City of Regina

The City of Regina is the capital city of Saskatchewan with a population of around 230, 000 people. Their communications needs typically cover infrastructure, recreation, and safety messaging.

The Challenge

Historically, the City of Regina sees a fairly low voter turnout. On top of that, we also had the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and a provincial election happening at the same time, only a couple months after the federal election. How could we increase voter turnout despite this year’s unique circumstances?

Our Solution

We knew a campaign with so many messages needed a targeted media plan to be successful. Our approach used extensive digital advertising, since people were still mostly staying in their own homes. It also included video, radio, billboards, print ads, and posters. The messages were spread out over multiple flights, from early registration, to how to use the new drive-thru polls. We also developed informational cards that explained the election’s unique voting options and guidelines. These cards were addressed and sent to every individual voter in the city.

The Work

When it came to developing the creative, we had a few extra challenges to overcome. The biggest challenge was our limited colour options. We couldn’t use any colour associated with a political party, which excluded blue, orange (the City’s two primary brand colours), green, and red. We also had to differentiate ourselves from provincial election materials, which are maroon. Lastly, our client’s goal was to increase voter turnout, but legally, we could not actually tell people to vote, or promote the benefits of voting.

We came up with a bold, minimal design that used yellow and black as the primary colours. This high-contrast colour combo helped us grab people’s attention during a time where the city was saturated with election and government messaging. We also used fun, lifestyle imagery of people around Regina with the simple headline: REGINA VOTES. This allowed us to convey a feeling of excitement and optimism, encouraging people to make it out to the polls, while staying within the City’s election laws.

The Results

Even with the challenges of competing elections and a global pandemic, we still saw an increase in voters compared to the previous municipal election.

Want to make an impact?