Forget what politicians say. What truly matters is what they do. And what they do is vote, to write our laws which affect us all.
Political Marketing
Civic Tech
Other Stuff
If you’re just starting out.
📌 It’s worth mentioning that when we talk about marketing and / or communications in this context; we’re not speaking about (offline) PR strategy or media relations - these buckets have clear well established role definitions and are often the most visible and discrete areas to address by a professional in that field. What we’re talking about here is . . everything else.
Creating a political or cause-related brand is really no different from creating any other brand. It requires careful thinking about what you stand for (especially in the context of the local and federal environment you're operating in), how you'll present and express that brand, what your key messaging will be and how you'll market your idea.
Because let's face it, political or cause-related campaigning isn't all that different to brand marketing . . it just operates in a different space, with different rules, challenges and opportunities.
<aside> ⚡ And like all branding, it requires absolute clarity about your purpose, your reason for being and the way you'll connect with people for impact.
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<aside> 🔥 “Story-based strategy is a method of investigating the myths we believe, build and participate in. Bringing intentionality to the words we use and the assumptions we uplift or unearth, we use tools to take apart dominant narratives and construct the stories that will get us closer to liberation, placing our audience in the front row and inviting them to see and build the future we believe we deserve.”
Ruby Pinto • Co-Founder & Creative Director at Shred Magazine • AT2019
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Check out some of the story-based strategy tools 👉 here
An unofficial (community-created) message is a free and beautiful thing. You’re not constrained by the official campaign messaging, and you can be a little pointier and more direct, which we know works well on social platforms. Although it can hinder an official campaign rather than support it, if community campaigns stray too far away from the values of a candidate’s platform.
The language you use matters; because it tells people how you see things.
It’s really worth being clear and intentional in the way you tell your story, and the language you use across community platforms and websites.
How do you see people?
Who are you talking to . . really?
How are you talking? what kinds of words and language are you using?
One of the things that struck me when I was looking at the swipefiles here; is how easy it is to disrupt the political language of our time. Admittedly it’s tough trying to find a disruptive voice in the petfood category or insurance, despite how badly they all want to be ‘disruptors’ 😉 But in politics . . there’s tons of opportunity to disrupt not just by what you talk about (which understandably is the main focus of the candidate and campaign), but how you talk about it.
These moments in history give us an opportunity to think about . . not just what we want to be, but also how we want to be.
Like any communications campaign, understanding the needs and decision-making framework of your audience(s) is the first step. When it comes to politics, there will always be die-hards who follow the news, understand the issues being raised in parliament and have a point of view about what’s being done.
But for the rest of us, politics can feel overwhelming. It can feel intimidating “If I don’t know much about politics, how can I engage without looking silly?”. Those of us who are in the midst of raising families or fur children, working and running households just don’t have the bandwidth to grapple with something outside of our wheelhouse, and for many - this includes politics.
How can you understand and empathise with your community as a starting point?
“What if I'm just not into politics?”
Understanding Australian Politics and the People who vote
Forget what politicians say. What truly matters is what they do. And what they do is vote, to write our laws which affect us all.
<aside> 💡 Encourage users to find out how their local MP votes in their behalf with tools like the Australian Electoral Vote Compass.
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How can you help people to navigate through the political landscape? How can you make it easy to understand the issues, find something that matters to them and feel that they know enough to make a decision for themselves?
What’s an Independent? A person can run as an independent as elections or a sitting Member of Parliament may decide to revoke their party allegiance and become an independent.
Independent Politician | [n] A Member of Parliament who does not belong to or represent a political party is called an Independent.
The role of an independent Member of Parliament is to represent their electorate and achieve the best results from Government for their constituents. Independents are generally able to vote according to their beliefs and the perceived will of their electorate, whereas members who belong to political parties are expected to vote along party lines and usually do.
Why is the shift towards Independents is gaining traction?
The independent movement here in Australia is gaining traction, inspired by the success of Warringah’s Zali Steggall and Indi’s Helen Haines in 2019. Up to a dozen safe Coalition seats now face serious, well-organised challenges.
Most of us tend to think along two party lines and vote either Liberal or Labour but the truth is there's more than two choices. Having an independent Member means that member is not tied to a party line (meaning they don't have to follow what their party leaders dictate) and can vote to actually represent the views of their electorate. Which is a pretty big deal actually. Many of us have visions of a better world but get frustrated when politicians make decisions that serve their party or donors rather than the people they are supposed to represent.
<aside> 💡 You can find out more about Independent Australia 👉 here
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<aside> 💡 You can find out more about the Community Independents Project 👉 here
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But can't a Labour or Liberal politician represent us?
If your views or the overwhelming views of the majority of your community differ from their party line, then the short answer is no. When a politician votes against his or her party, they call it a rebellion vote - this is known as crossing the floor (to the other side of the debate away from their own party).
Labour party members are not actually allowed to rebel and although Liberal backers are allowed to rebel, they rarely do. In fact, many liberal members have never crossed the floor and voted against their own party on anything. Ever.
So what does that mean?
It's pretty simple really. Whether it’s a state or federal election, the important thing is to understand who is representing you and how they vote. If you agree with your representative’s party views on say . . environment for example, then you're good to go. If you don't however, then things get a little more complicated. You see . . . your representative is likely never going to represent your views on the environment until their entire party changes their tune. Feels a bit like trying to boil the ocean really doesn't it?