2023 NSW State
Election Awareness
Campaign
In one of DesignStreet’s biggest single campaigns to date, we were tasked with the development and roll out of the Voter Awareness Campaign for the 2023 NSW State election. Our client was the NSW Electoral Commission, an independent agency who are tasked with the staging and execution of election campaigns for the NSW state government.
We were awarded the project after a competitive pitch process that involved five creative agencies. At the heart of the brief was the need to develop a campaign that was simple, direct and informative and that ensured voters knew when to vote, where to vote, and how to access the information they needed.
We took the brief literally and developed a concept that was clear, simple, easily understood, and that could be communicated effectively to the 5.5 million voters across NSW. At the heart of our concept was a simple idea that would be able to be implemented across the three separate stages of the campaign. It is a concept that everyone is familiar with, and that we all learn from an early age, and that continues into adulthood.
Get Ready – Get Set – Go! is a familiar process that sets in motion many actions and projects and is often the subject of direction from an authoritative figure like a teacher, sports coach or similar. This concept of “subtle authority” was an important element as voting is compulsory, and the goal was to make sure that the voting audience got the message and responded appropriately.
It was researched across the multiple language groups that would be used in the campaign and it was familiar and friendly to all!
The 3-phase campaign
GET READY – this was the stage where people were first alerted to the campaign. It focused on the need to check electoral boundaries as some had changed, to make suitable arrangements if they would be interstate or overseas on election date, and the communication of the election date as 25 March 2023. This phase of the campaign was run in Nov / Dec 2022.
GET SET – this phase was run in early 2023 and focused on making sure that voters were prepared for the election, that their details were correct, and that they knew where to vote.
GO! – this was the final phase that was run in the two weeks leading up to the campaign. The clear message was GO AND VOTE! and was a call to action that was communicated widely across multiple media in this sustained period of awareness advertising.
Bold, simple design
The design was simple, striking, and effective. We chose two key colours from the Electoral Commission’s brand guidelines and combined these with bold text and simple icons to communicate the message.
Clarity, simplicity, and cut-through were at the cornerstone of what we needed to achieve, and there is no doubt that the messages were crystal clear and easily understood by the broad demographic of voters across the state.
Media roll out
With the mandate to get the message across to the whole voting population of the state, multiple media types were required to ensure the reach and frequency required.
1. Out of home
We created bold, highly visible executions for assets such as billboards and screens. The background blue and the highlight orange stood out in the busy media landscape and were particularly striking when coupled with backlighting.
2. TV
We developed five 60 second executions that were run as organic assets for various assets as well as for use on all the major TV stations in the lead up to voting day. We used illustrations, animations which were coupled with a strong voice over and a closing “sting” at the end that was a powerful and memorable audio signature throughout the campaign.
4. Video
We created assets using illustrations, animation and the VoiceOver and sting from the TV executions for powerful 30 second ads. These were flighted on TikTok and YouTube.
5. Radio
We adapted the script from the video executions and combined it with the voice and instantly recognisable audio sting from the other digital assets.
6. Print
The ads were adapted for insertion into major daily newspapers that were published in multiple different languages.
7. Digital
In each phase we created web banners, both animated and static, to bring awareness directly to Australian’s home screens.
Impact and results
As we launch this piece, the number of votes cast in the election is still being counted. The campaign achieved more than 50% increase on the number of early votes cast compared to the 2019 election, despite the early voting period being reduced to only 1 week. Plus – there was no iVote capability, which makes the results more significant. The final percentage poll is awaited, with our major KPI being to exceed the number cast in 2019.
As an agency, our success in successfully developing and rolling out this complex and very important campaign gives us increased confidence in tackling such major projects and has strengthened our credentials as a reliable and effective communications partner for the NSW Government.
Impact and results
As we launch this piece, the number of votes cast in the election is still being counted. The campaign achieved more than 50% increase on the number of early votes cast compared to the 2019 election, despite the early voting period being reduced to only 1 week. Plus – there was no iVote capability, which makes the results more significant. The final percentage poll is awaited, with our major KPI being to exceed the number cast in 2019.
As an agency, our success in successfully developing and rolling out this complex and very important campaign gives us increased confidence in tackling such major projects and has strengthened our credentials as a reliable and effective communications partner for the NSW Government.
This isn’t all we have created for our clients!