Today the Electoral Commission and TVNZ, through agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Starcom, launched an online campaign enlisting Shortland Street stars in a drive to get young voters to the polls, according to a report in NBR.
The Orange Guy remains a mainstay of the Electoral Commission’s $6.4 million battle to improve voter registration and turnout, but the commission is adding the electoral power of the medical drama stars, Tane Williams-Accra, Ngahuia Piripi and Reuben Milner to get young Kiwis to participate on Saturday 23 September.
Young people under-represented
Commission figures show in the past election in the 18-24 year age bracket, only 63% of the approximately 338,000 people enrolled voted, a turnout figure only a fraction higher than the 62% of enrolled voters who turned out in the 25-29 age gap.
At July 31, 2017, only 64% of the 18-24 demographic were enrolled to vote while it is estimated the eligible voter base in that demographic is in excess of 460,000 people.
The Saatchi & Saatchi campaign, dubbed What matters to you, will appear on TVNZ’s online channels and features the stars talking about what is important to them.
Electoral Commission communication and education manager Anastasia Turnbull says the goal is to have young people seeing role models talk to them in the social media channels they use.
Budget $6.4m
While the entire campaign this election is costing $6.4 million ($6.1 million in 2014), NBR reports that the commission is now spending more of its budget on production (30%) than ad slots booked through media agency Starcom.
For the 2014 election only 20% of the budget was spent on production.
The commission’s other ads this election include the usual Orange Guy messages, as well as other content partnerships with radio stations such as NZME brands Flava and ZM. The commission is targeting Maori, Pacific and Asian voters as they are less likely to be enrolled.
Read the full NBR story here (Note: This is a paysite – but short-term freebies may be available)
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