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"Hello, [Voter]": How USR Made Election Outreach Personal and Powerful

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Scenario

USR (Uniunea Salvați România), part of the European Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), knew they needed to break through the noise before the national elections. Sending out the usual mass emails and generic messaging just wasn’t cutting it anymore. People were tuning out. They needed something that would make voters feel like the message was meant just for them.

That’s where we came in. Armed with an advanced video personalization tool, we helped USR create tailored messages that spoke directly to individual voters. The goal? To humanize the message, make a genuine connection, and inspire more people to head to the polls.

USR case study

The Challenge

USR had a few big hurdles to clear to make their voter outreach feel less like spam and more like a conversation:

Low Email Open Rates

Their typical political newsletters were getting lost in inboxes, with weak open rates.

Impersonal Communication

Blanket messaging wasn’t striking a chord or creating the emotional connection needed to get voters engaged.

Lack of Message Sharing

Supporters weren’t spreading the word. Emails weren’t getting forwarded, which limited their reach.

Disconnected Messaging

With a wide range of voter concerns, a one-size-fits-all email just wasn’t cutting it.

USR case study

The Campaign

We got to work, creating a digital outreach campaign with personalization at its core. Here’s how we did it:

First, we sent out personalized video emails. Every person in USR’s database got a custom email featuring a video from Cătălin Drulă, who greeted them by name. (“Hello, George!”) He then dove into key political issues that mattered. This simple, personal touch made each voter feel seen and heard.


Next, we targeted the content based on each voter’s interests. Videos were customized to cover one of five important topic: corruption, fixing the economy, modernizing healthcare, improving education, or protecting the environment. This way, each voter got information that spoke to what they really cared about.

We also added a peer recommendation feature. Recipients could easily share the campaign with friends by submitting their names, emails, and key areas of interest. Their friends would then receive their own personalized video, sparking a ripple effect of engagement.

And for the final push, we sent out a second wave of videos just days before the election. This round was designed to remind people of why their issue mattered, and how their vote could make a real difference.


USR case study

The Impact

4,432 people forwarded the video to friends, kicking off a wave of peer-to-peer sharing.

The campaign drove over 200,000 unique visits to USR’s website, significantly boosting voter awareness and engagement.

The estimated total reach? A whopping 4 million people.

Higher Engagement

Personalized video emails performed way better than typical political newsletters, with much higher open and view rates.
Result

Peer-to-Peer Growth

The recommendation feature brought new voters into the fold through personal connections.

Effective Targeting

By focusing on what mattered to each voter, USR made sure the message hit home.
Result

Boosted Voter Mobilization

The final wave of videos, sent right before election day, acted as the perfect last-minute nudge. It reminded people why their voice mattered and led to a noticeable bump in turnout.
USR case study

Conclusions

USR’s approach to personalized video outreach was a real game-changer. By speaking directly to voters and addressing their individual concerns, they managed to rise above the usual political noise.

The peer recommendation feature took things a step further, letting supporters pass on the message to friends with similar interests. And those follow-up videos right before election day? They were the perfect final push, making sure people felt motivated to vote.

The numbers say it all: 4,432 video forwards, over 200,000 unique visits, and a reach of more than 4 million people. In a political landscape that’s more crowded than ever, this personalized, data-driven approach showed that real, human connections make all the difference. USR’s campaign wasn’t just effective – it was personal. And that’s what set it apart.

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