Whether it’s MTV telling young people to Rock the Vote, or Planned Parenthood launching its “My Vote, My Voice” campaign, there are plenty of campaigns targeting millennial voters across the U.S. Northeastern University has its own initiative to register first-time voters on campus with the Northeastern Votes campaign. In celebration of the Northeastern Votes launch, we are taking a look at voter registration campaigns from a marketing perspective.

Historically, the voting rates of those ages 18-24 have lagged behind those of older Americans. But between 2008 and 2012, voter turnout among the youngest group of voters for the presidential election actually fell even further, from 51 to 45 percent. Young people have to be convinced that voting is an important habit to make time for in their busy lives and really understand the importance of voting as a civic duty. Sounds like a marketing problem to me – so what brands are stepping up to the challenge?

Rock the Vote

Perhaps the most famous of all American voter registration efforts, Rock the Vote has a long-time partnership with MTV. Given that it was founded in 1990, it is older than most its target audience, but it tries to keep its message fresh by leveraging celebrity ambassadors such as Kendall Jenner, John Legend, Dave Grohl, and Chelsea Handler. They sell trendy graphic tees and American Apparel sweatshirts and even baby onesies. But is has it been enough?

According to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), just 19.9 percent of people ages 18 to 29 voted in 2014’s election. That’s the lowest youth turnout rate ever recorded in a federal election.

In honor of the late great Gene Wilder.

Planned Parenthood’s My Vote, My Voice Campaign

What does access to reproductive rights and civic duty have in common? After a year in which federal funding was threatened for the healthcare provider, a lot is at stake for Planned Parenthood, which serves a diverse population of about 2,840,000 patients per year. Its patient base tends to include ethnic minorities and low-income groups who are disproportionately impacted by voter ID laws. So Planned Parenthood is reaching underrepresented voters by getting out to college campuses and encouraging voter registration at its clinics.

Though nominally nonpartisan, this campaign has received backlash because of goals to get out the vote on the specific, highly politicized issue of access to women’s reproductive health. Planned Parenthood is no more a stranger to getting out the vote than it is to controversy – Planned Parenthood has its own closely aligned super PAC called Planned Parenthood Votes.

TurboVote

Launched in 2012 with the help of a Kickstarter campaign, the backing of universities, and partnerships with companies like Google, the nonprofit TurboVote is a relatively new start-up in the voting space, and the only tech-based innovation to speak of in voter registration. It is a single portal streamlining access to voting-related paperwork such as voter registration, change of address forms, and absentee dispballot request forms. The result of filling out their simple form is a pre-filled copy of printable paperwork complete with pre-addressed envelope to mail it in. It not only populates the paperwork with your information, but users can also agree to receive text messages or emails. Finally, a voter registration tool made for this century – its (partially) online!

Even as TurboVote seeks to make voting sleek, there are always a few snafus. Whether the fact that you need to snail mail in (or hand deliver) your voter registration form, or those pesky deadlines (October 17th in Massachusetts), no brand has managed to triumph against the bureaucracy and streamline the process.

Northeastern Votes: College Kids Weigh In

During every major election, Northeastern students encourage their classmates to register to vote and get to know the issues of the election. Back in 2012 it featured wings and pizza. This year is no different – there will be food as a primary people-pleasing strategy, but now more than ever, this initiative has the power of social media and election technology at its disposal. Not only has Northeastern partnered with TurboVote to make voting registration paperwork easy, but as the marketing arm of the Northeastern Votes 2016 initiative, NUMA is launching a full throttle social media blitz on Facebook and Twitter, with more to come!

Join in the movement by posting your photo and captioning with #northeasternvotes & #whyivote and read on for the reasons that students have already shared with us!

• Anna G. says, “Every vote counts when it comes to shaping our future. I’m voting because it’s my right and my duty to contribute to the America I love.”

• Stephanie E. says, “I vote because I believe my voice as an Asian American is underrepresented and that that voice deserves to be heard.”

• Sam G. says, “Democracies depend on the people to function as well as they do – I want to do my part to keep our democracy functioning.”

• Justine C. says, “I want to take action on the issues that I’m passionate about.”

Hmm, sounds like some solid reasoning. As for me, I vote out of a pure love for stickers! (Kidding… mostly.)

Northeastern University Marketing Association is the marketing engine behind Northeastern Votes, a student-led initiative focused on voter registration and democratic participation. Northeastern Votes is a joint effort between 15 Northeastern student groups and University offices. Learn more about Northeastern Votes on Facebook and Twitter, or get registered to vote today by visiting neu.turbovote.org.