When the going gets tough, the tough build a new web site.
There’s no place like your home page.
Those might be a little different than you remember, and that’s because we want you to look at OnSight’s work in a new way: digitally.
While OnSight has offered creative services for years, our creative team has recently kicked it into high-gear, designing and building new and innovative online homes for a number of our clients. Below, we’ve highlighted a few to show you how we’re helping our clients tackle issues with new solutions, fresh design, and innovative web sites.
Since “fortune favors the bold web designer,” we aim to evolve as quickly as the new technologies and trends in our industry. Let us know if you have a bold new idea for your website, and we’ll help you make that happen.
Keep Colorado Local
Visit KeepCoLocal.com to learn more.
Out-of-state corporations want to change the way we do business in Colorado by allowing chain stores to sell alcohol. Their goal is to boost profits, and what they won’t tell you, is that the effort will send money out of our communities, force hundreds of small businesses to close, curtail Colorado’s thriving craft industries, undermine safety, and give underage kids more access to alcohol.
As you can imagine, Coloradans won’t take that kind of thing laying down, and so a group of locally owned and independent businesses formed a coalition called Keep Colorado Local. In order to help this coalition share their message and gain new members, we knew we had to build a unique and dynamic system. The Keep Colorado Local web site not only informs supporters, allowing them get active and share our message, but also gives coalition members access to resources and communications tools.
As this coalition continues to grow and create new innovative ways to preserve Colorado’s unique business climate, our web site will be the dynamic online home for these efforts.
The Outdoors Summit
Learn more at TheOutdoorsSummit.com
Kids today spend half as much time outdoors as their parents did. Colorado may boast the nation’s healthiest adult population, but its youth obesity rate is rising rapidly. Barriers like time, transportation, money, access, and lack of interest keep kids from getting outside and developing the lifelong passion for the great outdoors that is vital for the well being of Colorado citizens, our wildlife, and our way of life.
Changing this trend is no small undertaking, and that’s why Governor Hickenlooper, the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and Great Outdoors Colorado teamed up to tackle this head on. OnSight worked with these entities to develop the strategy, messaging, and of course, the online hub for the announcement of these new initiatives, which synthesized into the Outdoors Summit. In June, OnSight helped organize the Outdoors Summit, an unprecedented gathering of national and state leaders, advocates and visionaries focused on connecting Coloradans, especially our kids, with the outdoors.
Our creative team developed the logo, web site, and conference materials to promote and brand this unprecedented day-long summit.
Perlmutter for Colorado
Learn more at PerlmutterForColorado.com
OnSight is proud to work with the hardest working man in Congress, and this spring, we took on the overhaul of Ed Perlmutter’s campaign web site. The new Perlmutter for Colorado site is now mobile and social-friendly — critical components for any modern campaign — and features new interactive tools that allow supporters to learn more about Ed and get engaged in his campaign by volunteering, sharing testimonials, and donating.
Congressman Ed Perlmutter support for veterans has been unwavering in his time in office. Along with those who spent time in the military, Congressman Perlmutter also stands up for those who served in other ways, as well.
Starting in the 1950s, thousands of government workers served our country through their work at the Rocky Flats plant. Today the Rocky Flats region is a 3,953-acre wildlife refuge, providing a habitat for many plant and animal species on the Front Range, yet the hardworking staff of the former Rocky Flats plant are paying an unfair price.
Rocky Flats workers suffer a much higher rate of illnesses than the average Coloradan and – until recently – thousands of Rocky Flats workers were forced to painstakingly assemble proof that their illness was caused directly from exposure to radiation from their work at the plant—a burdensome process that could take years, with no guarantee of success.
Many of these people spent their entire careers working for the government on our behalf; now it’s time for us to make sure they are taken care of.
Ed is asking his supporters to sign on to a petition thanking Rocky Flats workers for their efforts, and pledging to keep fighting for them until we make these injustices right.
Late last year, a federal advisory board approved a special process for Rocky Flats workers who worked before 1983, which breaks through some of the barriers that kept them from receiving hard-earned and life-saving health care.
Colorado Senator Mark Udall, Congressman Jared Polis, and Congressman Perlmutter have been working for more than a decade to get the federal government to recognize the hardships former Rocky Flats employees face. Finally, federal agencies are starting to pay attention and are removing roadblocks, one at a time. But they will not stop working until every Rocky Flats worker gets the health care and benefits they deserve.
No matter which side of the marijuana legalization issue you’re on, we all recognize the changes made to the Colorado Constitution by Amendment 64 created some unique conflicts between state and federal law – including access to regular banking services. Because marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, banks may face criminal and regulatory penalties if they engage with these marijuana businesses.
Ed Perlmutter ran for Congress to be a voice and represent the needs of Colorado, and when he saw this banking conflict arise, he wanted to fix it. That’s why he introduced a bill to allow banks to provide services to marijuana businesses in states with a legal and regulatory structure in place.
It’s simple: legal businesses (including marijuana businesses and banking businesses) should have the freedom to operate just like any other business in the state.
Running a small business is hard enough without the additional challenge of being limited to a cash-only operation. Bottom line: denying entrepreneurs access to banking is a dangerous and costly gamble. It makes shops easy targets for robberies, is a logistical burden for shop owners and employees, and is tremendously inefficient for government offices which end up counting piles of bills when collecting taxes.
Last week, President Obama’s Justice and Treasury departments issued guidance to banks about dealing with changes in states like Colorado and Washington. But that’s not enough. We need a real, permanent solution updating federal law. Many of Ed’s colleagues – Democrats and Republicans – agree and are cosponsoring his bill
But with a unanimous vote of approval from the state legislature, endorsements from nearly every newspaper in the state, and an outpouring of support from both the business and non-profit community, Coloradans voted to pass Amendment S by a double-digit margin!
A win for veterans and the efficiency of our state government!
Polling
OnSight Public Affairs worked with Keating Research to run a series of polls leading up to the election. Cited by the NYTimes’ Nate Silver the day before the election, the OnSight/Keating polls were roundly recognized as among the most accurate, getting kudos from both Fox31’s Eli Stokols:
In Colorado, conservatives dismissing the work of pollster Chris Keating on the grounds that he’s worked for Hickenlooper and Udall, overlooked a series of polls that were spot-on. A day before the election, Keating had Obama leading Romney 50-46; it was a four-point win for Obama, 52-48, in the end.
A series of webvideos and online fundraising efforts managed by OnSight helped propel incumbent Ed Perlmutter to a 12 point victory in the race to represent the 7th Congressional District. Despite re-districting which made the race more competitive, and beer magnate Joe Coors’ (who poured millions of dollars of his personal fortune into the race) best efforts to discredit Ed with ads that made national attention for the dishonesty, Ed Perlmutter’s focus on positive advertising and his record of working hard to represent his constituents served him well in his campaign.
Congratulations to Ed, as both fans and constituents we’re excited to see you remain in office!
Punditry
Throughout the campaign season, with Colorado in the media spotlight as both a swing state and the host of the first of the Presidential debates, OnSight’s electoral expertise was in demand:
“When you really dig into it, we’re as purple as ever,” said Democrat strategist Mike Melanson of OnSight Public Affairs, who has managed campaigns for Sen. Mark Udall and Gov. John Hickenlooper. “Overall, it might be a Democratic night. But you know what? In two years, it will probably be a Republican night. We’re just that kind of state.” Colorado turns a little bluer, but no one party in line to dominate (Denver Post, 11/7/2012)
“Mike Melanson, a Democratic strategist who helped elect Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, said undecided voters tend to see both sides of issues, abhor partisanship and seek a candidate who feels the same way.” Poll of Western undecideds shows import of Denver debate (LA Times, 10/3/2012)
“We’re Western Democrats. We’re very different from East Coast Democrats,” said Mike Melanson, a Democratic operative in Colorado and senior partner at OnSight Public Affairs. “And as long as you brand yourself in that tradition, then you, as a Democrat, can do well.” National trends at work in battleground Colorado (10/2/2012)
In the 7th Congressional District of Colorado, the going has gotten quite mudslingy, indeed.
Joe Coors, the Republican challenger, originally promised to run a positive campaign, Perlmutter was hopeful he’d actually get to talk about the issues and the policies he’s been fighting for.
But that didn’t last long. The attack ads have been brutal – even labeled “deceitful” by the Denver Post – and while the Perlmutter campaign is fighting back with frequent Fact Checks, they also decided it was time to have a little fun:
Due to the extreme amounts of mudslinging from Joe Coors in the last few weeks, they’ve had to ask all their campaign staff to wear protective ponchos at all times.
While Ed Perlmutter is disappointed his opponent wouldn’t keep his positive pledge, Ed hasn’t lost his focus on job creation, serving our veterans, and making sure our communities’ families are thriving.
Ed Perlmutter reached a landmark 500 miles traveled in his campaign walks around neighborhoods in the 7th Congressional District. According to a recent campaign email:
Walking 500 miles would take you all the way across the state of Colorado, and then some. You could stroll from Thornton to Lakewood and back again more than 20 times. It takes you about a quarter of the way to the Washington Monument from Golden! 500 miles also gets you hundreds of face-to-face conversations with real people, listening to their concerns about topics ranging from jobs and the national budget, to national security, Medicare, education, and much more.
During the 1,112,285 steps I’ve taken while out walking in the 7th Congressional District since the beginning of this year, I’ve talked to veterans and military families, parents worried about their kids’ futures, small business owners, retired folks who want to make sure they’ll have access to medical treatment, and scores of hardworking people who want the chance to achieve the American Dream in a country that represents their values.
Watch Ed Perlmutter's new "Walking" video
The campaign has already released two new videos: a montage of some of Ed’s supporters, talking about what his walking — and his good work in Congress — means to them. The campaign also went on air today with a powerful new campaign ad, telling the story of how Ed was able to provide critical support for a military family in need.
