10,696 signatures: Jared Young’s new Better Party makes Missouri’s ballot
Missouri certified a brand-new party for an independent Senate run. That week, Jared Young hired Buena to build the brand that would carry it to November.
An independent run for the Senate, branded for the 43% of Missourians who belong to neither party.
- Client
- Jared Young
- Year
- 2024
- What we did
- Campaign, Strategy, Branding, Website
- Result
- New party on the ballot · 21,111 votes
By the numbers
- 10,696valid signatures to create a new partySignatures from Missouri voters that put the new Better Party on the ballot. The state required 10,000.
- 21,111votes on election dayVotes for Jared Young as the Better Party's candidate for US Senate in November 2024.
- 43%of Missouri voters unaffiliated with either partyMissouri voters who don't call themselves Republican or Democrat: the largest bloc in the state.
Jared Young, a Joplin businessman and father of six, ran for US Senate in Missouri as an independent against Josh Hawley and Lucas Kunce. We built his brand, site and campaign from scratch around one idea: people over party.
The biggest bloc of Missouri voters had no candidate of its own
Jared Young is a Harvard-trained lawyer, a former CEO of a Joplin benefits company and a father of six. In 2024 he ran for the US Senate in Missouri as an independent, against Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce.
His campaign plan was built on one number: 43% of Missourians say they belong to neither major party, the largest voting bloc in the state. But an independent starts far behind, with no party machine and no donor network.
By that summer Hawley had $5.8 million on hand and Kunce $4.2 million. Young had to be seen without outspending anyone.
Neither red nor blue: Better Orange, Better Blue and Lady Liberty
We built the brand from scratch around one idea: people over party. The palette steps off the red-and-blue map with Better Orange and Better Blue, and the Statue of Liberty stands inside the Y of Young.
The type is Rodfat, approachable and strong, city and country at once. A gritty texture runs over everything for humanity and toughness, so it feels like Missouri, not Washington.
The lines did the rest. 'People over party.' 'Be a party pooper.' 'Seventy-three BBQ sauces but only two candidates? We can do better.'
Better colors
Better Orange and Better Blue: a palette that belongs to neither party.
Liberty in the Y
The Statue of Liberty stands inside the Y of Young.
Lines with a grin
'Be a party pooper' and 'Seventy-three BBQ sauces but only two candidates?'
A new stunt every month instead of an expensive ad buy
The brand ran on yard signs, full-page ads, rally handouts and tees. It also ran on a new votejaredyoung.com with its own donation flow.
The bigger bet was earned media. Instead of pouring money into paid ads, the campaign launched a new project each month: Two Few, a series of parody products like Twoflix and Twoogle, and United Seats of America, which sat political opposites side by side at Cardinals and Royals games.
The run drew serious backing late. In October, former Republican Senator Jack Danforth toured the state with Young.
A new party on Missouri's ballot, and 21,111 votes
To get on the ballot, Young founded the Better Party. The petition needed 10,000 valid signatures; the Secretary of State counted 10,696, and the party was certified in May 2024.
On election day Young won 21,111 votes, 0.7% of the total. He did it against two campaigns that spent millions on TV.
It didn't win the seat. It did put a new option in front of every Missouri voter, with a brand and a campaign built for the people who don't fit either party.
People over party.
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