International Association of Political Consultants

Paris, November 10, 2010

Innovation & New MediaUK General Election: 2010

... bit tricky ... in a campaign dominated by old media...

In the run up to the election we had this:

April

1-2

April

4-5

April

5-6

April

6-7

April

7-8

April

8-9

April

9-10

April

10-1

1

April

11-1

2

April

12-1

3

April

13-1

4

April

14-1

5

Apr-1

6

April

16-1

7

April

17-1

8

April

18-1

9

April

19-2

0

April

20-2

1

April

21-2

2

Apr-2

3

April

23-2

4

April

24-2

5

April

25-2

6

April

26-2

7

April

27-2

8

April

28-2

9

Apr-3

0

April

30-M

ay 1

May

1-2

May

2-3

May

3-4

May

4-5

May

-10

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

YouGov Daily Opinion Polls

Labour ConservativeLiberal Democrats

Half way through the campaign, we had this

UK discovered TV debates

April 28: Prime Minister Gordon Brown meets a ‘bigoted woman’

... and this is what he thought of it...

Some old media bit the dust...

First Conservative poster campaign...

Old style modifications...

mydavidcameron.com

Enabled this...

And turned this....

... into this...

Did social/new media have a role at all?

Web visits during last week of the campaign

YouTube - Channel Views

Facebook - Leader's Likes

Facebook - Party Likes

Twitter - Leader's Followers

Twitter - Party Followers

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

36.0%

607,401

95,924

125,748

0

44,485

32.9%

324,606

10,386

84,758

0

26,646

31.0%

164,201

79,468

97,219

52,315

24,709

ConLabLD

Small scale, and no clear winners...

Amplifying and rebuttal role on a national level

#iagreewithnick#nickcleggsfault

Social Media: close interaction with media - nationally

Lib Dem party Labour party Conservative party Lib Dem leader Labour leader's wife -

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

24,709 26,646 44,485 52,315

1,122,838

Twitter followers

Unofficial channels dominated

-

40,000

80,000

120,000

160,000

84,758 97,219 125,748 134,942 152,675

Facebook likes

Unofficial channels dominated

What about locally?A personal perspective

Big wins in Twitter and Facebook

12/18/2008 7/6/2009 1/22/2010 8/10/20100

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

273

1050

Twitter followers

mpntod sbrine

12/18/2008 7/6/2009 1/22/2010 8/10/20100

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

379

1005

Facebook friends

Martin Tod Steve Brine

#gomartintod

Local supporters created a #hashtag

Twitter posters for Twitter followers

One local bar owner launched the ‘Todtini’

Some candidate ideas were blocked...

2/6/2009 3/28/2009 5/17/2009 7/6/2009 8/25/2009 10/14/2009 12/3/2009 1/22/2010 3/13/2010 5/2/2010 6/21/2010 -

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

YouTube Channel Views

Martin Tod Steve Brine

Losses in YouTube – and probably email

One area where it had a massive impact

Candidates deluged with emails from local constituents – triggered by single issue campaigns

Genuine success in getting commitments from all parties

Best example ‘Tuition Fees’ pledge from National Union of Students

Lobbying

Other high impact areaOrganisation

Google Apps

Email List Server

File sharing

Bulk email - PHPlist

Open Source Bulk Email Software

Photo archive

libertyresearch.org.uk

Support online surveying and remote data input

flocktogether.org.uk

Events and resources (and skills… to follow)

National petition support & local campaign generator

Enable supporters to run ‘single-issue campaigns’

Online phone bankingLabour &

Conservatives had this

Liberal Democrats didn’t

Social media not decisiveApart from a few people who messed upSome influence in shaping national media agendaSome useful intelligenceHighest impact activity not under formal party control

But does help mobilise and organise supportersLib Dems had the weakest infrastructure to turn

support into action. Did this hurt their ability to react when the polls surged?

Elections still being won and lost on messaging – via the biggest and most intrusive media:TV, press, direct mail and leaflets through the door

Conclusions