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Democratic Attorneys General Association

Democratic Attorneys General — the “People’s Lawyers” — are often the last line of defense on civil rights, reproductive rights, and the wellbeing of everyday people. The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) seeks to elect them and keep them in office. 

Attorneys General have an outsized influence on everyday people’s lives, but few know about their impact on state and federal policy. AGs’ contributions go largely unrecognized in proportion to their importance, which is why in 2021, DAGA’s goals evolved to encompass both electoral fundraising and raising awareness about the importance of the work AGs do.

When DAGA and DBT began work together shortly after the fundraising avalanche of the 2020 election, DAGA’s email list was burned out. Open and click rates had dropped. It was increasingly harder to help AG races stand out in a saturated digital landscape, especially since AG races don’t have the same marquee draw as the top of the ticket. 

DBT came in as a partner and successfully analyzed and optimized DAGA’s email program. With our experience running unique, nimble, culturally competent programs, we helped refresh DAGA’s email tactics, enhance their voice, and sharpen their strategy for the 2022 midterms. From using data to drive decision-making and employing storytelling tactics to create authentic connections with supporters, we guided the program away from the “sky is falling” model and repositioned the DAGA email voice as one that spoke to real people and prioritized comprehension of the mission as much as fundraising. 

DBT also introduced tonal shifts to the DAGA email program, experimenting with humor and absurdity when appropriate, especially when it came to AG Ken Paxton. The DAGA audience responded exceptionally well to this new approach, with comedic emails routinely performing in the top tier for amount raised, click rate, and unique open rate even as election season ramped up.  Sends like these set DAGA distinctly apart from other email programs in the space. 
Thanks to these tactics, in 2022 DAGA was able to maintain and even raise its open rates into Q3 and Q4 of the midterm year and nearly quadruple contributions between Q1 and Q4.  Even amidst the competition for attention and funds, Q4 2022 was DAGA’s best-performing quarter since 2021, with a 73% increase in funds raised from the previous year. DAGA was able to protect incumbent Dem AGs in its target states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nevada, and flip several seats as well.

 

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