Anzalone Liszt Research played an integral part in the Healthy Families initiative sponsored by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa (“PPGI”). In 2007 Anzalone Liszt Research was hired by PPGI, which had just received a grant to increase the availability of contraceptives in Iowa to uninsured and low-income women. The challenge for Anzalone Liszt Research was to determine how best to convince Iowa voters that the state should begin to spend taxpayer dollars providing contraceptives to uninsured and low-income women.

The first step was a large statewide survey of Iowa voters to measure the political environment in Iowa, voter opinion of the groups on both sides of the debate, where voters stood on a variety of issues of concern to PPGI, and most importantly, what messaging would move voters to support public funding for contraceptives.

While the poll showed that Iowans were open to the state creating a program to provide contraceptives to low-income and uninsured women, there was no doubt anti-choice forces would mobilize against us. Armed with the results from the survey, Anzalone Liszt Research then conducted focus groups in both rural and urban Iowa among those voters we determined were “soft pro-life voters,” the exact voters who would be targeted by the groups opposed to the proposed program. In addition to using focus groups to determine why Iowans felt the way they did, we also tested possible mail pieces to see how the top messages in the poll translated into visual advertising.

The final research piece of the Healthy Families initiative was to conduct approximately twenty legislative polls in targeted districts. The districts were represented by the leaders of the Iowa State Legislature or key members of the committees with oversight of funding for contraceptives, many of whom were anti-choice and would be concerned that their constituents would not support such a plan. Anzalone Liszt Research provided PPGI with memos to give to these legislators showing that not only did their constituents support state funding for contraceptives, but also that the vast majority of voters who opposed abortion would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported public funding of contraceptives. Ultimately, these memos were powerful lobbying tools for PPGI.

The end result of Anzalone Liszt Research’s polling, focus groups, and legislative memos, was the successful passage of a program that funded contraceptives in Iowa. This accomplishment was made even more impressive as it was the only new line item added to the 2008 Iowa state budget. We helped change the way candidates in Iowa viewed this crucial issue, making them more likely to support such a program once they saw real data that voters supported it. Needless to say, Anzalone Liszt Research is proud to have played a key role in this victory by the pro-choice forces in Iowa.