With Boris Johnson vying for the chance to go head-to-head with Ken Livingstone, the forthcoming London mayoral elections look set to be the most high-profile yet.
The main political parties are yet to finalise their candidates, but with polling day less than eight months away, those entering the race will have to work in earnest to win over London voters.
As in the 2004 mayoral elections, marketing and PR will play a crucial part in helping the hopefuls woo the masses. However, the London electorate is younger and more ethnically diverse than ever. This, coupled with the 拢420,000 spending cap imposed on campaigns, means candidates will have to be more creative with their promotional strategies. Instead of relying on the staple of national newspapers, billboards and radio ads, the political big guns will have to cast their nets wider if they are to communicate with youth and minority voters.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that nearly a third of London's 7.4m-strong population is 'non-white', while 37% are aged between 25 and 44. The capital is also home to a rapidly expanding migrant workforce from Eastern European countries including Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
'Winning the hearts and minds of ethnic, youth and migrant Londoners will be vital to success in the forthcoming mayoral elections,' says Ralph Jackson, director of public affairs at Lansons Communications. 'Candidates will have to throw the rule book out the window.'
Minority focus
Livingstone has already got the ball rolling with a re-election bid recognising the capital's burgeoning Polish community. Last month, he embarked on a charm offensive that saw red cabbage and Slavic dumplings added to the menu at City Hall as, in a bid to win the Polish vote, he held a reception at his London headquarters for key media and community members.
This was diligently followed by a visit to POSK, the Polish cultural institute in Hammersmith, that resulted in appearances on the front covers of foreign-language newspapers Nowy czas and Dziennik Polski.
If Johnson is successful in his attempt to become the Conservative's mayoral candidate, he too will have to take his campaign to ethnic, youth and migrant voters. Despite his high profile, the flamboyant MP for Henley will have to work hard to get the black community on side following press reports of allegedly racist comments.
The Electoral Commission, a body set up by Parliament to promote democratic involvement, claims the best way to do this is by tapping in to communities through field marketing, door-knocking and local media. The government-funded organisation last week appointed Farm and BLM to develop an integrated campaign to boost participation in the mayoral selection process, following a disappointing turnout of 36% at last year's local elections. The first phase will specifically target ethnic minorities, students and other groups with a low propensity to vote.
'Advertising on the Tube and in free-sheet newspapers will always be an effective way of reaching Londoners,' says Nina Ziaullah, head of campaigns and public information at the commission. 'It is also increasingly important to harness the power of foreign-language newspapers and digital channels, such as social networks and blogs.'
The fact that 7.4% of Londoners fall into the 20- to 24-year-old age group means that digital marketing is likely to form a major part of the mayoral campaigns. The Electoral Commission has appointed Start Creative to develop a digital drive to raise awareness of the elections.
The effectiveness of the channel was illustrated last year, when the Department for Constitutional Affairs, in association with partners including the 北京赛车pk10 for Racial Equality and Operation Black Vote, enjoyed success with an initiative dubbed '1824 Collective'. The campaign used text-messaging to highlight the power young people would have if they cast their vote. Despite this, the government body says it is unlikely to devote a significant amount of money to mobile marketing, online ads or social networking this year.
Livingstone and Johnson, on the other hand, already have Facebook profiles dedicated to their election campaigns. 'The Boris Johnson for Mayor of London' page, which at the time of writing had 657 members, sets out the Conservative MP's stall on issues including the smoking ban, ID cards and public transport. It also gives voters a glimpse of the candidate's personal views, describing Tony Blair as 'a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet'.
Digital direction
All of the mayoral candidates are expected to use the web and mobile marketing to reach youth audiences over the coming months. However, the activity is likely to be focused on generating media hype rather than delivering sound political messages. It it likely to follow the precedent set last November by Tory party leader David Cameron, when he launched a channel on YouTube in an attempt to encourage Britain's youth to take an interest in politics.
'Politicians tend to think they can grab the headlines by using new media to influence the hoodies who plan to bring down civilisation,' says Sam Conniff, director of youth marketing agency Livity. 'Young people have the same values as everyone else, but there's no point running online or SMS campaigns if you're not talking their language.'
The growing diversification of the London population and explosion of digital media since the 2004 mayoral elections will undoubtedly influence the campaigning process. Candidates will have to use a wider variety of media channels in their attempts to win over the electorate, but there is unlikely to be a paradigm shift in terms of marketing.
While soap-box-style PR and headline-grabbing new media initiatives will undoubtedly be more prevalent, newspapers, posters and radio ads remain the most cost-effective way of communicating with the masses.
DATA FILE - ETHNICITY
Resident population of London by ethnic group
Ethnicity %
White 71.1
White British 59.6
Other White 8.4
White Irish 3.1
Non-White 28.9
Chinese 1.1
Mixed
White and Black Caribbean 1.0
White and Asian 0.8
White and Black African 0.5
Other mixed 0.9
Asian or Asian British
Indian 6.1
Bangladeshi 2.2
Pakistani 2.0
Other Asian 1.9
Black or Black British
Black African 5.3
Black Caribbean 4.8
Other Black 0.8
Other 1.6
Source: Office for National Statistics