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S o c i a l M a r k e t i n g P l a n
YOUTH VOT ING ENGAGEMENT By: Kate Taylor
November 25, 2015 COMM 3301 A – Joe Boughner
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Overview/Context of the Issue
In today’s democracy, voting is one of the most fundamental aspects of civic
engagement. However, in Canada, the total number of voters is significantly less than the
entire population. For example, in May 2011, approximately 14.8 million of 24.3 million
citizens on the electoral list cast a ballot, for a turnout rate of 61% (LaRochelle-‐Côté &
Uppal, 2015). This is sadly only 2.3 percent higher than the all-‐time low of 58.8% in 2008
and a far cry from the steady 75% that Canada averaged during the years following the
Second World War (Mayrand, 2012).
What is worrisome about this trend is that the decline is disproportionately
concentrated amongst the youngest voters, where in the 2011 election two-‐thirds of young
people who were eligible to vote did not (LaRochelle-‐Côté & Uppal, 2015). One age cohort
significantly underrepresented are those aged 18-‐24. In the May 2011 election, these
individuals accounted for just 38.8% of voters while those aged 65-‐74 held 75.1% of the
votes (Elections Canada, 2014). These statistics illustrate a clear disengagement and
disinterest between youth and voting and inaction may lead to serious implications, such as
an antiquated and disconnected government. Additionally, it is important for this issue to
be addressed because research shows that voting habits are formed early in life and, if
young people are not voting now, there is a good chance they will be less likely to become
active voters later on, which will only work against young people as a whole because their
needs, such as tuition costs and entry-‐level jobs, will largely be ignored in public policy
(Mayrand, 2012).
I believe this disconnect between youth and voting stems from the fact that many
youth simply do not think that there is value in voting because they are under the
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impression that politics have no impact on their lives. As well, it is evident (when looking at
the youth voter turnout at the 2011 election) that young individuals have gotten so used to
the democratic process that it does not feel like a privilege anymore. Taking into
consideration everything stated above, the behavior change that this social marketing plan
will address is increasing voter engagement and turnout among young people between the
ages of 18-‐24.
Environmental Scan
Sadly, when it comes to encouraging youth voting engagement, there are currently
not many organizations that exist. One organization is the Council of Canadians, which has
launched a campaign that is simply asking youth to pledge to vote (Council of Canadians).
However, they are struggling to meet their goal of 10,000 pledges. They are currently only
at 906 pledges, which means they do not have the necessary outreach to accomplish their
goals of successfully encouraging young voters.
There is also one initiative based in Ottawa called I Vote/Je Vote that is headed by
Kevin Page, a former Parliamentary Budget Officer. This organization puts on events in the
city that are meant for students to come and meet party leaders and attend debates that
strike their interest (IVote-‐jeVote). However, there are two main issues with Page’s effort,
the first being that it does not reach out to students who are not currently politically
involved or students majoring outside of political science. Secondly, the reach of this
organization is confined to Carleton University, University of Ottawa and Algonquin College
students; therefore, it is missing young individuals who decide to take a gap year upon
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completion of high school and youth who are simply working instead of attending
university or college.
Lastly, in March 2011 Rick Mercer, host of the Rick Mercer Report on CBC, urged
more than three million young voters to take twenty minutes out of their day and vote in
elections (Turn on, tune in and vote! Rick Mercer's call to young people, 2013). His
influential voice spoke to youths across the nation and it sparked a university campus
challenge to see who could get the most students to vote as possible (Turn on, tune in and
vote! Rick Mercer's call to young people, 2013). This led to dozens of positive, non-‐partisan,
pro-‐vote videos from university students across the country and reinvigorated the
democratic process (Turn on, tune in and vote! Rick Mercer's call to young people, 2013).
Nevertheless, this tactic was flawed in its lack of educating students on the political parties’
policy platform, which, as highlighted above, is one of the major barriers stopping young
individuals from voting today.
Stakeholders
In regards to stakeholders, there are a few. In terms of benefits, all individuals aged
18 to mid-‐thirties will gain from more youths voting because this will lead to policies that
will address their needs and those elected into political office will be more representative
of this sector of the population. As well, politicians whose policies and views appeal to
youth, such as the Liberal, New Democratic and Green parties, will also benefit because
they will be much more likely to be voted into office. The Conservatives are not included in
this list because after reviewing their political platform, I noticed that they do not have a
true a focus on youth. Conservative policies regarding skills training and better jobs are
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general plans directed at the entire Canadian population (CBC, 2015) while the Liberal
party has a clear focus on youth. Liberals have points on more affordable post-‐secondary
education, creating a flexible student loan system, and a targeted plan to invest and create
more job opportunities specifically for Canada’s youth (CBC, 2015).
When thinking about those stakeholders that are encouraging the increase of youth
voting engagement, I believe government officials within the Liberal, Green and New
Democratic Parties are supportive, entities like Elections Canada and the Council of
Canadians, as well as parents, teachers, professors, older family members, even employers.
Out of all of these, government officials, Elections Canada and the Council of Canadians are
probably the most proactive with their support. These institutions want to see this age
cohort get involved in public life as well as increase the overall voting percentage so that it
will return back to a mid 70% range, where it was in in the 1960s-‐1980s (Mayrand, 2012).
As well, parents, family members, professors, etcetera are encouraging too because they
think it is important for youth to take part in what is going on in the world around them.
They know that this age group is society’s future and if they are not interested in voting
now, they may never be and that could lead to policies and power shifts that are not
beneficial to anyone.
Lastly, because Conservatives make gains by making promises to older people and
the upper-‐middle classes, it is these stakeholders that are likely to oppose youth vote
mobilization because they are the ones that stand to lose some of their ground if youths
succeed in having their voices heard.
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Objectives
Ultimate Objective High-‐Level Objective Supporting Objective Increase youth (those aged 18-‐24) engagement in the political process
Get more students informed about the various political platforms and democratic process
Teach them specifically about issues that pertain to young people such as rising cost of tuition and entry-‐level jobs so they can see that elections and political issues are relevant to their lives
Present this information in a descriptive but innovative way so it captures young audiences (i.e. develop an app that works as a one-‐stop shop for learning about Canadian politics and issues)
Get more students involved in campaigns
When election season comes around, have political figures come into university and college classes to share the benefits of working on campaigns such as gaining first hand political knowledge, networking and learning more about your community outside of your campus
Get more students to vote Ensure that students know where the nearest polling station is and allow for advance polling stations on university and college campuses
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Marketing Goal/SMART Objective
Based on the information above, the marketing goal/SMART objective for this
marketing plan is to increase the amount of youth aged between 18-‐24 who vote by 20%
by the next federal election, which will be held in 2019.
Strategic Considerations and Positioning Statement
Positioning Statement
For the issue of youth voting engagement, the positioning statement is ‘we want
youth aged 18-‐24 to see voting in federal elections as a way to have their voices heard and
to realize that there is a greater chance of politicians paying attention to youth issues when
youth exercise their democratic rights as opposed to not exercising them.’ This is a
benefits-‐focused positioning statement (Lee & Kotler, 2015, p. 246) because the benefit
that youth gain from voting is having their voices heard by political elites that may not hear
their concerns otherwise.
Strategic Considerations
When it comes to youth and voting, a very common barrier amongst young
individuals has to do with access. According to a study commissioned by Elections Canada
following the May 2011 election, when youth aged 18-‐34 were asked why they did not vote,
many participants said it was because they were either too busy, could not get to the polls
or did not know where the polls were (Mayrand, 2012). These excuses expose these
barriers to be superficial as the study went on to reveal that the real issue amongst this
generation is motivation (Mayrand, 2012). This means that if youngsters were motivated to
vote, then most could overcome these access barriers.
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The real question then becomes, why aren’t they motivated? According to the study
cited above, another barrier is the fact that many young voters feel that they lack the
appropriate knowledge to participate, specifically knowledge about the candidates, their
political parties and their platforms (Mayrand, 2012). It was also discovered that
individuals within this age range are generally not interested in politics because they
believe that all of the parties are the same and no platform truly speak to issues that are
relevant to their lives (Mayrand, 2012).
In contrast, those young individuals who were educated on the platforms and were
interested in politics were much more likely to vote, as were those who had discussed
politics with their families and/or teachers and those who had been directly contacted by a
specific party or candidate during the election (Mayrand, 2012). This demonstrates the
importance of civic education, both in school and in the home, because it leads to the
development of political knowledge as well as interest that will actually lead to voting
(Mayrand, 2012).
Barriers: How to overcome them:
Access and knowledge of polls Create a mobile app that has a map function that would locate the nearest voting stations to you based on your area code
Advanced polling stations at university and college campuses
Uninformed about candidates, political parties, platforms
Create a mobile app, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram that would encapsulate each political platform into easily understood bullet points and profile the candidates with weekly 30 second videos (launched once the federal campaign begins)
Get parents to discuss politics and candidates with their kids (act as role models for voting)
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Have candidates go to major university and college campuses across Canada to speak about the importance of voting and their specific platforms
Uninterested because all platforms look the same and don’t speak to youth issues
On the various social media platforms have promoted posts targeted at youths that do not have an interest in politics or do not know what each party stands for. These posts would highlight policies that impact youth (entry level jobs, internships, tuition, etc.) but in an entertaining way to grab their attention and make them realize that politics does in fact speak to youth issues
When the candidates come to the various campuses, they will specifically reference how they plan to tackle youth issues
I would like to note that I believe the only way to successfully overcome these
barriers is to ensure that political parties will promote and work with the campaign to
increase youth voting engagement. Their involvement (i.e. filming profile videos for the
mobile app, hosting speeches on university and college campuses, etc.) will give the
campaign much needed legitimacy.
Change Management Considerations
In social marketing, the primary effort is focused on influencing behaviors that will
result in a greater social good (Lee & Kotler, 2015, p. 8). However, behavior change is not
always easily attainable. It is for this reason that it is important for social marketers to
understand the basics of change management theory in order to develop effective social
marketing interventions (Lee & Kotler, 2015, p. 204). In regards to youth voting
engagement, a change management theory that can be implemented is the social norms
theory. This theory states that in order for change to occur, the target audience needs to be
surrounded by people who exemplify the change the marketer wants them to adopt (in this
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case, it is getting more youths aged between 18-‐24 voting) (Lee & Kotler, 2015, p. 217).
Therefore, I believe that in order to get more youth voting, we need to mobilize the group
of youths that are already voting and interested in the political process to voice why they
believe political engagement is important. This can be achieved by launching a social
media campaign from the various social platforms we create that are associated with this
campaign. Here these youths can share why they think voting and politics is important and
accompany each post with the hash tag #WhyIVote in order to get it trending. These posts
can then be promoted and targeted at youths who are currently uninterested in politics and
voting.
Another change management theory to consider in terms of youth voting
engagement is exchange theory. According to Lee and Kotler, this theory postulates, “that
for an exchange to take place, target audiences must perceive benefits (value) in the offer
equal to or greater than perceived costs” (2015, p. 221). With this theory, promoting
targeted posts at youths who are currently not voting and uninterested in politics that
highlight issues that are of interest to young people (entry-‐level jobs, internships, tuition,
etc.) will work well in promoting behavior change in favor of voting. If youths become
informed that voting has the potential to increase internships, entry-‐level jobs and lower
tuition, this may add value to the behavior of voting making it greater than the perceived
cost of going out and casting a ballot.
Audiences
• Primary Audiences: Political parties, first time voters and those who are not
involved in politics.
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o Explanation: Political parties serve an important role when it comes to
youth voting engagement. By demonstrating that they believe in those aged
18-‐24 and by acknowledging that young voices matter, they will be more
inclined to vote. As well, when first time voters and those who are not
politically involved feel that their voices are heard and that politicians value
them, they will be more likely to vote.
• Secondary Audiences: Parents and teachers of kids aged 16-‐18
o Explanation: When parents and teachers discuss politics, candidates and the
democratic process with their kids and/or students they serve as ‘voting role
models’ and can influence their children and/or students to recognize the
importance of political involvement. As stated earlier in this plan under the
strategic considerations, those young individuals who had discussed politics
with their families or teachers were much more likely to vote in federal
elections (Mayrand, 2012).
Personas / Journey Maps
Persona Name: Blake Age: 21 Profession: Fourth year Public Affairs and Policy Management student at a university
Name: Emma Age: 18 Profession: First year Communications Studies student and Starbucks barista
Interests • Highly interested in politics, wants to be politically involved
• Member of Model United Nations
• Watches House of Cards
• Having a strong social life (popularity)
• Saving to pay off student loans
• President of her sorority • Beauty and fashion
Values • Achieving high marks and Dean’s Honours List
• Maintaining her social life while working and
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• Being successful • Being involved in his
local community
getting average grades • Being a strong role
model to her 2 little sisters
Powers • Social activism • Strong speaker
• Seen as a role model in the Greek community at her university as well as a role model to her biological little sisters
Behaviours • Passionate about social change
• Frequently shares his political views in class
• Likes to have a good time but is also responsible
• Some people outside of the Greek community judge her for being a ‘sorority girl’
• Volunteers 30 hours a semester in her local community with her sorority
• Prominent figure and voice on campus
Aspirations • Wants to enact positive change in the world
• Wants to be a household name
• To be an editor at a fashion magazine
Journey Map (text) • Learns about the campaign when a political candidate comes and speaks to his 8:30AM History of Political Thought class
• Feeling inspired by the candidate’s wisdom and words, Blake becomes interested in learning more about the youth voting engagement campaign
• He downloads the app and looks through the various social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to learn more about the campaign
• Through this research,
• First notices the initiative when she sees a poster on her schools ‘Campus Activity Board’ but she doesn’t really think anything of it
• A few weeks later she sees the campaign again through sponsored content on Facebook about internships and what different political parties are doing to address the issue
• Because Emma has been desperately searching for internships to further her potential career in fashion, she clicks on the promoted post and is
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Blake sees the #WhyIVote trending hash tag and decides to partake and share on Facebook and Twitter the reasons why he thinks it is important for youths to vote
• Sees campaign bus poster reminding why youth should vote, how to register and the date of the election when riding the bus to work
• Votes in the next federal election
taken to the campaign’s website where she investigates the campaign in more detail
• She subscribes to the weekly e-‐newsletter
• Gets the e-‐newsletter the following week and learns about how the campaign has a volunteer opportunity for students to be student ambassadors on their campus to raise awareness
• Realizing her position as a role model and that voting can impact the professional future of young people her age, she becomes student ambassador on her campus for the campaign
Blake’s Journey Map (visual)
Campus
Online
Public Space
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Emma’s Journey Map (visual)
Campus
Online
Tactics / Evaluation
Marketing Goal Tactics KPIs Targets Increase the amount of youth aged between 18-‐24 who vote by 20% by the next federal election, which will be held in 2019
Political guest speakers come to university classes to speak about their platforms as well as how they plan to tackle youth issues in order to pique political interest in young students
• How many people attend
• Average of 175 students at each talk
Mobile app that acts as a one-‐stop shop to learn about Canadian politics and issues • Educate youths on
each political party platform with simple bullet points, focusing on
• Track number of downloads
• Engagement (how frequently the app is opened)
• User experience
• Achieve 750 downloads within the first 2 months after launch
• Maintain 20% of users from Day 1 to Day 30 after initial download
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policies that impact youth
• Visual and user-‐friendly
• Profile the candidates in short 30 seconds videos
• Countdown to election day
• Map function that would locate the nearest voting stations to you based on your area code
• Achieve 75% satisfaction rate within the first 4 months after launch
Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) will have constant news feeds filled with educational information regarding the party platforms, quotes and candid images of the candidates that will be easily understood by young individuals as well as easily retweetable and shareable for youth to spread awareness of the campaign
• (Organic) % Gain in followers/likes
• (Organic) Engagement (retweets, mentions, likes, shares)
• Average 50% gain of followers/likes each week for the first 2 months after launch of social platforms
• Facebook: 1% average engagement rate
• Twitter: .05% average engagement rate
• Instagram: 3% average engagement rate
#WhyIVote hash tag (for all social media platforms) to encourage youth to share with their peers why they think voting is important, this will also work to expand the reach of the campaign due to the hash tag
• Track how many times the hash tag is used
• Track who is using the hash tag
• Hit 500 hash tags within the first month across all social media platforms
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Bus advertisements will launch closer to the election date, these will work to remind young students to register, where to find more information about registering and when the date of the election is (it will drive people to the campaign website because you can register to vote there)
• Create custom URL to track hits from the bus ad
• Account for 10% of website hits
Sponsored content targeted at youth that do not have an interest in politics or do not know what each party stands for • Highlight policies
that impact youth (entry-‐level jobs, internships, tuition, OSAP)
• Content would be entertaining in order to grab youth attention
• This content will link to website in order to drive youth to learn more about Canadian politics
• Click-‐through rate (CTR) on links in the content
• Time spent on website for people who landed there from the links in the content (vs. overall baseline)
• Average .3% CTR • 5% longer time
on site
E-‐newsletter will be released at the beginning of each week leading up to the election and will have information regarding • Student
ambassador
• Open rates • Click through
rates (CTR) • Unsubscribes
• Maintain 30% open rates
• Average 3% CTR • Increase
subscriber retention by 12% by 2016
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program • When political
speakers will be coming to which universities
• Hot political topics of the day (specifically highlighting youth issues)
• Link to all social media platforms
• How to download the mobile app
Student ambassador program will work to recruit young people into the campaign, by doing this these young individuals will operate as opinion leaders to influence their peers to become interested in politics and vote in the next election
• How many students sign up for the program
• 2 students from each major university in Canada
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References
CBC. (2015). Read the political parties' 2015 platforms. Retrieved 12 November 2015, from
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-‐election-‐2015-‐party-‐platforms-‐
1.3264887
Council of Canadians. (n.d.). Pledge to vote in the 2015 federal election! Retrieved
September 20, 2015, from https://secure.canadians.org/ea-‐
action/action?ea.client.id=1899&ea.campaign.id=39452
Elections Canada. (2014, June 13). Elections Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec%2Fpart%2Festim%2F
41ge&document=report41&lang=e
IVote-‐jeVote. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.ivote-‐jevote.ca/about
LaRochelle-‐Côté, S., Uppal, S. (2015, March 4). Statistics Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-‐001-‐x/2012001/article/11629-‐eng.htm
Lee, N., & Kotler, P. (2015). Crafting a desired positioning. In Social marketing: changing
behaviors for good (p. 234-‐256). Sage.
Mayrand, Marc. (2012, February 6). Declining voter turnout: Can we reverse the trend?
Elections Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=med&document=feb1712&dir=spe
&lang=e
Turn on, tune in and vote! Rick Mercer's call to young people. (2013, January 18). Retrieved
September 20, 2015, from http://www.public-‐value.cbc.radio-‐canada.ca/story/32/
