Launch campaign for first black, openly LGBTQIA+ state legislative candidate in a historically red state.

Although Nebraska has traditionally been a conservative state, Legislative District 9 in Omaha is far more purple. Marque Snow is ready to capture the imagination of new and existing voters with a sense of excitement and pride about a positive and civic-minded candidate who is committed to a New Nebraska.

Challenge

Whenever a progressive candidate steps up for any office in Nebraska, they have to have a clear vision for getting their constituents on board.

Marque Snow has that experience. Since 2013, he has been serving on the Omaha Public Schools Board, the past two years as its president. He has championed equity, rigor, and accountability not only for teachers, students and families, but also for the entire community of Omaha. He has made a point of hosting listening events, where he can hear from members of the community — he believes in the importance of listening closely to the stories of the people he represents.

Marque brings this same vigor to his campaign for state legislature and is open-minded, open to questions, and open to suggestions from constituents. We needed to position Snow as the perfect leader and a positive candidate who is committed to rebuilding Nebraska to reflect the GenXers’ and Millennials’ desire for economic opportunity and “the good life” in Nebraska.

Solution

Marque turned to Wheelhouse Collective to create a campaign with a strong brand strategy, new logo and identity, website and support elements. Wheelhouse, in turn, collaborated with Austin based Bonehook for positioning and copywriting.

We needed to break out of the sea of political sameness and make Marque stand out from the other candidates. The Marque Snow logo is a custom wordmark from letterforms with rounded edges, which help Snow to appear friendly, yet strong. The contrasting color for the “period” after the word Snow. is meant to accentuate the fact that Marque is the right and only choice to represent District 9.

Ultimately we created a brand identity and color palette that is modern, vibrant, professional and approachable. A one-page website, yard signs, buttons, stickers and t-shirts followed. And finally, we finished things off with a brand guideline to help Team Snow. be successful with future materials they will be making.

Results

Marque’s initial campaign launched in the spring of 2019, before the Heartland Pride Parade. The Wheelhouse team had a wonderful time attending Pride and promoting this smart candidate. After all, we appreciate Marque’s transparency and accessibility to his wide audience, always with an eye toward serving the public good. 

We are proud of all the hard work and dedication Marque and his team put into the campaign. And although the outcome wasn’t what we were hoping for, it was an honor to play a role in bringing District 9 an incredible candidate for our community.

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Services

campaign strategy, design, copywriting, art direction, print collateral, media strategy, web design, web development, social media

Collaborators

Strategy, Creative Direction, Design & Web Design: Cathy Solarana
Campaign Positioning & Copywriting: David Burn
Web Development: Brian Wetjen