‘This election is digital’: Kitchener, Ont. firm leading the way for new look for political campaigns

Lawn signs and leaflets are slowly being phased out to make room for digital ads. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte finds out how much is being spent on digital ads.

For candidates, this shortened election campaign has meant getting their message out to voters quicker and more efficiently.

A digital marketing firm based in Kitchener, Ont., which specializes in political campaigns, is helping parties do that in a different way.

“Online, based on our data, it could mean reaching 50,000 people. If you spend $1,000 on flyers, are they reaching 50,000 people?” asked managing principal of EOK Consults, Harneet Singh, anecdotally.

It’s a question each political party and their candidates have had to ask themselves.

“We are one of the most connected countries in the world. We have a population that uses and watches videos every day. Ninety per cent of our population has access to YouTube,” Singh said.

EOK Consults is one of Canada’s frontrunners in that niche space. Singh’s job is to help candidates capitalize on Canada’s connectiveness.

It’s a significant shift because in past elections, lawn signs and pamphlets stuffed in mailboxes were among the most visual parts of campaigns. Now, a lot of that has shifted online because most people are in front of screens daily, so that’s where the ads are.

“This election is digital. What we have seen is a record amount of money being spent on social media advertising and other platforms which are digital,” said Singh. “We have Bonnie Crombie and the Liberals who spent over $1 million in the last 30 days, followed by the NDP and the PC Party spending close to $200,000. You have the Green Party spending close to $150,000. If you add all of that up, apart from other candidates’ spending on their own election, you’re looking at over $10 million of spending digitally on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other properties of Google.”

While this has been a growing trend the last few years, some variables are at play, which has propelled this strategy.

“You had almost a surprise election. Not everybody was ready for this. When you mix in those factors, it makes it the perfect ingredients for an election in which you rely more on digital and the need to meet the voters when they are. It’s hard to find canvassers on this weather. It’s hard to find people, volunteers, to give their time and energy in tough weather like this,” Singh said.

And who are the so-called big digital ad spenders locally?

“Aislinn Clancy’s campaign is currently one of the top spenders in Waterloo Region, and she’s already spent more than $5,000 on digital ads in the last 30 days, followed by Catherine Fife [around $2,000] and Colleen James [around $1,200],” said Singh.

It is spending that goes a long way, with perhaps more reach, than more traditional forms of messaging.

Although Singh reiterates that while digital ads are here to stay, that doesn’t mean more traditional forms of campaigning are out the window.

He anticipates a more holistic campaign during a fall election, and one with a longer campaign window.