Inspired by the many grassroots affinity groups that have sprung up to support Vice President Kamala Harris in recent weeks, two top advertising execs have launched their own group, Creatives for Harris, to crowdsource breakthrough ideas that could help tip the scales for the Democratic ticket in this fall’s presidential election.

More than 500 industry creatives responded to a call for volunteers that went out on social media a week ago. Many of them joined the group’s launch meeting, held Wednesday night on Zoom.

The call was led by top organizers Britton Taylor, a strategist who worked at Wieden+Kennedy for 15 years, and Jonathan Jacobs, founder of Loudmouth and previously Digital Natives. Those who missed the call are still encouraged to sign up and participate.

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“There is so much alliance, support and connection that is needed right now, and the skills you all bring as creatives can be a key part of helping to elect Kamala Harris and (Minnesota Gov.) Tim Walz,” Jacobs said on the call.

“What we’re here to do is simple, which is to harness the collective power of our community to help get Kamala and Walz elected,” Taylor said. “We all have this newfound optimism now that Kamala is in the race. Will we be able to make a difference? I don’t know, but I think it’s really important that we give it a shot.”

A two-pronged strategy

The strategy is twofold, organizers said on the call. First, the group plans to help other affinity groups with their creative needs. Groups that have already reached out to Creatives for Harris include Men for Harris, Men4Choice, Comedians for Harris and We Defend Truth.

Taylor and Jacobs were both involved with some of these groups in recent weeks and quickly saw their need for outside creative talent.

“So many of them need creative services and resources,” Taylor said. “A lot of people want to get involved, but they don’t necessarily have the skills to bring some of their thinking and objectives to life.”

The second piece of the strategy will involve giving open briefs to the Creatives for Harris community, where members can collaborate around pro-Harris themes to bring creative work to life. All of the briefs—internal and external—will be delivered via weekly emails and through a forthcoming Slack channel, which will also serve as a space to brainstorm and workshop ideas.

Themes, audiences and earned media

Organizers identified three themes or approaches around which the group might activate.

The first involves leaning into the kind of social-forward, meme-friendly material that the Harris campaign has already proved adept at making and fostering. Second is educating people on the agenda of former president Donald Trump, which Democrats have characterized as extreme and regressive. Third is to reclaim the concept of freedom from Republicans on issues such as abortion (freedom to choose), the climate (freedom to live) and democracy (freedom to vote).

The group has two key audiences in mind: engaged voters and persuadable voters. The former can be encouraged to get even more involved in supporting Harris, and getting others to support her as well. The latter are swing voters who may be looking for reasons to endorse Harris.

Efforts will largely target swing states.

Creatives for Harris has no financial backing, so its work will likely rely on earned media to get attention. While the work for the other affinity groups will be released through those groups’ channels, work made through the open briefs will not have an obvious media plan. Organizers encouraged the creatives to leverage their own personal connections to place and amplify such work. 

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The organizers described themselves as “facilitators” rather than managers. While they will help with advice and connections, they expect the group’s members to take the lead on coming up with ideas and getting them produced.

Do no harm

Creatives for Harris is being advised by a former Obama administration official, Mark Linton, who joined Wednesday’s call to offer guiding principles for the creative work—on issues including timing and tone.

“We don’t have the kind of calendar we normally would in a presidential election, and an enormous amount of work has to happen between now and Election Day,” he said. With no budget for media, he added, “I hope a lot of your ideas will have some kind of viral quality or media angle as you get into the work.”

Linton also warned about the risks associated with doing unofficial campaign work for Harris-Walz. While the main goal is to make memorable work that moves the needle, it’s also important, he said, to do no harm.

“Ask yourself, ‘Is this additive and helpful to the major themes and the narrative the campaign is trying to put out in the world?’ We want to be adding value in reaching new voters or mobilizing folks who are supportive but haven’t gotten involved yet.” 

A good rule of thumb, he said, is to ask: “Is this something the campaign would want to have to respond to if they’re asked about it?”

Along with Taylor and Jacobs, there are five other executives on the Creatives for Harris steering committee who will help guide the group’s efforts.

They are Caprice Yu, executive creative director; Kirk Visola, creative director and designer; Gwendolyne Echenagucia, associate creative director and art director; Epiphany Perez, director of marketing and producer; and Antonio Garcia, innovation and strategy officer.