Client Spotlight: Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance

In New Orleans, affordable housing was on the ballot. And it won—by a lot.

Ballot measures aren’t often where the glamor or dramatization in politics lives, and they’re sometimes written in such a way that even the most informed voter has to squint at the machine for a moment muttering to themselves, “Who even says ‘whereas’ anymore?” 

This makes voter education paramount to an initiative’s success, and the formula is deceptively simple. Deliver the right message at the right time to the right people. But how do you know which message strategy is the right one?

For the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, who were seeking a win for affordable housing in the November election, they had a few ideas and one secret ingredient — Rapid Message Testing. 

In late September, just as the streams, scrolls, and airwaves were heating up with every message conceivable –including messages meant to dampen support for the ballot measure— the team at the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance took a beat to field an experiment with Grow Progress. The survey was launched to an audience of just under 1,000 respondents across two Louisiana Congressional districts, testing the persuasive effectiveness of three of their messages against the opposition’s message, as well as a placebo.

The most successful message moved respondents by 13 percentage points in favor of the legislation to establish a Housing Trust Fund. The ballot measure passed with 75% support and will take effect in 2026, providing $17 million every year in local funds dedicated to affordable housing. It represents the largest investment in affordable housing in the city’s history.

How does the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance feel about the role of message testing in this historic victory?

“The message testing was critical to help us practice the kind of message discipline that we needed to secure this incredible victory […] We see this proof that the strategy we’ve been building can work and is necessary to affect meaningful and lasting change.”

Ready to find the messaging that resonates with your audiences? Learn more about Grow Progress’ Rapid Message Testing, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter and never miss a beat.