Whilst most of us would hesitate to admit it, there is a great deal of confusion surround the upcoming EU Referendum, which is frankly insane considering the amount of media coverage it's been getting. The positives and negatives are being flung at us from both sides with alarming regularity, and to all but the most politically informed, it can all seem incredibly confusing. What makes the process even more baffling, is that many people don't even realise that they don't simply get an automatic vote, they actually have to register first. And soon!
To combat public confusion, The Electoral Commission have launched a major public awareness campaign to remind people they must register to vote by the 7 June deadline if they want to vote in the EU Referendum. The Electoral Commission is sending an impartial information booklet to 28 million households across the UK starting this week. The booklet reminds voters that if they are not already registered to vote then they must do this by the deadline of Tuesday 7 June. The campaign is being run to combat the fact that around 7.5 million people in Great Britain aren’t registered to vote. In fact, a recent survey run by the Commission found that one 20% of survey respondents were either not registered to vote or were unsure if they were registered to vote in the referendum.
Accompanying this mass distribution is an integrated campaign from MullenLowe London, which launched this week and will run until polling day, appearing across TV, radio, video on demand services,billboards, digital and social media. The “Unmissable” campaign is designed to cut through the noise that everyone will be hearing about the EU referendum by creating eye-catching, colourful and impactful advertising you can’t miss. The campaign is underlined by a TVC directed by Nadia Marquard Otzen of Academy films, which is based on a successful campaign the Commission and MullenLowe London ran ahead of the Scottish independence referendum where by polling day 84% of people surveyed said they recognised the advertising.
Alex Robertson, Director of Communications at The Electoral Commission, said of the campaign and booklet: “This is an historic event and we don’t want anyone to miss out. A lot of people won’t have voted in a referendum before or will be unsure what the question is. Our booklet and associated awareness campaign gives everyone the information they need.” Ben Brook, Head of Performance and English Regional Teams at The Electoral Commission, added: “The aim is that every adult who is eligible to take part in this momentous vote, does take part. Our advice is to plan in advance where you will be on polling day. If you’re likely to be away on the day and will be unable to get to the polling station, then you can look at options for postal or proxy votes.” If you're a UK resident that has yet to register to vote, you can do so right now HERE.
