What makes a winning sign?
When it comes to election signs, recognition is the name of the game, Dr Edward Elder says.
‘‘At the local level, you find you’ve got candidates that people don’t know, they’re not on TV and there’s less of an association with a political party.’’
Elder, a political marketing expert at the University of Auckland, said the actual impact of signs was ‘‘questionable’’. Candidates who had higher name recognition could get away with less on their sign, and signs that weren’t visually appealing didn’t necessarily harm a campaign.
Stuff took photos on Nelson’s Tahuanui Drive and Rocks and Waimea roads and asked Elder what he thought of the candidates’ efforts.
Elder said Pete Rainey, Tim Skinner and Dennis Christian had ‘‘pretty good signs’’.
‘‘Big lettering helps, given the short amount of time people are normally able to consume election billboards – the key target is normally people driving in their cars.
‘‘The more professional a sign looks, the more professional the candidate seems.’’
While Matt Lawrey’s sign had a similar look, it did not give an indication of what he was promoting, Elder said.
‘‘It seems like a sign you could put in a store window for a lawyer or dentist.’’
Hoardings could also use ‘‘signifiers’’ that gave people something to connect to, he said – for example, Yvonne Bowater’s. ‘‘Simply by the tick and the word ‘community’.’’
Elder said there were also such signifiers with Kate Fulton’s simply from the tick, and also from the word ‘‘climate’’ and the green colouring.
‘‘You get the idea that they are running for office and know what they stand for. You know from past messaging from politics what green and the word ‘Climate’ mean.’’
The use of colour made signs more dynamic, like in Judene Edgar’s and Rachel Sanson’s.
‘‘As long as the colours don’t hinder the viewer’s ability to read the sign, rich colours and textures can draw peoples’ attention.’’
If signs had colours associated with a political party, voters didn’t necessarily make the connection.
‘‘In local elections because there’s less of a focus on party, unless it’s explicit sometimes it can just seem like a coincidence.’’
With Labour-backed candidate Brian McGurk’s, Elder said there wasn’t much for people to connect to in the bold red writing and it looked like he was on a budget.
‘‘Without a first name or a face, the candidate has not provided much for the public to remember or connect with at any level. This is likely a simple case of a candidate on a budget. Which is something you have to take into consideration when it comes to billboards. They can be relatively expensive.’’
The use of slogans, like in Campbell Rollo’s ‘‘a fresh approach’’, gave people more to associate with the candidate.
‘‘The idea is to have something that people will remember, as these candidates are often just trying to get people to remember them than anything else (more so with council members than for higher profile mayoral candidates).’’
Elder’s favourite sign was mayoral candidate Mel Courtney with a coffee in hand.
‘‘[Mel Courtney’s] has a picture of the candidate in profile, but active, which is great.
‘‘Even better, the picture appears to show him listening to someone, which can be seen as a signifier of someone who is in touch.’’
He said while Gaile Noonan’s and Harry Morris’ used colour, they were harder to read.
‘‘The last word in Noonan’s and the first letters of Harry and Morris fade into the background. They are readable if you are concentrating on it. But, again, think about the people catching a glimpse of it as they drive by.’’
Moving signs, on cars and trailers, were good because ‘‘movement draws people’s attention’’.
Billboards needed to be easily read and understood from the road, and Elder said Trudie Brand’s had a little bit too much going on. ‘‘Everything looks a little rough.’’
He said it was also at a disadvantage being set back from the road on a fence.
Similarly, Mike Ward’s wasn’t in the line of sight, and could be hard for drivers to read.
‘‘It is more likely targeted for foot traffic.’’