credibility.

Recognizing the need for tailored outreach, we launched a follow-up campaign targeting Spanish-speaking workers—testing culturally relevant messaging and creative. This version of the campaign exceeded expectations, achieving nearly 100,000 downloads of the Spanish-language toolkit, more than tripling the performance of the original campaign.

IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nearly 30,000 Obesity Toolkit downloads in English
• Over 27,000 downloads of additional resources
• 100,000+ downloads from Spanish-language campaign
• Story-driven creative featuring real labor leaders