DESIGNING A PUBLIC IMAGE CAMPAIGN FOR THE NATION’S DMVs

Cogent was brought in by a trade association representing the motor vehicle and law enforcement community to assess how Americans viewed departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) and if a public image campaign could help change commonly held stereotypes. In addition to conducting an audit of how the trade association and its members presented themselves to the public, we used our proprietary software to examine the online discussion about DMVs.

Our team identified commonly held public attitudes and pinpointed the communication channels and messaging DMVs were most often using to define themselves. Armed with this research – and in combination with a series of in-depth interviews – we designed and presented a comprehensive, scalable campaign that included a variety of tactics for the organization. The research and campaign recommendations were compiled into a white paper and presented to leaders of North American DMVs as a proposed strategy for improving local and national opinions about the important work their organizations do.