A new social campaign launched by the NSW Farmers Association is allowing people to see democracy in action, by giving country voters the ability to impact the issues raised during the NSW Station Election.
The campaign, #StandUp4Farmers, was created by Melbourne's Icon Agency and has been called “disruptive” by it MD Joanne Painter. It allows country voters to rate their politicians on a dedicated website as well as make sure their voices are heard by airing issues on social using the campaign hashtag.
Painter said the campaign is an example of how social media is changing the democratic process.
“Campaigns like this are really turning that old pattern of election messaging on its heard,” Painter said.
“In the past rural and regional communities were seen as fairly low level adopters of digital and social and a lot of organisations were fairly conservative in using those tactics when targeting that audience.”
“The community wants to have a say in the issues that matter to them and not be told that what should matter by politicians on Macquarie Street.”
The campaign has no paid media budget and instead has used PR, digital, social media and local activation to drive grassroots action.
So far, the campaign has generated nearly 20,000 page views on the website in 10 days and generated over 134,000 Twitter impressions. It has also generated close to 30 media clips which have reached more than two million people.
However, Painter said most encouraging is the amount of people who have taken hold of the hashtag and made it their own.
“They've very much taken the campaign and adapted it, whether they’re painting signs on fences, or getting involved with their local media,” Painter said.
“It actually gives as a really good sample of what exactly is the pulse or the temperature gauge of the rural and regional electorates, which I think is very powerful.”
The campaign also includes nine town hall meetings held across NSW up until the state election on 28 March. Painter said the meetings were cherry picked to include major or highly-contested electorates.
She said the three events held so far were sold out, and that many of the remainder will include prominent politicians who have stood up and taken notice of the campaign.”
NSW Farmers Association director of public affairs Veneta Chapple who worked with Painter to bring the campaign to life said it tells politicians that people in country NSW will not be overlooked.
“Our campaign is setting a benchmark in the Australian agriculture sector for election campaigns and more importantly it has enable us to engage with new audiences and demographics across the state,” she said.
“It has given people in the bush a larger voice and made them feel empowered which is very important when you feel physically isolated from the political decision-making process.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.