Bob Mackin
Look what landed in my email box.
The B.C. NDP’s us and them message box for the campaign leading to the Oct. 24 snap election.
It is less than 1,000 words over 11 pages and contains the key talking points for the hustings. For John Horgan, candidates, proxies and social media influencers.
(NDP)
“What do we want people to be thinking about at the end of the day? John Horgan and the BCNDP are working hard to make life better for people. He’s protecting our province through COVID-19, and I know he’s going to look out for me and my family as the economy recovers.”
“Key contrast: Andrew Wilkinson is working for people at the top. John Horgan is working for you.
Summary slogan: Let’s keep BC moving forward – for all of us.”
No surprise, COVID-19 figures prominently. When the pandemic is the topic, these are the lines:
“We are all worried and uncertain about the future. Our lives have been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. People are worried about their loved ones and a future that looks different than we had ever imagined. We get what your’e going through.”
Further lines, when talking about the NDP’s COVID-19 response: “Protecting people’s health and working to provide financial security and stability for families. Looking out for people during this crisis.”
The talking points blame the BC Liberals for cutting services to healthcare and seniors care, privatizing seniors homes while cutting staff and forcing them to work at multiple facilities. “Can’t be trusted to fix the problems they created.”
(NDP)
There is a Green Party reference, charging that Sonia Furstenau’s party can’t stop the BC Liberals, because “They’re not focused on the challenges families face.”
The message box is focused on two themes: healthcare and education.
There is even “Us” and “Them” language ideas for drawing key contrasts.
NDP are “people,” “everyday people,” “working people,” “the middle class.” BC Liberals are “Those at the top,” “Those who have a lot,” “B.C.’s richest 2%,” and “People who need help the least.”
NDP are “everyone else,” while the BC Liberals are “rich and powerful.”
All of this is simple marketing 101. The kind you can read about in Susan Delacourt’s 2013 primer, Shopping for Votes: How Politicians Choose Us and We Choose Them. A must-read, about how politicians and their agents turned citizens into consumers, how candidates and parties adopted the techniques of soup and soap salesmen, and how big data and the Internet became so vital.
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MessageGuide Fall2020 Copy by Bob Mackin on Scribd
