It’s time. A general election is rolling around yet again – our fifth in under 15 years, which could see us usher in a sixth prime minister in the same time period.
These are turbulent times indeed, which have been ably captured by our national broadcasters – whose election coverage seems to become more extensive with each passing vote.
In typically tongue-in-cheek fashion, Channel 4 is having a grand old time playing on the election’s 4 July date, rebranding its on-air channel graphic, idents and continuity slides as Channel 4th from 1 – 4 July.
Hastily assembled by the broadcaster’s in-house creative team 4creative in the six-week window since the election was announced, this laid-back campaign is set to provide an very on-brand Channel 4 backdrop to what is set to be a momentous vote, no matter the result.
Channel 4’s generational influence
At the heart of Channel 4’s campaign is a genuine desire to inspire people to get out there and vote.
After all, the campaign’s key creative mocks voter apathy by illustrating just how easy it has become to vote, with 74% of Britons living less than ten minutes from their nearest polling station.
The election’s importance in the wider context of potential social changes can’t be underestimated either, as Channel 4 News’ lead presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy told Marketing Beat, saying: “This election is going to be one the biggest in decades, I think it could be comparable to 1979 or 1997 in terms of its significance in British history.”
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This is exactly why Channel 4 is pulling out all the stops – this election is set to be generational, and with a viewer demographic that is increasingly skewing towards the younger side compared to its rivals at the BBC and ITV, C4 has a big role to play in keeping under-35s informed over the coming week.
“We’re hoping to galvanise the public and motivate them to get out there and vote and to understand that it’s an easy thing to do,” Channel 4 marketing lead, Sian Gray explains.
“We know from our insight that under 35s often feel that they’re too busy to go out and vote, so this is meant to be a way of showing that in fact, it’s a very easy way to make a difference.”
That sentiment certainly runs at the heart of this out-of-home-lead campaign, for which the laid-back assets emphasise the simplicity of voting and how little effort is actually required to do it.
Time is of the essence
What’s all the more remarkable is the lightning-quick turnaround in which 4creative crafted the campaign – after all, six weeks is an extremely short time window in which to create all the necessary assets and get all the required clearances and approvals.
But such is the nature of current affairs, and politics in particular – media and creative needs to be incredibly fast-paced if it truly wants to keep up with culture, according to 4creative deputy executive creative director, Chris Wood, who revealed they were as surprised as anyone when the snap election was called.
“We literally had a briefing the week before [the announcement] about what we were going to do for the election, but obviously in our minds its was going to be in October!”
Despite the speed of the campaign’s rollout, it would of course need to retain a distinctly Channel 4 tone of voice, while remaining staunchly neutral of course, in accordance with the channel’s role as a public broadcaster.
“They’re encouraging people to vote – but it’s all about finding a fresh way to do it and finding the right tone of voice for it,” Wood continues.
“We don’t want to be preaching, we just want people to engage and get involved. Monday to Thursday the campaign will be visible across the network without encroaching too much on our viewers – it’s come together in a really nice way.”
Will the campaign truly achieve Channel 4’s stated aims of galvanising the public, especially younger people, into voting?
The only thing that is sure at this stage, is that this election will be momentous no matter the result, and that broadcasters like Channel 4 will be at the forefront of it – keeping the public informed and guiding them towards the ballot box so that their voices can be heard.
