🏛️ Heritage Foundation
  ✅ 501(c)(3) — Issue-Based Only

SOTU 2026 Creative Shootout

First Heritage batch — SOTU government overreach hook · 6 creatives (3 MMS + 3 SMS) · 4-model panel on lead creative

📅 Feb 25, 2026 🎯 3 Strategies — Overreach · Economic Freedom · Institutional Defense 💰 $0 revenue to date — ground-up launch 📡 Hook: SOTU Feb 24 + SCOTUS tariff ruling Feb 20

SOTU Context — Why Heritage Sends This Week

🏛️ The Moment

  • Trump's SOTU Feb 24 — longest in history (1 hr 48 min)
  • SCOTUS ruled Feb 20: many tariffs exceed IEEPA authority
  • Trump responded: 15% global tariff anyway — open defiance of Court
  • SAVE America Act: voter ID + proof of citizenship
  • Partial gov't shutdown backdrop — DHS unfunded

🎯 Heritage's Angle

  • Executive overreach = Heritage's core territory
  • Separation of powers — they literally write the legal briefs
  • SCOTUS tariff ruling = Heritage was right all along
  • Position: "The intellectual firewall of the conservative movement"
  • NOT: candidate language, NOT: personal attacks, NOT: conspiracy

👤 Donor Profile

  • 65+, high political engagement
  • Constitutional identity — responds to separation of powers
  • Credibility > outrage. Seriousness > memes.
  • Strong response to: legal challenge framing, research-backed urgency
  • Ask range: $15–$150 for first sends

Compliance Rules — Heritage 501(c)(3)

Lead Creative — Strategy A · Government Overreach
A1 MMS — 4-Model Comparison

Image direction: The U.S. Supreme Court building from below, dramatic angle, overcast sky — conveying institutional gravity. Clean, no text overlay. Professional editorial photography style.

Claude Measured authority

[firstname|Friend], Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that broad executive tariff powers exceed what Congress authorized. This week, the White House announced new tariffs anyway. This is the separation of powers in real time — and Heritage Foundation researchers and attorneys are doing the work of holding the line. Our legal analysis. Our congressional testimony. Our policy briefs. They don't happen without you. Will you stand with Heritage today? [link]

~380 chars Tone: Institutional calm
GPT ⭐ Recommended

[firstname|Friend], The Supreme Court said no. The White House did it anyway. When the executive branch defies the Court on tariff authority, that's not a policy debate — it's a constitutional crisis in slow motion. Heritage has spent 50 years building the legal and policy infrastructure to fight exactly this. Right now, our attorneys are drafting the response. But we need funding to move fast. $35 today keeps Heritage in the fight. Will you help? [link]

~370 chars Tone: Urgent authority
Gemini Data-driven

[firstname|Friend], 3,000+ pages of new federal regulations. A Supreme Court ruling on tariffs — ignored. A partial government shutdown entering its second week. The Heritage Foundation tracks every one of these. Our researchers publish the analysis. Our attorneys file the briefs. Our policy teams draft the legislation that pushes back. In 2025 alone, Heritage policy recommendations were adopted in 64% of relevant legislative actions. That record exists because of donors like you. Will you help fund the fight? [link]

~400 chars Tone: Statistical credibility
GLM Populist constitutional

[firstname|Friend], The Constitution isn't self-enforcing. Washington can pass whatever it wants. Courts can rule. Agencies can ignore. And most think tanks will write a report, hold a conference, and move on. Heritage doesn't move on. We file the briefs. We train the next generation of constitutional scholars. We put our analysis in front of every senator who will listen. The executive branch just defied the Supreme Court on tariffs. Heritage is already working on the response. Are you with us? [link]

~410 chars Tone: Constitutional populism
⭐ Recommendation: GPT variation. "The Supreme Court said no. The White House did it anyway." is the strongest opening line — confrontational without being conspiratorial. "Constitutional crisis in slow motion" frames urgency without tabloid hysteria, exactly right for the Heritage donor who wants to feel informed, not riled up. Test Claude as B-variant.
Remaining Batch — All Strategies
5 Additional Creatives
📱 Strategy A — Overreach
SMS
Message
[firstname|Friend], the Supreme Court ruled against executive tariff powers. The White House announced new tariffs anyway. Heritage attorneys are drafting the response. Will you fund the fight? [link]
Chars: 212 Ask: $15 · $35 · $75 Segment: Heritage Action donors · DB warm
💰 Strategy B — Economic Freedom
MMS
Image Direction

U.S. national debt clock or federal spending chart — clean infographic style, dark background. Numbers prominently visible. Heritage logo watermark lower right.

Message
[firstname|Friend], The federal government just triggered a partial shutdown. New tariffs are raising prices on goods Americans buy every day. The national debt crossed $36 trillion. Bad policy is doing this. And someone has to be in the room making the counter-argument. For 50 years, that's been Heritage. Our economists are drafting the response to every one of these policy failures — but our research doesn't fund itself. $35 helps Heritage stay in the fight. Will you chip in today? [link]
Chars: ~430 Ask: $25 · $50 · $100 Segment: DB warm · economic-responsive
📱 Strategy B — Economic Freedom
SMS
Message
[firstname|Friend], new tariffs, a partial shutdown, and $36 trillion in debt. Bad policy is doing this. Heritage economists are writing the policy response. Help fund it → [link]
Chars: 198 Ask: $15 · $35 · $75 Segment: Acquisition · economic-frame
⚖️ Strategy C — Institutional Defense
MMS
Image Direction

A worn copy of the U.S. Constitution, open to the first pages, with soft dramatic lighting. Classic, reverent. No text overlay. Black and white or muted sepia tone acceptable.

Message
[firstname|Friend], The Constitution isn't self-enforcing. It doesn't defend itself when agencies overstep. It doesn't file briefs when executive power expands beyond what Congress authorized. It doesn't publish the research that keeps elected officials accountable. Heritage does. For 50 years, our scholars, attorneys, and policy experts have been the institutional memory of the conservative movement. We've trained the staffers who wrote the legislation. We've provided the analysis that shaped the arguments. That work is more urgent now than it has been in a generation. Will you invest in it today? [link]
Chars: ~480 Ask: $35 · $75 · $150 Segment: Deep warm · lapsed reactivation
📱 Strategy C — Institutional Defense
SMS
Message
[firstname|Friend], the Constitution isn't self-enforcing. Heritage attorneys, scholars, and policy experts are the institutional firewall of the conservative movement. Help fund the fight → [link]
Chars: 206 Ask: $15 · $35 · $75 Segment: Retention · warm list
Testing Strategy
Recommended Send Order
Creative Type Strategy Segment Priority
A1 MMS (GPT var) MMS Government Overreach Heritage Action donors 🔴 Lead
A2 SMS SMS Government Overreach DB warm list 🟡 2nd
C1 MMS MMS Institutional Defense Lapsed reactivation 🟡 3rd
B1 MMS MMS Economic Freedom Economic-responsive ⚪ Test
B2 SMS SMS Economic Freedom Acquisition ⚪ Test
C2 SMS SMS Institutional Defense Warm retention ⚪ Test

Next Steps

  1. Pick A1 model variation — GPT recommended; Claude is strong B-test. Confirm with Justin.
  2. Commission images — Supreme Court (A1), debt clock/chart (B1), Constitution close-up (C1). Can generate via Nano Banana Pro or source from Shutterstock.
  3. Input to DB dashboard — Client: Heritage (DonorBureau) · Author: Justin Hart · Status: Draft
  4. Confirm list access — Heritage Action 501(c)(4) has 138 unsuppressed donors in DB. Confirm with DB ops whether Foundation fundraising can use this list.
  5. LP brief to Emily/Kerrington — Need landing page for at least A1 before first send. Process-forward, credibility-heavy design.
  6. Time-sensitivity: SOTU hook degrades in 5–7 days. Move A1 first, then test B and C after results.