09.12.2021
Webinar: Policy, public opinion and political marketing: Lessons from the NZ 2020 election
Koi Tū Associate Report
Political marketing and management in the 2020 General Election: Key findings and advice for future practice
By Dr Edward Elder and Assoc Prof Jennifer Lees-Marshment
Date: Wednesday 8 December 2021
Time: 4 pm to 5.30 pm
Associate Professor Jennifer Lees-Marshment and Dr Edward Elder from the University of Auckland will use Vote Compass data to highlight the key lessons learned about political marketing and policy from 2020, taking both political communicator and practitioner perspectives.
In the 2020 New Zealand general election, a tool called Vote Compass was used by TVNZ to track public interest in policy issues in the weeks leading up to the election.
This tool provides invaluable information for both policy makers and political marketers as it tracks, in real-time, the issues of the day that are top of mind for the public.
The seminar will cover:
- Public opinion on the most important issues for the public at that time.
- Emerging new trends
- Areas where there was room for leadership.
- A review pre-election political marketing
- Strategic insights into the complexity of “the results behind the results”.
Based on their new book, the seminar will also look at some events that have occurred since the election and what these mean for New Zealand politics and future policy. You can read Jennifer’s Newsroom commentary on new National leader Christopher Luxon and the rebrand challenge for the party’s new chief here.
Jennifer Lees-Marshment introduced Vote Compass to NZ from Canada in 2014 as an innovative joint venture between academia and TVNZ for the election that year.
It was used again for the 2017 and 2020 elections. It has produced some fascinating insights into the intersection that occurs between politics and policies during elections in New Zealand.
About the speakers
Jennifer Lees-Marshment is an Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations and a Koi Tū Associate at the University of Auckland. Author/editor of 17 books, Jennifer is a world expert in political marketing with additional research interests in political management, public input, and political leadership. Jennifer was lead academic advisor to TVNZ’s Vote Compass in the 2014, 2017 and 2020 New Zealand General Elections. See www.lees-marshment.org for further details.
Dr Edward Elder is a teaching fellow and researcher at the University of Auckland whose research focuses on political marketing and strategic communication in New Zealand and the United States. His work can be found in books such as: Government and Politics in Aotearoa New Zealand; Marketing Leadership in Government; and Political Marketing in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He was an analyst for Vote Compass in the 2017 and 2020 New Zealand General Elections.
