Amidst the high-profile 2022 Midterm Elections, two candidates ran in a contentious race for the executive office of County Judge in Texas’ most populous county, Harris County. Incumbent Lina Hidalgo faced a major battle against her Republican challenger, whose campaign spent nearly $9 million – 3 times Hidalgo’s own campaign expenditures.
Hidalgo’s first term accomplishments proved that she is the right choice for Harris County’s workers and families. To support her re-election, Texas Gulf Coast AFL-CIO Working People PAC asked LPS Campaigns to produce a creative ad with a tight budget and tight timeline.
The ad features Andrea, a local union member, sharing why workers should support Hidalgo for County Judge. Andrea is not an actress – she is a real Harris County voter speaking directly to her community about the issues that matter to them in English and Spanish.
LPS began by crafting a script based on Andrea’s life experience and reasons for supporting Hidalgo’s candidacy. Centering Andrea’s compelling voice reflects the power of Hidalgo’s legacy as the first woman and first Latina to hold the office, especially in a county where Latinos comprise the largest ethnic group.
Our team managed all aspects of the ad’s production, directly overseeing the video shoot and editing process, as well as rollout of the final product.
The ad ran on OTT, CTV, and social media with 6, 15, and 30 second versions in both English and Spanish leading up to the November 8th election. LPS took time to hone our target audience of moderate vote propensity hispanics and built a strategy to reach them effectively. Finding that our target audience was best reached on OTT and CTV, we invested more heavily in these mediums — challenging common assumptions that prioritize social media or digital pre roll placements.
The campaign was ultimately successful, earning Hidalgo a second term as Harris County Judge with 50.8% of the vote. This ad and the narrow victory demonstrate the power of creative, targeted campaigns, even against well-funded opposition.
