Patch Calls
State Legislative Issue
What We Did: We contacted hunters in a Midwest state concerning a legislative proposal backed by extremist animal rights groups. We gave hunters the option to be transferred directly to their state representative.
How We Did It: We targeted persons with interests in the issue and those involved in associations that would directly feel the impact of the legislation's outcome.
Once connected to the targeted party, the operator gave a brief description of the legislation and explained the consequences of its passage. The operator then asked the constituent if they would like to be patched through to his or her legislator in order to voice his or her concerns over the harmful legislation.
Because this project started soon after the legislation was introduced, we only targeted committee members who would vote on the initial bill.
Results: 25% of constituents contacted agreed to contact their respective state representative in an effort to urge them to vote the pending bill down. The program saw such high success rates because we knew that the people we contacted would be interested in the issue.
During committee hearings, legislators continually commented on the amount of calls they received from constituents speaking out against the anti-hunting effort. The issue was ultimately defeated due to a targeted outreach and the high participation from concerned hunters that we contacted through the patch call program.