Campaign to Lower Voting Age in New Zealand The Make It 16 Initiative

Campaign to Lower Voting Age in New Zealand: The Make It 16 Initiative

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TOC o “1-3” h z u 1. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc98853900 h 22. Analysis and Justification of the Social Marketing Campaign PAGEREF _Toc98853901 h 32.1 Social Issue PAGEREF _Toc98853902 h 32.2 Call to Action PAGEREF _Toc98853903 h 42.3 Competing Behavior PAGEREF _Toc98853904 h 52.4 Target Audience PAGEREF _Toc98853905 h 52.5 Message Resonating with Audience PAGEREF _Toc98853906 h 52.6 Role of Research PAGEREF _Toc98853907 h 62.7 Checking Success of the Campaign PAGEREF _Toc98853908 h 63. Effectiveness of the Marketing Mix PAGEREF _Toc98853909 h 74. 10-Step Planning Model PAGEREF _Toc98853910 h 85. Phase of Target Audience in the Transtheoretical Model of Stages of Change PAGEREF _Toc98853911 h 96. Behavioural Change Theory PAGEREF _Toc98853912 h 107. Recommended Inclusions for the Campaign PAGEREF _Toc98853913 h 108. Recommended Alternative PAGEREF _Toc98853914 h 11References PAGEREF _Toc98853915 h 12

1. IntroductionThe Make It 16 campaign is an online initiative led by The Spinoff NZ. Spinoff NZ is an online news publication company covering popular culture, political direction, and social life. It chronicles the journey of a group of young people who are spearheading a drive to make democracy more equitable and robust. They’re fed up with people dismissing them as too young and impressionable to participate in politics (The Spinoff, 2021). They are stepping up and demanding a voice on problems like as environmental issues, the rebound from the recently concluded Covid-19 crisis, housing, and inequalities that are harming their futures. Specifically, the campaign intends to lobby a movement in New Zealand to have the legal voting age lowered to 16, in order to have more young people involved in the political direction of their country. The initiative uses social media marketing strategy on the YouTube platform and other popular social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The use of these platforms and channels is an effective way to reach millions of Kiwis in a social marketing campaign that is appropriate for its purpose. The message contained in the video is relatively short and succinct. It delivers on the need for a more inclusive society and the upholding of the features of democracy through lowering the voting age to 16.

Courtesy of The Spinoff (2021)

2. Analysis and Justification of the Social Marketing Campaign2.1 Social IssueVoting is a crucial opportunity for New Kiwis to have a role in shaping a more equitable future. Voting allows citizens to participate in determining the country’s future course by expressing support for a political party’s policies on major subjects such as global warming, taxes, and housing. Almost every nation in the world prohibits minors under the age of 18 from voting. The reasons differ each nation, but the most of them center around phrases like youngsters are not well-informed, they don’t really pay taxes, they are unable to serve in the military, they are too liberal, they are too rebellious, and they are not old enough to comprehend government (Eichhorn & Bergh, 2021). Voting is, in fact, a crucial act of civic involvement by which youth participate in New Zealand’s democracy.

Courtesy of The Spinoff (2021)

2.2 Call to ActionWhen some groups have greater voice in what occurs in their areas and throughout the country, a society has failed to live up to the democratic assumptions. Simultaneously, by failing to aggressively address structural impediments to civic knowledge and opportunity, a country loses out on a chance to better its community and the mechanisms that generate knowledgeable and enthusiastic civic actors. According to the Make It 16 movement, the problem of restricting young voters to a certain age is an obstacle to democratic growth in New Zealand. The intended behavioral change is putting an end to age restriction that limits the political participation of those above 16 years. Largely, the campaign also targets an end to the culture of ignoring the opinions of the youth.

Courtesy of The Spinoff (2021)

2.3 Competing BehaviorThe competing behavior is a need to retain the current legal voting age at 18. The prevalence of a non-inclusive government system is mentioned as a key fault to the New Zealand’s political involvement structure. As more young people gain access to voting, the campaign hopes that the rate of political participation will improve in the future.

2.4 Target AudienceFor the Make It 16 campaign, the target audience includes all teenagers aware of the voting system, particularly the 16- and 17-year-olds who are locked out of the voting system. It also includes parents of said groups, college going students, legislators, and political parties. All stakeholders in the New Zealand voting system are encouraged to participate in bringing an end to age discrimination as far as voting is concerned. The campaign brings together the young Kiwis, adults (parents and caregivers), and various government organizations that work towards democracy and inclusion.

2.5 Message Resonating with AudienceThe message is very clear, short, and direct to the point. It also incorporates humor and is aware of the different social and age-related differences. It will resonate with young Kiwis through the action to speak up and participate in nation building through voting. It will also appeal to parents who will encourage their children to speak up in order to have a choice in who is a part of making their future through political action. The campaign will also reach other stakeholders well including government institutions and social authorities, the media, and the judicial system. Overall, the packaging of the message is an effective means to achieve the desired goals of the entire programme.

2.6 Role of ResearchA robust research foundation is required for an efficient social marketing plan. A marketing endeavor will be more likely to fail if this is not done. In the process of developing social marketing campaigns, research is used to learn as much as possible about the target demographic and market in order to guide the program in the appropriate path (Gilal et al., 2019). This might entail performing primary research, including such activities as performing surveys, collecting data from focus groups, or being a part of community-wide in-depth interviews, as well as examining secondary research sources to gain a deeper perspective of what other scholars have established. 

2.7 Checking Success of the CampaignFor this campaign, the key performance indicators will aim to know whether the platforms chosen are reaching the qualified people, whether it is engaging the right people (stakeholders), the number of inquiries regarding the initiative, and the conversion rates to the desired behavior through testimonials. The first area of focus is engagement. This would measure the number of shares, comments, and likes on the different social media platforms (Grave, 2019). Then, to determine reach, the number of redirects and clicks from social media to the government website will be monitored. Profile visits, campaign mentions, and active followers will be checked. In all cases, the higher the numbers, the more successful the campaign.

3. Effectiveness of the Marketing Mix

Make It 16 is a powerful social marketing campaign. The 4 Ps of the marketing mix include the product, pricing strategies, place, and promotional campaigns. The said elements influence the marketing strategy when creating social marketing campaigns. Marketers can define the 4Ps with improved consumer knowledge to make consumers more equipped and eager to act. The “product” in social marketing is the intended action and the social good that results from it. The effort to lower the voting age to 16, for example, promotes better social and political participation among young Kiwis. The product must be presented as the optimal method to the highlighted social issue in the initiative (Smaliukiene & Monni, 2019). The campaign takes a rational and emotive approach to the subject. For example, the short film features a young woman who explains the development of voting from the time where women were barred from voting to present day where discrimination is taking a different form. Marketers must be acutely aware of how the issue is perceived by the majority of audiences.

In social marketing, the pricing is determined by the cost to the end user in exchange for the value to society. It’s often monetary, particularly for charitable initiatives. The current Make It 16 campaign may appeal for donations to help end discrimination on the basis of age in voting while also attracting other agencies including the corporate world to join in the effort. It is critical to keep the cost of the social marketing effort as low as feasible in order to maximize the acceptance of the desired behavior. In order to lower the cost of the marketed initiative (product), the campaign must look for methods to reduce the amount of time and effort that is required. People’s participation in an exercise to include more young people in voting, for example, may be harmed if they are required to make reports regarding their own personal lives and that of their children. To make things simpler for the society, such steps should be left private.

When it comes to promoting an activity, place is used in reference to where the target audience executes or thinks about an initiative. Users are more likely to participate if these locations are easily accessible to them (Smaliukiene & Monni, 2019). Currently, the goal of the campaign is to constantly appear in people’s social media news feed as a reminder to allow more youths to participate in voting. Place-related techniques that help the target audience take action, remove obstacles, and minimize costs are effective.

To draw notice to social marketing activities, promoting them to a wide audience is required. It encompasses all of the many media outlets that are utilized to disseminate a message. There are a variety of ways to do this as used in the Make It 16 voting campaign, including social media ads, news releases to media sources, events, and TV advertising. Research into how the target group can effectively acquire information is crucial at this point.

4. 10-Step Planning ModelIn the Make It 16 voting campaign, the 10-step planning model was applied. Step 1 identified the social issue, the organizations and stakeholders, the background, purposes, and focus (Harnett, Kennelly, & Williams, 2020). A situation analysis was then performed in step 2, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the campaign faced. The campaign then followed in step 3 by prioritizing on the audiences selected before the establishment of the goals and objectives in step 4. The goal was created as an attempt to influence positive participation in governance through voting. Step 5 highlighted the perceived barriers, the motivators, benefits, competitive forces, and other influential factors. Step 6 involved a critical element of highlighting the value proposition and the positioning statement. In step 7, the campaign crafted a marketing intervention mix using 4Ps. The product was identified as the benefits associated with a society that allows its young people to participate in governance through enabling voting for 16-year-olds. The price is all the costs linked to the adoption of the new behaviour. Place involved convenient access to the services provided by the initiative. Promotion used persuasive communication on social media platforms. In step 8, the initiative planned for the monitoring and evaluation phases, including critical performance indicators and related aspects. Step 9 involved budget formulation including research on ways to cut costs. Finally, step 10 was the plan for execution and sustaining behaviours regarding voting inclusion for at age 16 and above.

5. Phase of Target Audience in the Transtheoretical Model of Stages of ChangeThe Transtheoretical Paradigm is a model of deliberate change that focuses on individual decision-making. People do not alter their habits fast and decisively. Instead, transformation in behavior, particularly routine behavior, is a cyclical phenomenon that happens continually. Individuals go through six phases of transformation, according to the Transtheoretical Model: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination (Sarkin et al., 2001). At present, the target group, consisting of government agencies, parents and caregivers, and young Kiwis are in the third stage, preparation.

In the first stage, precontemplation, individuals have no plans to act in the near future and are ignorant that their actions are harmful or have bad repercussions. People at this stage often undervalue the benefits of altering their behavior and put much too much focus on the disadvantages. In the second stage, contemplation, the intended audience (parents and young people) intends to start the healthy habits in the near future, in recognition that the current system of locking out young people from voting is problematic (Chang et al., 2022). The target group is prepared to act in the third stage, preparation, and they are beginning to take little measures toward changing the voting system. The fourth stage entails action, in which individuals have recently modified their behavior and aim to keep that behavior change going. Stage five is maintenance, which occurs after individuals have maintained their system change for a period of time and want to do so in the future. Individuals in this stage try hard to avoid relapsing to a previous stage. People in the final stage, termination, have really no interest in returning to their bad habits and are certain that they will not revert.

6. Behavioural Change TheoryThe Make It 16 campaign is built on the social cognitive theory. Personal experiences, the behaviours of other people, and the environmental circumstances all have an impact on individual health habits. Social cognitive theory creates possibilities for welfare support via setting expectancies and self-efficacy, as well as via the use of learned behavior and other rewards to bring about behavioural change in individuals (Luca & Suggs, 2013). The theory highlights several aspects including behavioural capability, expectancies, reinforcements, self-control, self-efficacy, expectations, and observational learning as key elements of bringing about change. The theory, therefore, is very appropriate in guiding behaviour change interventions at a social and political level.

The social cognitive theory will offer opportunity for social support by using the expectations of young people to be included in voting. It will achieve behavioural change by observational learning and other forms of reinforcement (Armitage & Conner, 2000). However, it is important to note that the theory fails to recognize or focus on the motivation and emotions of the social group in question (young people) other than referencing their drive to past experiences. As such, it may not be a good model to use because it is not representative of how every member of the New Zealand society might behave or feel towards the issue of lowering the voting age to 16. That said, the benefits of the theory outweigh these issues, making it an appropriate guide to predict behaviour and the expectations of future generations.

7. Recommended Inclusions for the CampaignThe improved campaign must not only use emotional persuasion but should include statistics on the harmful effects associated with telling young adults that they cannot be a part of their own future in matters relating to governance and political direction in New Zealand. According to Casais and Pereira (2021), these emotional and logical aspects add to the credibility of a social campaign. Lastly, there will be a need to have an emotional segment made up of all stakeholders having an input on the issue of voting, including the systems applied in other countries to allow deepened democracy.

8. Recommended AlternativeThe Make It 16 campaign’s alternative strategy would involve the use of the theory of planned behaviour (reasoned action). In this approach, the society would be forced to shift the focus on to the rigid form of governance and legislative structure that closes out on people who will be a critical part of the future of the country. The theory of planned behaviour assert that behaviour is influenced by intention and these elements are all under the perceived social norms and personal attitude (Ajzen, 2011). Therefore, by focusing on the entire society and its attitude on rejecting the input of young people in voting, behavioural and systemic change would be more focused and rapid.

ReferencesAjzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behaviour: Reactions and reflections. Psychology & health, 26(9), 1113-1127. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2011.613995

Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2000). Social cognition models and health behaviour: A structured review. Psychology and health, 15(2), 173-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440008400299

Casais, B., & Pereira, A. C. (2021). The prevalence of emotional and rational tone in social advertising appeals. RAUSP Management Journal, 56, 282-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/rausp-08-2020-0187

Chang, C. F., Wang, J. Y., Kuo, T. H., Lin, Y. L., & Yang, S. Y. (2022). Stages of Change in Dairy Intake among Older Adults: Application of the Transtheoretical Model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1146. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031146

Eichhorn, J., & Bergh, J. (2021). Lowering the voting age to 16 in practice: Processes and outcomes compared. Parliamentary Affairs, 74(3), 507-521. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsab019

Gilal, F. G., Zhang, J., Paul, J., & Gilal, N. G. (2019). The role of self-determination theory in marketing science: An integrative review and agenda for research. European Management Journal, 37(1), 29-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2018.10.004

Gräve, J. F. (2019). What KPIs are key? Evaluating performance metrics for social media influencers. Social Media+ Society, 5(3), 2056305119865475. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119865475

Harnett, P. J., Kennelly, S., & Williams, P. (2020). A 10 step framework to implement integrated care for older persons. Ageing International, 45(3), 288-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-019-09349-7

Luca, N. R., & Suggs, L. S. (2013). Theory and model use in social marketing health interventions. Journal of health communication, 18(1), 20-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2012.688243

Sarkin, J. A., Johnson, S. S., Prochaska, J. O., & Prochaska, J. M. (2001). Applying the transtheoretical model to regular moderate exercise in an overweight population: validation of a stages of change measure. Preventive medicine, 33(5), 462-469. https://doi.org/10.1006/pmed.2001.0916

Smaliukiene, R., & Monni, S. (2019). A step-by-step approach to social marketing in energy transition. Insights into Regional Development, 1(1), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.9770/ird.2019.1.1(2)The Spinoff NZ. (June 29, 2021). Make It 16: The fight to lower New Zealand’s voting age. [YouTube]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSWM85jFGFc