Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Brian Wellborn
Communications and Information Services Project Manager
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Austin
Texas
Social Media Campaign (Paid Advertising)
Texas Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday Campaign
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Laura Pelech
Diana Diaz, media relations coordinator
Shannon Mack, multimedia producer



Texas holds a sales tax holiday for certain emergency preparation items each year. However, confusion persists over which items are tax exempt. To help promote the holiday and clear up questions about exemptions, the Texas Comptroller's office created a campaign that used promotional videos and targeted messaging to Texas residents in disaster-prone portions of the state. Our messaging was designed to create a sense of urgency and drive our audience to a landing page detailing dates and a checklist of items that qualify for tax exemption.

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2nQOMQNeoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9W6f8FPKVU
The campaign targeted Texans with messaging based on the predominant type of severe weather for their region – either tornadoes or hurricanes.
• Tornadoes: Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, Wichita Falls, Dallas, Ft. Worth and Lubbock.
• Hurricanes: Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Kingsville and Houston
The campaign generated 2,048 landing page clicks and 100 shares. It reached more than 100,000 people in our target audience.
The Comptroller’s office does all creative work in-house. This campaign was conceived, created and implemented through the External Communications Team within the Communications and Information Services Division. This was the first time the agency promoted the sales tax holiday using targeted messaging per region/severe weather type. Video assets served two purposes. One video provided practical uses for viewers by discussing exempt items that could be used in an emergency kit. The other was a comedic video designed to draw attention to the various types of severe weather encountered across Texas.
Our featured video is one continuous shot using multiple employees to interact with props simulating weather effects. This meant some of the “stagehands” had to jump from one location to another to lift blankets, turn on fans and throw buckets of water in highly synchronized movements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2nQOMQNeoc