Success Stories

Turning Red Districts Into Blue

From the beginning, Staton Hughes upset conventional wisdom, winning with Democrats in Republican districts. In 1992, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo won in a district that had been red for over 50 years. Staton Hughes helped Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, Congressman Mike Thompson, and Congresswoman Susan Davis all convert seats between 1996 and 2000. In 2006, Staton Hughes worked with Gabrielle Giffords who became the first Democrat representing her Arizona district in over 20 years.

Barbara Lee Family Foundation

In the 225-year history of the United States, only 19 women have served as governor. Why? The Barbara Lee Family Foundation hired Staton Hughes to examine the relationship between gender and executive office, and identify strategies to help more women succeed. For nearly a decade, Staton Hughes has led a national, bi-partisan team of researchers and analysts who analyzed polling, exit poll and focus group data, then conducted in-depth interviews with women who ran for governor, as well as their campaign managers, consultants, opponents and journalists who covered the elections. The result has been a series of four user-friendly strategy guides entitled, "Governors Guidebook Series."  The latest guidebook, released in November of 2007, examined new strategies for turning gender stereotypes into competitive advantages.  The guides have been distributed to more than 40,000 individuals and organizations, including statewide officeholders, legislative leadership, state parties, academics, political consultants and activists, and opinion leaders.

Screen Actors Guild

With talks stalled four months into a divisive and costly strike against the advertising industry, the Screen Actors Guild hired Staton Hughes to manage its political and media strategy. We targeted AT&T, GM and Procter and Gamble and immediately went on the offensive. We took out full-page ads in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, enlisted the support of high profile film stars such as Kevin Spacey, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and Richard Dreyfuss and boycotted three Procter and Gamble products. The ad industry came back to the bargaining table within three weeks; union actors achieved a favorable settlement soon after the P&G boycott was launched.

San Jose Public Library

In the midst of its master planning process, the San Jose Public Library hired Staton Hughes to help raise the library's profile in the community, attract attention to its new online service "eBranch," and help pave the way for public support for future growth. Our multi-pronged campaign included direct mail, earned media and a library card campaign coordinated with San Jose public schools and the Mayor's office. A tracking study revealed that the campaign resulted in an 8 percent increase in library visitation, a 14 percent increase in Web site awareness and an 18 percent increase in online usage. We ran the library's subsequent $60 million bond campaign to restore and renovate libraries, which won with 70% of the vote.

International Truck and Engine Corporation

With California legislators and regulators poised to ban all diesel school buses, International Truck and Engine Corporation hired Staton Hughes to develop a coordinated political and media strategy to promote its new, environmentally responsible Green Diesel Technology™ buses. We introduced the product with a press conference on the steps of the state Capitol, recruited allies in the education and business communities, and created a compelling video and printed materials. In December 2000, the nation's toughest air quality agency, the California Air Resources Board, voted to fund the purchase of $12.5 million in Green Diesel Technology™ school buses, providing substantial credibility to this new clean air technology.

Haas Fund

With a history of involvement in the issue, the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund hired Staton Hughes to highlight the importance of early childhood education in the context of the 2000 political campaign. We produced an attractive and informative 28-page booklet that we distributed to a targeted national list of 4,000 policy makers, candidates and public policy advocates. The booklet received a great deal of attention from presidential candidates as well as many state governors and legislators.