Situation

The State of Michigan needed to connect with low-to-moderate-income tax filers to help them take advantage of free resources including the home heating credit, which was underutilized.

Siren was contracted by The Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) to increase awareness about free tax preparation and tax credits statewide. 

Solution 

Siren developed a statewide strategic communication campaign focused first on uniting the tax preparation network around common messaging. We crafted clear messaging to reach low-to-moderate income Michigan residents, and then empowered tax preparers and community organizations to spread the word. Siren then launched a statewide informative media campaign to raise awareness broadly.

Results

• 21.6M informed through media about tax preparation and the home heating credit
• Within the tax preparation network we achieved greater alignment and clarity around the home heating credit and how to promote it
•  Editorial board opinion published in The Mining Journal
• A communication toolkit was created with 28 pieces of content for the network to deploy 
• Spanish-language content was created to reach diverse communities
• 100% positive feedback from tax providers in using the content
• Statewide training of 130+ tax providers and community partners which helped them spread the word and improved cohesiveness of their network