Haley Stevens

Client:

Haley Stevens

The Challenge

When Congresswoman Haley Stevens launched her campaign for U.S. Senate in Michigan in April 2025, she kicked off the most-watched Democratic primary in the country. I was the creative lead on Haley’s digital program from launch through the primary. The challenge was less about creating a voice than getting the campaign comfortable enough to let her actual one come through: funny, quirky, deeply empathetic, and proudly Michigan. Haley is Michigan’s fun aunt — my job was making sure everyone knew.

My Thinking

Our best-performing work almost always sounded like Haley talking to someone sitting next to her. I pushed us toward creative that felt less polished and more personal: stories from her life, arguments about billionaires and working people, an email from her artist mom, even a fundraising appeal signed by her finance director’s dog, Bailey.

Then came “stick it to ’em.” A clip of Haley delivering the line went viral — initially because people thought the delivery was awkward. Rather than retreat from it, I pushed the campaign to lean all the way in. Haley did, publicly embracing the moment as authentically Michigan, and we turned the attention into fundraising creative that did really well. The clip ultimately became part of the national conversation around the race.

The Result

Over roughly 15 months, our digital fundraising program grew from raising just over $40,000 a month to $725,000 a month— more than 11x growth.

Just as important, the strongest-performing creative repeatedly came from the same idea: let Haley be Haley.