How VoterVoice Transformed Advocacy for the Electronic Security Association

As the largest trade association in the U.S. dedicated to the electronic security and life safety sectors, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) grapples with the common challenge of how to improve its advocacy campaigns and influence policy. 

Jake Braunger, ESA’s vice president of advocacy and public affairs, tackles this challenge head-on, relying on VoterVoice to enhance their advocacy efforts.

Driving Open Rates Up by 100% 

With FiscalNote, Braunger is able to track the issues that matter to ESA members, including school security, right to repair, automatic renewal of contracts, workforce development, and artificial intelligence, and a smarter advocacy platform to quickly mobilize members when needed. VoterVoice provides a full advocacy solution from a single source. 

When ESA was using a VoterVoice competitor for advocacy email broadcasts, they saw an average open rate of 17 percent for their weekly email broadcasts. When they switched to VoterVoice, that open rate has jumped to 37 percent. VoterVoice makes it simple to make tweaks that optimize email performance with its SmartCheck feature. This built-in tool uses AI to help craft more impactful email broadcasts, such as suggesting a more attention-grabbing subject line or avoiding spam keywords.

“VoterVoice acts as our megaphone to members,” Braunger says.

Increasing Member Activation and Legislative Success

Having members quickly respond to an issue makes an impression on legislators. 

Braunger says he can talk until he’s blue in the face about an issue with a state representative. But it means more coming from members who live in that state. “It helps us speak with a louder, clearer voice,” Braunger says. With VoterVoice, Braunger is able to provide his members with the necessary talking points to express how the legislation will affect them, leading to swifter activation of his membership.

Most ESA members are small business owners with fewer than a dozen employees, so their time is precious. “My job is to make it as easy as possible for them to communicate when something important surfaces,” Braunger says. “VoterVoice provides a tool to make that as painless as possible for members and eliminates barriers to participation because it takes care of the legwork for them.” 

VoterVoice also makes tracking and reporting on ESA’s efforts seamless, allowing Braunger to showcase the value of his role. With robust data analytics and intuitive reporting tools, he can show how many campaigns have been launched and how effective they have been. “It supports the effectiveness of what we do because we have data that I can point to,” Braunger says.

Running a Successful National Campaign 

Last year, Braunger ran the first national campaign since he joined ESA, an effort to support the Freedom To Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act. Running such a big campaign was a smooth process with VoterVoice, and a record number of advocates got involved. 

After sending the initial broadcast, Braunger orchestrated a follow-up message to everyone who didn’t take action, tweaking the subject line and messaging to drive further engagement. “The feature is really slick and easy to use, and it’s useful for targeting those recipients who haven’t taken the next step,” Braunger shares. 

Throughout the process, Braunger received invaluable support from the VoterVoice team to ensure things ran smoothly. “The staff at VoterVoice have been phenomenal to work with,” Braunger says. “Their responsiveness and suggestions have further improved my campaigns, giving me more influence and impact in my organization.” 

In total, 63 members sent 232 messages, and 66% were new advocates who hadn’t taken action with ESA before. Of the messages sent, 34% were personalized by the sender. 

With the data collected from the successful campaign, Braunger could share the win with ESA’s board of directors and showcase its major success. The members who got involved also told the board how much they enjoyed the process and being able to weigh in on an important issue.