I like elections. They provide us with so much excitement, humor, controversy, gossip, as well as the uplifting feeling of democracy in action and the chance you cast your vote for the future of Queensland. A lot has changed for me since the last election in terms of family, career, household finances, environmental concerns, and many other issues that can influence my vote on election day.
I’m not a party member, nor do I consistently vote for one party or another. Each election (local, state, or federal) I do my best to find out what the important issues are for the electorate and for myself and vote for the party or candidate I feel will best achieve what I think is right.
I am also busier than ever before. At no previous election did I have as much going on both professionally and personally as I do this year, particularly right now during the campaign cycle. The basic outcome is I am very time poor, and that means limited time to seek out election news and find out which party is best suited to receive my vote at the polls on March 21st.
Television advertising doesn’t cut it. The parties spend their biggest TV ad dollars during prime time, which is a time I am very unlikely to be watching TV. For the odd show I record and then watch later it means the campaign ad is seen at 12x or 30x normal speed as I fast forward through commercials. Tip for campaign marketing teams – test your ads at 30x speed and see if your message still gets through. If I don’t realise its a campaign ad there is no chance of me stopping to watch it at normal speed, and I don’t want to stop to watch a negative campaign ad either.
Media coverage is a mixed bag. I rarely catch the evening news (which is good since voting based on soundbites is not my style) but try to hit the Courier Mail website once a day to see what is happening. My memory of the last state election is of a special Courier Mail website section dedicated to election coverage, and prominently linked to from the front page of the website.
This year there is none of that, and election coverage can quickly be pushed off the front page by other breaking news. I took this screenshot a short while ago and there is no election coverage on the front page at that time.
Clicking through to the Queensland section reveals little more election coverage, but only two stories (and the Anna Bligh story is the only one above the fold, so the LNP misses out for the lazy internet visitor.
Billboards and road-side signs may as well not exist for me. I don’t drive often and catch public transport to and from work. Has any party managed to work out how to put their banners up where train commuters will see them?
I considered signing up to the LNP newsletter but could not find an archive of recent editions to see if it was a format I’d be able to digest quickly and easily.
One method I do use to try and keep up with the election is by following the campaign on Twitter. I currently follow Anna Bligh, Lawrence Springborg, the Qld Greens and another other individual candidates I can find on Twitter. No matter how busy I am I can keep my Twitter client open on my computer and click through on anything that catches my eye as being important to me for the election.
Some candidates got off to a rocky start on Twitter. Some are finding their feet slowly but not really using it as a tool to communicate their campaign message. Doing a better job of it are Anna Bligh and the Qld Greens, each using their Twitter account to notify followers about campaign events and policy, but it is clear Anna Bligh’s team is blowing everyone out of the water with regards to Twitter output.
So what does this mean for busy voters? If you are an undecided like me then your vote is likely to go towards the party best able to get its message in front of you, provided that message is not something you outright disagree with. We all seem to be getting busier and are less tuned in to traditional marketing methods. Public speeches, TV ads, news soundbites, billboards, and letterbox drops will hit fewer and fewer targets each election. The party that understands this best and adjusts their strategy to include new mediums that connect them to busy people will win over many undecided voters and likely win the election.
