Students are a particularly under-registered group, and many of them are unaware of how quick and easy it is to register to vote. Our 2009 annual student campaign targets both further education students who are in the process of applying to university (via the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)) and those students already at university.
We conducted focus group research which showed that a major factor discouraging student registration was the perception that it was a time-consuming or difficult process. Our campaign therefore, is focussing on the ease and speed of registering. The campaign used the central theme 'Some things are impossible to do in 3 minutes….Registering to vote isn't one of them'.
The 2009 student registration campaign will run from January to March 2009 consisting of several strands of activity. It will include:
Light hearted online advertising, on websites targeted at university students, redirecting students to a specific page on our about my vote website where they can download a student registration form.
A specially designed leaflet will be sent out as an insert to a UCAS mailing to approximately 200,000 university students. Recipients will be directed to a student specific page on our about my vote website or they will be asked to text a special number to receive a registration form pre-printed with their Electoral Registration Officer address.
During a two-week period in February, we will be displaying large outdoor posters across around 100 campuses. Students will again be directed to either about my vote or to the text response.
We will also be carrying out some public relation work in student publications again aimed at increasing registration.
Click below to see and hear some of the adverts for the campaign:
- Getting ready ad (Flash)
- Spaghetti ad (Flash)
- Haircut outdoor poster ad (PDF)
