The proposed session topic is intended to provide an in-depth look at an innovative, highly successful, hands-on approach toward building public involvement and community consensus to achieve a desired outcome in a voter referendum on annexation. This case study examines a model that is easily replicable in other communities and cities in the State of Florida, and across the Nation.

The proposed SW 20th Avenue annexation area was comprised of 660-acres of land in a highly urbanized, densely populated, mostly student residential area with a thriving regional commercial retail shopping district, and located near a major Interstate Highway. This unincorporated area of Alachua County was geographically surrounded by the city of Gainesville on three sides. A previous attempt to annex this area was unsuccessful. This case study discusses the second attempt to annex this area into the city of Gainesville through voter referendum.

By combining an innovative use of retail market data analysis and a fully integrated marketing communications strategy, including the creative use of social media tools, the “SW 20th Avenue Annexation Campaign” was able to successfully identify, inform, educate and mobilize a carefully segmented, tech-savvy, audience of potential voters to action in support of annexation, out of a total population of approximately 6,000 voters.