Election campaign - unit 3 Flashcards
Explain traditional grass routes campaign methods.
Canvassing, posters and leaflets etc are traditional methods. Canvassing involves party members delivering their message ‘door to door’, this is often deployed during by-election campaigns to inform undecided voters regarding their policies and plans for the community. Posters etc are commonly made by advertising agencies to ensure that they have the intended impact and reach the intended audience and leaflets are often produced by political parties to inform voters on their policies and candidates, each candidate is entitled to post one leaflet through each door in the constituency in which they are standing for election.
Give examples of canvassing and other traditional methods impact on electoral performance.
For example, in both the 2014 Independence Referendum and 2019 General Election canvessvoters how likely they were to vote YES/NO or for a certain party, eg SNP on a scale of 1-10.
In 1997 the Conservative party released a poster of Tony Blair with devil eyes.
Analyse the impact of traditional grass route campaign methods and their impact on electoral performance.
Canvassing can be very effective, especially on a local level as undecided voters can be convinced by candidates and parties directly. Moreover, canvassing can be highly influential in areas in which a seat is marginal as they can deploy sufficient resources to target specific areas to ensure that everyone has access to the polls and therefore has the option to vote for their party.
Posters allow people to be grabbed by eye-catching slogans and headlines, allowing viewers to gain an insight into the ideas of the party. Furthermore, leaflets can be used as a way for a candidate/party to sell themselves to the electorate by outlining policies and their plans for the area, this acts as a catalogue of information which promotes the party.
Explain the limitations of grass route campaign methods.
Many individuals do not listen to canvassers or simply do not answer the door. Furthermore, canvassing can be highly time consuming as politicians and party members must take time out of their work and other commitments to travel around communities. Traditional methods often hinder people’s opinions of parties and candidates as posters are often open to interpretation and the message can be misconstrued. In addition, leaflets and posters can become bombarding to voters and people often disregard them as rubbish.
Give an example of an unsuccessful use of a poster during an election campaign.
In 2010 Labour released a poster of David Cameron sitting on an Audi with the slogan ‘don’t let him take Britain back to the 80s’, the public perceived Cameron as cool in the poster and it therefore did not have the desired effect.
Analyse the limitations of traditional grass route election campaigns.
When individuals have already decided their vote, canvassing will simply be a waste of time and resources which could be used to go on television interviews or write statements for a newspaper. And controversial posters usually receive negative press and criticism on social media, this can hinder how the party is viewed and how people vote. Moreover, the annoyance associated with leaflets can often cause resentment towards the party and can prove a waste of resources when they are put in the bin or disregarded once received.
Explain the use of media campaign strategies during an election.
Media campaign strategies include press briefings, Party Political Broadcasts and newspaper articles. Political parties hire press officers (spin doctors) to help plan their election campaign in the media, they often give journalists stories which will raise the profile of a candidate in the media. Political parties also use TV to raise campaign profiles during elections, party political broadcasts are used to advertise parties and each political party is awarded a broadcast by television channels. Leaders also gain popularity from leader debates with some gaining huge support for their personality and policies.
Give an example of a leader benefiting from a media campaign strategy.
In 2015 a poll found that 28% of people thought Nicola Sturgeon came across the best in the debate, more than any other UK politician.
Analyse the use of media campaign strategies during elections.
Spin doctors mean that it is easier for the largest parties to gain the headlines and therefore be seen in a positive light by the public. In addition, parties battle for positive press in the front pages, increasing the likelihood of community and national outreach and interactions. Moreover, Party Political Broadcasts are a chance for parties to reach an audience of millions, as most of the UK use TV as their main source of political information this is an opportunity for parties to sell themselves and parties often spend a large percentage of their budgets on these broadcasts to ensure they are as attention grabbing as possible.
Explain the limitations of media campaigns during an election.
Despite the huge amount of money spent on Party Political Broadcasts, many people simply change the channel when a broadcast comes on from a party which they do not support. Furthermore, newspaper headlines are just as likely to be publishing negative press about political parties than positive press and therefore as a whole can be more detrimental towards an election campaign than positive.
Analyse the limitations of media campaigns during an election.
The potential for PPB to reach a large audience is diminished by most people having already decided who they will vote for in each election and therefore often proves a waste of party funds. In addition, smaller parties usually fail to make the headlines and the positive work which they do is often missed or overshadowed by the work of the larger parties, causing people to be unaware of the work which they do.
Explain the use of modern campaign methods during an election.
Modern election campaigns include leaders debates, social media and modern technology. In 2010 the first UK leaders debates took place on the run up to the General Election and has taken place at every GE since. These debates are televised and entirely neutral. Social media has recently become an accessible way for people to find political information and many political parties have invested into their social media departments in a bid to be the most relevant online party.
Give an example of the increase of social media presence within political parties.
In 2009 the Conservative Party had 7 staff working on a social media strategy whereas the Labour Party only had 3 members of staff.
Analyse the use of modern campaign methods during an election.
TV debates provide viral moments and when combined with social media platforms such as Twitter can become trending and can cause a party’s social media pages to gain traction and footfall. Furthermore, TV debates offer parties a chance to pin their policies against other parties and encourage viewers to see the flaws in another party’s alternative approach.
Explain the limitations of modern campaign methods during an election.
It can be argued that the influence of digital media in recent years has been overplayed. Furthermore, political leaders can be criticised for their words in a leaders debate if they are seen to be overly critical or exposing another leader.
