Mandana Dayani and her family immigrated to the U.S. from Iran arsenic refugees erstwhile she was six years old. The move allowed her to "live the American Dream," Dayani tells Entrepreneur — and near her pinch a "profound consciousness of patriotism" for the state that "saved [her] life." Dayani says her gratitude is portion of why she's done "some type of activism" for arsenic agelong arsenic she tin remember.
Image Credit: Courtesy of I Am a Voter. Mandana Dayani.
Then, astir six years ago, erstwhile she was astatine location connected parental leave pinch her 2nd daughter, Dayani was watching television, seeing families seeking refuge successful the U.S. being separated astatine the border.
"When you deliberation astir what personification has to strengthen to time off their location and travel to our state because our Statue of Liberty told them to, and successful that infinitesimal aft everything they've endured, to return someone's kid physically distant from them — it was the worst point I'd ever seen our state do," Dayani says.
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Dayani, who has a inheritance arsenic a lawyer and talent supplier pinch acquisition successful brand-building and marketing, met pinch members of the Senate and Congress and asked what she could do pinch her expertise to make an impact. They told her that if she really wanted to enact semipermanent change, the state needed higher elector turnout.
What if we conscionable ain this personality arsenic thing that is truthful integral to ourselves?
"I deliberation I had that Legally Blonde infinitesimal of, What, for illustration it's hard?" Dayani says.
After all, marketers and brand-builders animate group to return action each the time: Convincing them to watch a Marvel movie aliases bargain Justin Bieber's latest album. Dayani thought the aforesaid principles would use to galvanizing voters. So she discontinue her job, and pinch the thief of 25 different women and The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Foundation, she founded the nonpartisan statement I Am a Voter (IAAV) successful 2018.
The organization's first gathering focused connected its caller client: voting. IAAV needed to fig retired really to get group to hold successful statement successful November and break free of "all of the fighting and shaming that happens successful these spaces." Dayani publication astir the nexus betwixt elector personality and the likelihood of habitually casting a ballot and resolved to thin into that concept: What if we conscionable ain this personality arsenic thing integral to ourselves and thing that we'd find aspirational successful others?
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Achieving that pinch younger generations intends gathering them wherever they are and tapping into the brands, celebrities and sports teams they already cognize and trust, according to Dayani. IAAV has collaborated pinch celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Kerry Washington, Steph Curry and brands specified arsenic the NBA, the NFL, Tory Burch, Urban Outfitters, Rhode and hundreds more.
"Here's your PSA erstwhile you're astatine the AMC theater," Dayani says. "We're connected your Bumble app; we're connected your jumbotron erstwhile you're watching a sports game. If you're getting a package from Shopbop, there's an insert. We went to truthful galore of these brands and conscionable asked them what they had disposable to contribute."
"We're not playing successful this colour spectrum. We're conscionable present for everybody."
IAAV is besides intentional astir creating a marque identity that's appealing and not divisive. To that end, the organization's Instagram provender is wholly achromatic and white.
"We're not red, we're not blue, we're not purple," Dayani explains. "We're not playing successful this colour spectrum. We're conscionable present for everybody. And we really thin into facts, which I deliberation besides registers pinch group because we're not trying to person them of 1 ideology aliases different aliases show them really to think."
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Additionally, the statement strives to create fun, move campaigns that thrust its mission. For example, studies show that connection betwixt group pinch pre-existing relationships tin person a affirmative effect connected elector turnout, truthful IAAV leaned into that pinch its "Register a Friend Day," trademarking "friends don't fto friends skip elections" and enlisting the thief of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow of Friends.
"Applying immoderate of those principles of trading and marque building has been really effective."
"It conscionable went truthful viral," Dayani recalls. "It felt for illustration specified a nosy civilization moment. And that was 1 of our highest days of elector registration. So I deliberation applying immoderate of those principles of marketing and brand-building pinch these astonishing messengers has been really effective."
Today, IAAV has reached much than 2 cardinal group connected societal media. The statement besides collaborated pinch HeadCount, a nonpartisan statement that useful pinch musicians to beforehand information successful democracy. "Being capable to leverage their expertise and acquisition wrong each of the model of the things that IAAV is trying to do is amazing," Dayani says.
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At the extremity of September, IAAV announced its inaugural "Democracy Heroes" database successful business pinch MSNBC's Morning Joe, Rockefeller Center and HeadCount. The database features 25 civic leaders moving to guarantee their communities and marginalized voters person their voices heard astatine the polls.
"It's been 30 years since we passed the National Voter Registration Act, and voters successful almost half of our state are going to look caller voting restrictions successful this election," Dayani says. "So to beryllium capable to show group each crossed the state moving to alteration that — I thought it was specified a hopeful and beautiful measurement to spell into this adjacent month."