COI asks three to pitch for 12m voters’ register task

The Electoral Commission has invited three teams of agencies to pitch
for a new campaign to get people to register to vote, in a switch away
from its previous attempts to get consumers to go to the polls and
vote.

The change is likely to mean an end…

The Electoral Commission has invited three teams of agencies to pitch for a new campaign to get people to register to vote, in a switch away from its previous attempts to get consumers to go to the polls and vote.

The change is likely to mean an end to the commission’s long-running “If you don’t do politics” campaign, originally created by St Luke’s in 2004.

A brief has gone to three groups of roster agencies: Farm, Glue and Experience; Harrison Troughton Wonderman, Wheel and Manning Gottlieb OMD; and DFGW, Red Nomad and MindShare.

An insider involved in the pitch says the total value of the account could be as much as 12m – 3m a year for three years, plus an extra 3m if a general election is called within that period. However, a COI spokeswoman says that the budget so far assigned is only 5.5m.

The Electoral Commission is looking for media planning, creative advertising and digital services – media buying will be separate. The pitch is being handled by the Central Office of Information (COI).

The COI spokeswoman says that the campaign is aimed at “increasing awareness of how the voting system works and the need for people to register in order to be able to vote.”

The spokeswoman adds that under new legislation would-be voters can register up to 11 days before an election. Previously they had to register two months prior to polling day. “That allows us greater scope to talk to the 8% of the electorate who currently are not registered.”