The following article about the Quebec election contains the following interesting quote which suggests the irrelevance of party candidates:
“André Lafrance, a communications professor at Université de Montréal, agrees posters have little bearing on an election’s outcome.
“(Voters) decide on the party, on the leader,” Lafrance said.
“The local candidate, unless they are really well known, will not change a party’s fortunes even if they are viewed several times more by a voter.”
For the complete article see:
http://www.thestar.com/article/537838
Sidhartha Banerjee
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL–Thinking of both the environment and their pocketbooks, Quebec’s political parties have noticeably cut down on the size and number of signs being used during the election campaign.
“We have fewer signs compared to the last election because the last time many people told us that it was too much, that there was too much presence in the field,” said Liberal spokesperson Michel Rochette.
Rochette said the party is using roughly 50 per cent fewer signs compared with last year’s campaign and that it even shrunk the signs’ size by half.
“It’s not a huge change – it’s a good change,” he said.
“We decided to do it even though logic would indicate that fewer signs would hurt us electorally.
“It’s a risk we’re assuming. We could put signs on every pole in every riding, but what purpose would it serve?”
André Lafrance, a communications professor at Université de Montréal, agrees posters have little bearing on an election’s outcome.
“(Voters) decide on the party, on the leader,” Lafrance said.
“The local candidate, unless they are really well known, will not change a party’s fortunes even if they are viewed several times more by a voter.”
Both the Liberals and the Action démocratique du Québec have trumpeted the switch to 100 per cent recyclable signs penned with eco-friendly ink.
The Parti Québécois says its signs are donated to schools and community organizations. Nicole Léger, who represents the PQ in Montreal’s Pointe-aux-Trembles riding, is using a third fewer signs, said spokesperson Vincent Lanctôt.
“This is the fourth election in this riding since the beginning of 2008 – there was even a municipal by-election here,” Lanctôt said.
“So for some people in the riding, they appreciate fewer signs in their face.”
ADQ spokesperson Sophie Doucet says some candidates have requested fewer signs after constituents complained.
“Other candidates running for re-election didn’t feel they need to get their image out there as much,” Doucet said.
“But it’s a question of financial ability too. Some ridings have less money than others to spend.”
Concordia University marketing professor Harold Simpkins says political signs create top-of-mind awareness – a marketing tool used to measure how well brands rank in people’s minds.
“The signs are hard to escape from, so therefore the candidates with the most signs may get the most top-of-mind awareness,” Simpkins said.
“But maybe in this case, the signs were so saturated that people thought they were losing their effectiveness.”