New York's Cable Tax

Our public affairs campaign that took just one day of airing to get a tax repealed

Challenge

The New York state legislature faced an unprecedented budget shortfall in 2009, so the governor released a proposed budget that included a new tax on cable television. In response, the Cable Television Association of New York (CTANY) hired GDC to develop and implement a public affairs and marketing campaign that would educate citizens and legislators on the regressive, harmful nature of the proposed tax.

Action

Within 2 weeks, GDC created messaging and creative that was spread across the state of New York.

• Developed a comprehensive survey of the issue to discover local insights, thoughts, and reactions
• Tested market-specific messaging that would resonate in various markets by using Certitude™
• Created interactive microsites that allowed users to directly contact their legislators in English and Spanish
• Created and produced television commercials in English and Spanish

Result

The public response to learning of the tax’s implications was so overwhelming, the governor’s office called the next day. He told CTANY he would no longer support the tax and asked to please take the campaign off the air.