2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research

Transcription

1 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research Report for: Controlled document - Issue 4 TNS JN Controlled document - Issue 5

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3 Contents Executive Summary Background and objectives Methodology Context Registration campaign Impact of the registration campaign on key measures Voter information campaign (Northern Ireland only) Impact of voter information campaign on key measures KPM Review TNS Point of View Appendix A: Pre-wave and Post-wave 1 questionnaire (UK) Appendix B: Post-wave 2 questionnaire (Northern Ireland) Appendix C: Additional Results Appendix D: Weighting Targets i 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

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5 Executive Summary Background and objectives On 22 nd May 2014, European elections took place across the whole of the UK as well as local government and mayoral elections in some parts of England, and local government elections in Northern Ireland. The Electoral Commission ran a multi-media voter registration campaign across the UK from 1 st April to 15 th May 2014, which aimed to: Increase the number of eligible people registered to vote and encourage them to do so before 6 th May deadline; Generate awareness among electors that they needed to be registered in order to participate in the elections; Increase awareness that the elections were taking place on 22 nd May; and Ensure electors knew where to go for more information. A multi-media voter information campaign also ran in Northern Ireland from 7 th May until 22 nd May. The voter information campaign aimed to: Ensure all eligible electors knew to take an acceptable form of photographic identification with them to vote; Ensure electors wishing to participate understood how to vote using the single transferable vote (STV) system; Ensure voters had all the information needed to vote with confidence; Remind electors of the date of the election; Increase awareness that polling stations were open from 7am until 10pm; and Ensure electors knew where to go for more information. TNS was commissioned by The Electoral Commission to conduct tracking research among adults eligible to vote, to evaluate the effectiveness of both the registration campaign across the UK and the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland. Methodology In order to meet the research objectives, three waves of research were conducted to evaluate the two campaigns: A pre advertising wave across the UK to provide a benchmark before either campaign launched; A post wave across the UK (immediately after the registration campaign) to provide post campaign measures for the registration campaign and mid campaign measures for the voter information campaign, which was on air during fieldwork; and A final wave in Northern Ireland only, conducted after the voter information campaign had run and the elections had taken place, to provide post campaign measures for the voter information campaign May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

6 All interviewing took place in-home, face-to-face, using TNS CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) omnibus services. The omnibus utilises a random location quota sampling approach to ensure that the resulting sample is geographically and demographically representative of the population. In order to achieve the required sample sizes for this study at the pre wave, questions were asked of the full UK sample for one wave of the omnibus, with a second omnibus wave used to boost numbers in Scotland and Wales, and the Millward Brown Ulster omnibus used to boost numbers in Northern Ireland. For the post wave, a similar approach was taken although the second wave of the TNS omnibus also included Northern Ireland, and then additional interviews were conducted using an ad-hoc boost in Northern Ireland. For the final post wave in Northern Ireland, questions were again placed on two waves of the TNS omnibus with additional interviews conducted via an adhoc boost. Interviews were conducted with adults aged 18 and over who were eligible to vote in the elections. Full details of fieldwork dates and sample sizes (i.e. adults aged 18+ eligible to vote) for each county at each wave can be found in the table that follows. Table 2.1: Fieldwork dates and achieved sample sizes by country per wave Wave Fieldwork dates Country Sample size (Adults aged 18+ and eligible to vote) UK 2155 England 1646 PRE 19th March 2nd April 2014 POST 1 7th 21st May 2014 POST 2 23rd May 3rd June 2014 Wales 153 Scotland 332 Northern Ireland boost UK 2302 England 1672 Wales 175 Scotland 344 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland boost boost To ensure that the sample was fully representative of the adult population aged 18+ demographically and geographically, both overall and within each country, weighting was applied to the data at each wave. Key learnings Both the registration campaign and the voter information campaign have worked well, with good levels of spontaneous awareness and cut through, high levels of campaign recognition which met the KPMs set for the campaign, good recall of campaign messages and positive impressions of the advertising May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

7 The media mix employed by each campaign has been effective in ensuring most demographic groups were reached, and in spite of the absence of TV from the voter information campaign it has achieved very good levels of recognition among most groups, with radio and outdoor working well. Both campaigns generated good levels of campaign integration and the impact of this is evident in the results. There have been significant increases in most key knowledge and awareness measures pre to post, including an increase in claimed registration at a UK level and increased awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk. Whilst there are also changes in knowledge in Northern Ireland, these are more limited as a result of the already high levels of knowledge recorded prior to the campaign. Encouragingly, the registration campaign has performed well among the main unregistered audiences 1 with these key groups more likely to have positive impressions of the advertising and to have taken action as a result of seeing the campaign. Main findings Registration campaign Just under a quarter (23) of eligible adults at a UK level claimed at the pre wave to have seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information about registering to vote, increasing significantly to just under three fifths (59) at the post wave. The proportion who spontaneously claimed to have seen or heard activity from The Electoral Commission, or sources or channels being used by The Electoral Commission for the registration campaign, increased significantly from 9 pre to 37 post wave. The campaign also appeared to be cutting through other pre-election activity, with 22 spontaneously describing details or messages that could be attributed to the registration campaign at the post wave. The proportion of eligible adults claiming to have seen or heard activity about registering to vote increased significantly in all four countries over the course of the campaign, and the campaign appeared to cut through well in all countries with between one in five and a quarter spontaneously describing details or messages that could be attributed to it. Among the key unregistered groups, while there were significant increases in spontaneous awareness of activity pre to post, these groups had lower levels of spontaneous awareness and cut through of the campaign than overall. Seven in ten (69) eligible adults in the UK claimed to recognise at least one element of the registration campaign after prompting with the advertising, specifically: 55 claimed to have seen the TV ad; 26 recognised the radio ad (or had heard a similar ad aimed at students); 13 recognised the video on demand ad; 1 Those groups which are less likely to be registered and therefore of more importance for the campaign are: 18-24s, private renters, recent movers and BMEs (Black and Minority Ethnic May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

8 10 were aware of the online display ad; and 25 of eligible adults in Northern Ireland recognised the press/poster ad. Wales and Northern Ireland had the highest levels of total recognition (75 and 78 respectively) with lower levels in England and Scotland (67). A KPM had been set for the campaign to achieve a recognition level of of the population of GB and Northern Ireland having seen at least one element of the campaign. Total recognition of 69 in GB and 78 in Northern Ireland means this KPM was exceeded. The campaign also recorded the highest level of recognition of any recent Electoral Commission campaigns. The most appropriate comparison - the 2012 GB registration campaign which utilised the same creative - was recognised by 66. Total campaign recognition was generally similar at around seven in ten for most demographic sub-groups at a UK level. It was highest among 18-24s (76) and C2s (77) and so the campaign was successful in reaching those groups where levels of registration tend to be lower. The age group recorded average or higher than average recognition for all types of media, which is a particularly positive result given that this group is often hard to target. Furthermore, the media mix also worked well among the other key unregistered groups, with recognition of non-tv channels helping to increase campaign recognition among these groups, particularly among recent movers and BMEs. The main messages of the registration campaign were communicated clearly, with four fifths (80) spontaneously mentioning a campaign message. The vast majority of those mentions related to registration, specifically register to vote (38 at a UK level), (you) have to be registered to vote/can t just turn up (21) and make sure you are registered (). Similar levels of message take out of around four fifths were recorded among all countries and unregistered groups, though mentions of campaign messages were slightly lower in Northern Ireland (72). Overall, perceptions of the advertising were very positive, with particularly high levels of agreement that the ads made it clear that you have to register to be able to vote (90 agreed) and made it clear where to go for information about how to register (80 agreed). Encouragingly, the campaign appeared to be more positively received among unregistered groups, with all groups more likely to agree that the ads were aimed at people like you, told you something you didn t know and made you think about checking if you are registered. The campaign also generated action, with one in ten of those who recognised the campaign claiming to have done something as a result. Levels of claimed action were higher than the UK level among key unregistered groups. Impact of the registration campaign on key measures At the pre wave around three quarters (74) of eligible adults at a UK level claimed to be definitely registered to vote, increasing significantly to nearly four fifths (79) at the post wave. Claimed registration increased in all four countries, with significant increases pre to post wave in England (74 pre to 78 post wave) and in Northern Ireland ( May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

9 pre and 88 post wave). There were also increases over the course of the campaign among all four key unregistered groups, though these increases were not significant. At a UK level, there were significant increases in a number of knowledge measures over the course of the campaign. In terms of awareness of elections, overall 67 were spontaneously aware of any correct elections taking place in their area 2 on 22 nd May at the post wave (vs. 33 at pre wave), with prompted awareness of correct elections of 78 (vs. 48 pre wave). When asked to name the date on which elections were being held, 43 correctly answered 22 nd May at the post wave compared with just 7 at the pre wave. There was also a significant increase in the already high proportion claiming to know that only those who register in advance can vote, rising from 75 pre to 80 post wave. Respondents were also asked when the deadline was for registering to vote in the elections on 22 nd May. Just under one in ten (9) eligible adults at the pre wave were aware of the 6 th May deadline, increasing only marginally to just over one in ten () following the campaign. At a country level, there were significant increases in all four countries over the course of the campaign in spontaneous and prompted awareness of the elections taking place on 22 nd May and in awareness of the election date. In all four countries around four fifths of eligible adults were aware of the need to register in advance to be able to vote, though significant increases in this measure were recorded in England and in Northern Ireland. As at a UK level, awareness of the 6 th May registration deadline in each country was low in relation to the other measures. Improvements in knowledge were also recorded among the key unregistered groups, with significant increases in relation to spontaneous/prompted awareness of elections and awareness of the election date for all key groups in the run up to the elections. Despite these improvements, however, awareness levels among these groups remained lower than average, particularly among 18-24s, highlighting the need to continue to target these groups. After the campaign 57 agreed that they had enough information about the elections and what they had to do to register, a significant increase from 36 at the pre wave. Encouragingly, similar increases were also evident across the four countries, particularly in Northern Ireland where at the post wave nearly half (47) strongly agreed they had enough information. Whilst there were also increases among the key groups, it is worth noting that nearly four in ten (38) 18-24s at the post wave disagreed they had enough information; further evidence that The Electoral Commission needs to continue focusing on this and the other key unregistered groups. When asked where they would go or look to find information on voting systems and how to vote, the internet was the most common source of information mentioned spontaneously (47). Overall around one in five (18) said they didn t know where they would go for information, so this is clearly still an issue for some. The key groups 2 Correct elections were defined as: for England, anyone mentioning European, local or Mayoral elections; for Northern Ireland, anyone mentioning European or local elections; for Scotland and Wales, anyone mentioning European elections May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

10 were no more likely than average to say that they didn t know where to go for information, though the internet plays more of a role as an information source for three of the groups 62 of 18-24s, 52 of private renters and 57 of recent movers said they would use the internet, highlighting the importance of an online presence by the Electoral Commission for these groups.. When prompted, awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk increased significantly over the course of the campaign from to 18 and visits to the website increased from 2 to 4 of eligible voters. It is encouraging to find that awareness levels of aboutmyvote.co.uk rose particularly among the key groups; significant increases were recorded across all four groups to 27 of 18-24s, 21 of private renters, 28 of recent movers and 19 of BMEs. There is also evidence of the campaign directly impacting these knowledge and awareness measures, with campaign recognisers and those seeing multiple campaign media demonstrating higher levels of knowledge. Looking at the multi-media impact in particular, there is clear evidence that the campaign worked to increase awareness where it is lowest, increasing awareness of the deadline date for registering and awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk. For example, 48 of those who had seen 3 or more of the campaign media were aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk compared with 15 of those who had seen/heard 1 medium. This demonstrates the value of a multi-media approach to communicating key messages, and the importance of continuing with such an approach for future campaigns. Voter information campaign Spontaneous awareness of the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland was lower than that recorded for the registration campaign, with 31 of eligible adults in Northern Ireland claiming to have seen or heard activity about the elections on 22 nd May at post wave 2, compared to 50 who had seen or heard activity about registering to vote at post wave 1. Campaign cut through was also lower 5 at post wave 2 spontaneously described something possibly related to the voter information campaign, compared to 20 who mentioned something related to the registration campaign at post wave 1. These lower levels are likely to be partly due to the lack of TV advertising in the voter information campaign, but potentially also due to the elections being over and therefore the related activity being less top of mind. However, prompted recognition of the voter information was very good, with 69 of eligible adults in Northern Ireland recognising any element of the campaign, specifically: 49 recognised the radio ad; 46 had seen the billboard/bus ads; 19 recognised the press/poster ads; and 13 had seen the online ad. This is a very positive level of recognition, given the absence of TV advertising in the media mix, with radio and outdoor performing particularly well. Indeed, this level of recognition is only 9 percentage points lower than the same measure for the registration campaign in Northern Ireland (78), which included a TV ad May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

11 Campaign recognition among the sub-groups was generally consistent with overall levels although as with the registration campaign recognition was lower among ABs. However, the media-mix employed by the campaign worked well among most other groups, and there were good levels of campaign integration among those who recognised the campaign - half had seen/heard one medium, around a quarter (24) had seen/heard two types of media, while the remaining quarter (26) had seen three or more. Overall the main messages of the voter information campaign were communicated clearly, with around three fifths (62) spontaneously mentioning a campaign message. Around two fifths (41) referred to needing to bring photo identification or what you need to vote and one fifth (19) mentioned the opening/closing times of polling stations. However, just over one fifth (22) simply thought the advertising was telling them to vote and one fifth (19) talked about how to vote/complete the ballot, which were not included in the campaign messages. As such the voter information campaign may not have been as clear in communicating its messages as the registration campaign, but this is often the case when TV advertising is not included in the media mix. Perceptions of this campaign were also very positive when prompted, particularly with regard to the clarity of the messages. Around nine in ten (93) agreed that the ads made it quite clear that you needed to take photo ID with you when you voted on 22 nd May, and 88 agreed that the ads made it quite clear that polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm on 22 nd May. However, just over half (55) agreed that the ads stuck in your mind and a third (33) agreed that the ads told you something that you didn t know before. The relatively low levels of agreement for the last two statements can in part be attributed the elections being in the past and people have already gone through the experience of voting, but if there are any concerns around the campaign it would be that it may not be sticking in people s minds because it was not telling them anything new. The voter information campaign also appeared to play a role in generating action, with one in five (21) of campaign recognisers claiming to have done something as a result. Most (17) made sure that they had the correct photo ID to take to the polling station. Impact of voter information campaign on key measures The vast majority of eligible adults were aware of the need to take photo identification to the polling station in order to vote at all three waves, yet awareness of this requirement still increased to 95 over the course of the campaigns. This was a KPM for the voter information campaign with a target of of eligible adults in Northern Ireland aware of this requirement. With 95 aware by the end of the campaign this KPM was therefore achieved. It is also encouraging to find there were significant increases over the course of the campaign in knowledge of which forms of identification are acceptable to take to the polling station. For example, at post wave 2 90 were aware that a UK, Irish or EU passport is acceptable, up from 79 at the pre wave May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

12 There were only marginal changes in levels of awareness of polling station opening and closing times, with three fifths (60) aware at post stage 2 that they opened at 7am and seven in ten (69) aware that they closed at 10pm. Awareness of the use of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system increased significantly over the campaign period from 57 at the pre wave, to 75 at post wave 2. Given the importance of this measure to the smooth running of the election, it is very encouraging to see this significant increase in awareness. The proportion saying they knew exactly how to vote also increased significantly over the three waves from 52 at the pre wave to 68 at the post wave. At all three waves, around three quarters agreed they had enough information about the elections and what they had to do. It is encouraging to note that by post wave 2 only 14 disagreed that they had enough information, a decrease from one in five (20) at the pre wave. Insights Overall, the results of the research indicate that both the registration and voter information campaigns performed well. Both have recorded good levels of spontaneous awareness, campaign recognition and campaign integration, and there is clear evidence of the campaigns impacting on the key awareness and knowledge measures specific to each campaign. In addition, both met their Key Performance Measures. The multi-media mix used has worked well in both instances. Whilst TV advertising acted as the lead medium for the registration campaign, other media were particularly effective in increasing recognition among the key unregistered groups, and it is encouraging that years olds were reached at good levels by all media channels. The value of the multi-media mix was also demonstrated in the higher awareness and knowledge measures recorded by those who had seen more campaign media. High levels of recognition of the voter information campaign were achieved in Northern Ireland, in spite of the absence of TV advertising, due to radio and outdoor executions working very well. The main messages of each campaign were communicated clearly and the perceived clarity of the advertising is a key strength. Impressions of the campaigns were also generally positive. Encouragingly, the registration campaign was particularly well received among the key unregistered groups who recognise the ads are relevant, provide new information and encourage them to take action. Actions Given the apparent success of the campaigns, it is important that The Electoral Commission examine both in detail for learnings that can be applied to future campaigns May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

13 While the registration campaign worked well among the key unregistered groups, consideration should be given as to whether the lower levels of spontaneous awareness and cut through among these groups should be addressed, as improving this may help further increase knowledge measures. The media buying should be reviewed for any small changes that may help targeting in the future. Where a particular channel has worked well among a key group, this could perhaps be used more in the future (alongside TV advertising). Recognition among ABs was consistently lower than overall levels, and this could also be increased, if desired. Given the evidence of the impact of the multi-media approach on knowledge, any changes which would further increase campaign integration would be beneficial. Billboards have been particularly effective in Northern Ireland, so perhaps greater outdoor advertising could be added to future registration campaigns. The one concern about the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland would be that for many the campaign is not providing them with any new information. While recognising the need for maintaining the already high knowledge levels in Northern Ireland, consideration should be given to whether the need for photo identification remains the focus of any future voter information campaign. Finally, at this stage there is no evidence of wear out of the registration campaign and as such there is no reason why it should not be used again for future elections (although small changes may be required in order to bring the messaging in line with the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

14 1. Background and objectives 1.1 Background On 22 nd May 2014, European elections took place across the UK, and local government and mayoral elections were held in some areas of England. In Northern Ireland, as well as the European elections there were local government elections to elect new shadow councils, reflecting a new local government structure and new boundaries. As has been the case in the past, and in line with the corporate objective of achieving well run elections, referendums and electoral registration, The Electoral Commission ran campaigns to support the elections taking place. The public awareness campaigns to support the May elections aimed to address the challenges associated with voter registration across the UK (with a significant minority of the voter population not registered, and increasing over time). Additionally in Northern Ireland, a further campaign ran to provide voters with information on how to vote. The Electoral Commission ran a multi-media voter registration campaign across the UK from 1 st April until 5 th May specifically to target groups that were less likely to be registered. The campaign launched on 1 st April and ran until 5 th May The campaign comprised TV (with different versions for each country and a Welsh language version for Wales) video on demand (VoD) (excluding NI), and digital activity (with three separate executions in GB and a different execution used in Northern Ireland) running from 1 st April to 5 th May, radio advertising across GB from 14 th April to 5 th May, and press activity in Northern Ireland from 14 th April. The voter registration campaign aimed to: Increase the number of eligible people registered to vote and encourage them to do so before 6 th May deadline; Generate awareness among electors that they needed to be registered in order to participate in the elections; Increase awareness that the elections were taking place on 22 nd May; and Ensure electors knew where to go for more information. A multi-media voter information campaign also ran in Northern Ireland from 7 th May until 22 nd May after the registration deadline but before the elections. The campaign utilised radio, digital, press and out-of-home (OOH) advertising and targeted all eligible voters in Northern Ireland. The aims of the voter information campaign were to: Ensure all eligible electors knew to take an acceptable form of photographic identification with them to vote; Ensure electors wishing to participate understood how to vote using the single transferable vote (STV) system; Ensure voters had all the information needed to vote with confidence; Remind electors of the date of the election; 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

15 Increase awareness that polling stations were open from 7am until 10pm; and Ensure electors knew where to go for more information. 1.2 Research objectives TNS was commissioned to conduct research to evaluate both the registration campaign across the UK and the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland, using tracking research. The specific objectives for the research were to assess whether the campaigns fully met their objectives and to provide guidance on strengths and weaknesses of the campaigns. In addition, Key Performance Measures (KPMs) for the campaign were set against some of the key campaign objectives. There are highlighted and discussed within this report, with a summary of these provided in Chapter May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

16 2. Methodology This chapter provides information about the approach used to conduct the evaluation of the registration and voter information campaigns. 2.1 Tracking research In order to meet the research objectives, three waves of research were conducted to evaluate the UK registration campaign and the Northern Ireland Voter Registration campaign: A pre advertising wave across the UK to provide a benchmark before either campaign launched; A post wave across the UK (immediately after the registration campaign) to provide post campaign measures for the registration campaign and mid campaign measures for the voter information campaign, which was on air during fieldwork; and A final wave in Northern Ireland only, conducted after the voter information campaign had run and the elections had taken place, to provide post campaign measures for the voter information campaign. It should be noted that in Northern Ireland the voter information campaign was running during the first post wave, and this should be borne in mind when reviewing post wave 1 results in Northern Ireland. 2.2 Data collection All interviewing took place in-home, face-to-face, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) omnibus services and quota sampling. Across the UK, the TNS UK face-to-face omnibus was used as the means of data collection. It consists of c.2000 interviews carried out twice a week with the option of interviewing across the UK as a whole, in GB only or within more tightly defined geographies only. The TNS omnibus uses a random location quota control methodology with sample points selected across the country. A sophisticated quota methodology is applied, which includes quotas by sex (male, female housewife, female non-housewife); within female housewife, presence of children and working status, and within men, working status. This system is effective in ensuring a balanced sample of adults within contacted addresses is achieved and in sampling the full spread of social grades. The final achieved sample is weighted to known population characteristics to correct any under/over representations and to ensure its representativeness (see below). 2.3 Sample In order to achieve the required sample sizes for this study at the pre wave, questions were asked of the full UK sample for one wave of the omnibus, with a second omnibus 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

17 wave used to boost numbers in Scotland and Wales, and the Millward Brown Ulster omnibus used to boost numbers in Northern Ireland. For the post wave, a similar approach was taken although the second wave of the TNS omnibus also included Northern Ireland, and then additional interviews were conducted using an ad-hoc boost in Northern Ireland. For the final post wave in Northern Ireland, questions were again placed on two waves of the TNS omnibus with additional interviews conducted via an ad-hoc boost. All data was then combined for analysis apart from the Millward Brown Ulster and ad-hoc boost data for Northern Ireland. The weighting required to adjust for this over-sampling would have been very extreme and therefore, this data was not included in the UK run. Interviews were conducted with adults 18+, with a question included at the start to check citizenship (and by implication, voting eligibility) and non-eu/commonwealth citizens were excluded from the remainder of the survey. Full details of the fieldwork dates and sample sizes (i.e. eligible adults aged 18+) for each country at each wave can be seen in Table 2.1. Table 2.1: Fieldwork dates and achieved sample sizes by country per wave Wave Fieldwork dates Country Sample size (Adults aged 18+ and eligible to vote) UK 2155 England 1646 PRE 19th March 2nd April 2014 POST 1 7th 21st May 2014 POST 2 23rd May 3rd June 2014 Wales 153 Scotland 332 Northern Ireland boost UK 2302 England 1672 Wales 175 Scotland 344 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland boost boost 2.4 Questionnaire The questionnaires were developed by TNS in conjunction with The Electoral Commission. To enable comparisons to be made wave on wave the majority of the questionnaire was standardised across each of the waves, and across each of the different geographies. The questionnaire in Northern Ireland was longer to accommodate the questions relating to the voter information campaign May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

18 Once the questionnaire for the first two waves had been agreed, it was translated into Welsh and provided as a self-completion questionnaire (on CAPI) for those respondents in Wales who wanted to complete the survey in Welsh. All questionnaires are available as separate documents. It should be noted that in addition to the questions included in each questionnaire a full set of demographic questions was asked as standard as part of both omnibus surveys. 2.5 Weighting To ensure that the sample was representative of the adult population aged 18+, weighting was applied to the data at each wave. For the UK run of data, weighting was applied at a total sample level (adults 18+) to ensure that any under/over representations were corrected. Data for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland was weighted at a country level to match population profiles for each country. For Northern Ireland, this run included data collected using the Millward Brown omnibus / ad-hoc boost and the TNS UK omnibus data for Northern Ireland. TNS in-house sampling team produced population profiles for each of the four countries and for the UK as a whole, which were based on profiles from Census 20 and TGI April 2012-March 2013 data. Details of the weighting and the unweighted and weighted sample profiles can be found at the end of each set of tables. A summary of the weighting targets for each country can be found in Appendix D. In addition to the country level weighting, for the combined UK data set, UK weighting targets were applied (see Appendix D), with an additional rim weight applied based on the same sources, in order to correct the over-representation of Wales and Scotland. The weighting targets for this additional rim weight were: England = 83.8 Scotland = 8.5 Wales = 4.9 Northern Ireland = Notes on this report In the data tables and in the charts included throughout this report - denotes 0 and * denotes a proportion of less than half of one percent, but more than 0. Data tables for each country at each wave have been supplied in separate documents. Significance testing Although strictly speaking significance testing should not be applied to quota samples such as this, it is nowadays fairly common practice to use this. The difference in percentage required (at 95 confidence level) to denote a statistically significant change from wave to wave and across sub-groups is as shown overleaf May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

19 Table 2.4. Difference in percentage required (at 95 confidence level) to denote statistically significant changes Sample size Confidence shift assuming a measured a percentage of 50 Confidence shift assuming a measured a percentage of 20/80 Confidence shift assuming a measured a percentage of 10/ / /-.0 +/ / /-7.8 +/ / /-6.4 +/ / /-5.5 +/ / /-3.5 +/ / / / May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

20 3. Context 3.1 Location of elections On 22 nd May 2014, the type of the elections taking place varied across the UK. Whilst European elections took place across the whole of the UK, there were no other elections in Scotland or Wales. In England there were local elections in 32 London Boroughs and 36 Metropolitan Boroughs, and Mayoral elections in some areas. In Northern Ireland, there were local government elections to elect new shadow councils reflecting a new local government structure and new boundaries. As everywhere in the UK had at least one election on 22 nd May, the registration campaign targeted the UK as a whole. The focus of the tracking research and the reporting of the results in this document is therefore primarily at a UK level, while reviewing separate results for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland within this. Where possible and appropriate, results for the 2014 tracking are compared with the evaluation of the GB registration campaign in 2012 as this covered Scotland, Wales and parts of England and as such is the fairest comparison. 3.2 Likelihood of voting All respondents were asked How likely are you to vote in the elections on 22 nd May 2014? The results of this question at each wave of tracking are shown in Figure 3.1, at a total UK level (on the left) and by each country. Figure 3.1: Likelihood of voting in elections on 22 nd May Q20: How likely are you to vote in the elections on 22 nd May 2014? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK England Wales Scotland NI Certain to vote Quite likely to vote Not very likely to vote Certain not to vote Don't know Post Pre Post Pre (2302) (1646) (1672) (153) Pre (2185) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Total likely () Post (333) At the pre wave around a third overall (35) claimed they were certain to vote on 22 nd May, rising significantly to 46 prior to the election. Across all four countries certainty of voting increased at the post wave, with similar proportions of eligible adults saying they 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

21 were certain to vote in England, Wales and Scotland (46, 43 and 46 respectively). Respondents in Northern Ireland showed the greatest intention to vote at both waves with two fifths (41) at the pre wave and just over half (52) saying they were certain to do so at the post wave. In Northern Ireland there was a lot of noise around the local government reform involving the reduction in the number of local councils. In addition the information campaign was running during the post wave. These two factors may have helped to generate the higher likelihood of voting in Northern Ireland. It is encouraging to find that more eligible voters appeared to be engaged in the elections as they approached, but the increased interest illustrates the need to ensure The Electoral Commission s campaigns give eligible voters all the information they need to be able to cast their vote May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

22 4. Registration campaign This section of the report covers the registration campaign, starting with an overview of the activity. 4.1 Registration campaign overview As mentioned at the start of this report, The Electoral Commission ran the multi-media registration campaign across the whole of the UK between 1 st April and 5 th May 2014, in the run-up to the registration deadline on 6 th May. The aims of the campaign were to: Increase the number of eligible people registered to vote and encourage them to do so before 6 th May deadline; Generate awareness among electors that they need to be registered in order to participate in the elections; Increase awareness that the elections are taking place on 22 nd May; and Ensure electors know where to go for more information. The campaign comprised the following media, which ran on the following dates: TV (inc. Video on Demand) 1 st April to 5 th May 2014 (14 th 30 th April in NI); Radio 14 th April to 5 th May 2014 (14 th 30 th April in NI); Digital 1 st April to 5 th May 2014 (14 th 30 th April in NI); Print (NI only) 14 th 27 th April; and Outdoor (NI only) 21 st 30 th April. In terms of the tracking research, the pre wave took place before the registration campaign (with fieldwork 19 th March to 2 nd April 2014), and the post wave was conducted in May (7 th 21 st May), following the conclusion of the campaign and after the registration deadline, but before the elections. 4.2 Spontaneous awareness of registration campaign Before prompting eligible adults with the campaign media, a number of questions were asked to assess spontaneous awareness of the campaign, and activity around the elections more generally. This section of the report summarises the results of these questions firstly at UK level, then by country and by key unregistered groups. Firstly, early in the questionnaire, respondents were asked Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote? By this we mean advertising publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. This was deliberately designed to be a broad question in order to assess the general noise around the elections. The results are shown at the top of Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

23 Figure 4.1: Spontaneous awareness of advertising about registering to vote and of campaign cut through (UK) Q3: Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote? By this we mean advertising publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. Q4: Where did you see or hear this advertising, publicity or information? (spontaneous) Q6: Who do you think was responsible for that advertising, publicity or information? (spontaneous) Q5: Please can you describe exactly what you remember seeing, reading or hearing in any of this advertising, publicity or information about registering to vote and what you need to do? (spontaneous) Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in at each wave Among all eligible adults 18+ in UK Spontaneous awareness of advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote Registration campaign (GB) spontaneous awareness increased from 17 to 48 Where seen: Spontaneous mentions of EC / sources potentially from EC 9 37 TV advertising most commonly mentioned spontaneously Any spontaneous mentions of EC being responsible for activity seen/heard 2 6 Local councils and political parties most likely to be seen as responsible Cut through: Any spontaneous mentions possibly linked to registration campaign Pre (2185) Post (2302) 2012 Registration campaign (GB) cut through of 9 at post wave Just under a quarter (23) of eligible adults claimed at the pre wave to have seen or heard any activity about registering to vote, increasing significantly to just under three fifths (59) at the post wave. These results are similar, if not better, than those from previous Electoral Commission campaigns: in 2012 just under one in five (17) at the pre wave claimed to have seen or heard any activity, rising to just under half (48) at the post wave. Those who claimed to have seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information about registering to vote were then asked three further questions about what they had seen or heard. However, as the proportion aware of activity changed pre to post, in order to make a fair comparison the results for these follow-up questions have been rebased on all eligible adults, with the results shown in Figure 4.1. Full results for each of these questions can be found in Appendix C. The first follow-up question asked those aware of activity to say where they had seen or heard the advertising, publicity or other information. The second set of bars in Figure 4.1 shows the proportion at each wave spontaneously mentioning either The Electoral Commission or any advertising channels or sources being used by The Electoral Commission for the registration campaign (that is TV, radio, newspaper or online advertising, and leaflets or flyers from the Electoral Commission). As a result, we are able to assess the proportion who may be aware of The Electoral Commission s activity May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

24 At a UK level, the proportion of respondents who spontaneously mentioned either The Electoral Commission or sources being used by The Electoral Commission increased significantly from 9 pre to 37 post wave. This was driven mainly by a significant increase in mentions of TV advertising, which rose from 4 at the pre wave to 24 following the campaign. Respondents were also asked who they thought was responsible for the advertising, publicity or information they were aware of. As in previous campaigns a small proportion of respondents mentioned The Electoral Commission; however the increase from 2 at the pre wave to 6 at the post wave is significant. As seen previously, political parties and local councils were most likely to be mentioned spontaneously as being responsible (20 and 16 respectively at the post wave). Finally, those who had seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information about forthcoming elections were asked to describe what they had seen or heard. A wide variety of spontaneous responses were given which were coded into similar mentions or themes. Just over one in five (22) of all eligible adults spontaneously described details or messages which could possibly be attributed to the registration campaign, a significant increase from one in ten (10) at the pre wave. This level of campaign cut through compares well with the 2012 registration campaign, when just under one in ten (9) mentioned something that could be attributed to the campaign at the post wave. It may be that the European elections taking place across the UK helped to make the campaign seem more relevant than previous campaigns where not everyone had an election in their area. Given the above, there is evidence that the registration campaign was cutting through the noise around the election, with significant increases in all four spontaneous awareness measures recorded at a UK level. Figure 4.2 shows the results of the same four questions broken down by country. Again, whilst the follow-up questions were asked of those aware of activity, the results shown here are based on all eligible adults in each country at each wave May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

25 Figure 4.2: Spontaneous awareness of advertising about registering to vote and of campaign cut through (by country) Q3, Q4, Q6, Q5 Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in sub-group at each wave Among all eligible adults 18+ UK England Wales Scotland NI Spontaneous awareness of advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote Where seen: Spontaneous mentions of mentions of EC/ sources potentially from EC Any spontaneous mentions of EC being responsible for activity seen/heard Cut through: Any spontaneous mentions possibly linked to registration campaign Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Firstly, it should be noted that in Scotland spontaneous awareness was higher than average at the pre wave for all four measures, presumably as a result of the noise around the independence referendum taking place in September The proportion of eligible adults claiming to have seen or heard something about registering to vote increased significantly across all four countries following the campaign. In England, Wales and Scotland around three fifths at the post wave said they had seen or heard something, while in Northern Ireland awareness was slightly lower (50). England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded similar levels at the post wave of those spontaneously mentioning having seen or heard something from The Electoral Commission or sources being used by The Electoral Commission (36, 38 and 40 respectively), while in Scotland nearly half (47) mentioned a possible Electoral Commission source. In England and Northern Ireland, The Electoral Commission was significantly more likely to be named as being responsible for the activity at the post wave. In Wales those mentioning The Electoral Commission rose slightly, and in Scotland mentions of The Electoral Commission dropped slightly from 9 at the pre wave to 4 at the post wave. The registration campaign appeared to cut through well across the four countries with between one in five and a quarter spontaneously describing details or messages which could be attributed to the campaign at the post wave, and in all countries this was a significant increase from the levels seen at the pre wave May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

26 Figure 4.3 shows the results for these same four measures, in this case broken down by the four key groups most likely to be unregistered year olds, private renters, recent movers (those who have moved in the last year) and BMEs (Black and Minority Ethnic groups). Figure 4.3: Spontaneous awareness of advertising about registering to vote and of campaign cut through (by key group) Q3, Q4, Q6, Q5 Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in sub-group at each wave Among all eligible adults 18+ Spontaneous awareness of advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote UK s Private renters Recent movers (<1yr) BME Where seen: Spontaneous mentions of mentions of EC/ sources potentially from EC Any spontaneous mentions of EC being responsible for activity seen/heard Cut through: Any spontaneous mentions possibly linked to registration campaign Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (315) Post (257) Pre (502) Post (476) Pre (361) Post (322) Pre (249) Post (209) For all key groups spontaneous awareness of activity about registering to vote and mentions of seeing something from the Electoral Commission or on channels/sources used by The Electoral Commission increased significantly following the campaign. Whilst this is encouraging, the increases in levels of awareness were smaller than the changes seen at an overall level. Just over half of private renters (52) and recent movers (55) claimed to have been aware of any activity in relation to registering to vote at the post wave, while awareness was slightly lower among year olds (47) and BMEs (45), compared to the overall UK level of nearly three fifths (59). BMEs were least likely to mention The Electoral Commission sources (26 compared with 37 UK overall). Recent movers and BMEs were more likely at the post wave to spontaneously name The Electoral Commission as being responsible for the activity seen/heard (5 and 6 respectively), while there was no significant change on this measure among year olds and private renters. The registration campaign appeared to cut through to year olds and recent movers with significant increases in the proportion spontaneously mentioning something that could be attributed to it, albeit at a lower level than overall (15 and May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

27 respectively at the post wave compared to 22 overall). However, there was only a slight increase in cut through among private renters and no change among BMEs. In summary, despite increases in these spontaneous awareness measures among these key groups over the course of the campaign, the comparatively lower levels of awareness and cut through may need to addressed in the future. 4.3 Prompted recognition of registration campaign In order to measure campaign recognition, respondents were prompted with the actual advertisments employed for the campaign and asked if they had seen or heard these recently. The multi-media CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) machines were used to play the TV, Video on Demand and radio adverts in full and to show images of the online and print adverts. Respondents were shown/played the following stimulus: TV: Bungee ad played and respondents were asked if they had seen on TV recently; Video on Demand: Ballot Box Man ad played and respondents were asked if they had seen this ad recently when watching TV online through a Video on Demand service such as 4oD (Note that only GB respondents were asked about Video on Demand); Radio: Homemovers ad played and respondents were asked if they had heard this ad on the radio recently. Respondents were also asked a follow-up question about whether they had heard a similar ad aimed at students on the radio recently. These questions were asked in GB only; in Northern Ireland the Drowned Out radio ad was played; Online display: in GB Stills of the Moving Hand and Council Tax online ads were shown and respondents were asked if they had seen those ads, or similar ads, on the internet recently. In Northern Ireland, only the Moving Hand ad was shown; and Press: In Northern Ireland only, Trapdoor ad shown and respondents were asked they had seen the ad in newspapers or as a poster on buses, phone boxes, bus shelters and billboards. For reference, screenshots of the TV, online display, video on demand and press ads used as stimulus are shown in Figure 4.4 overleaf May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

28 Figure 4.4: TV, online display, video on demand and press ads used as stimulus TV Bungee ad played in full (all countries) Online Moving Hand stills show (all countries) Council tax (in GB) Radio Homemovers ad played in full (in GB) Drowned Out played in full (in NI) Video on Demand Ballot Box Man played in full (in GB) Press /Poster (NI only) Trapdoor shown NB: Country specific versions of each ad shown/played in each country It should be noted that different versions of each ad were produced for England, Scotland and Wales using regional accents, with a Welsh language version also used in Wales. Respondents in each country were therefore presented with their local versions of the adverts, and those who opted to complete the questionnaire in Welsh were played the Welsh adverts. By combining all of the advertising recognition figures for the individual media, a total reach figure can be calculated, which is the proportion of people who have seen or heard at least one element of the campaign when prompted. Overall, seven in ten (69) eligible voters recognised at least one element of the registration campaign. The reach figure for the campaign and each of the individual media in each country is shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

29 Figure 4.5: Prompted recognition of registration campaign A1, A2, A3a, A3b, A4a Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country (UK=2302, England=1672, Wales=175, Scotland=344, Northern Ireland=333) UK England Wales Scotland NI Total campaign recognition TV Video on demand n/a Radio* Online Press/poster (NI only) n/a n/a n/a n/a 25 The lead medium for the campaign, driving overall recognition, was the TV ad which was recognised by over half (55). However, the other media added a further 14 reach to the TV figure a sizeable contribution which is not always the case for secondary media. The radio advertising was recognised by around a quarter (26), the video on demand advertising by over one in ten (13) and the online advertising by 10. Wales and Northern Ireland had the highest levels of total recognition (75 and 78 respectively). The TV advertising had higher levels of recognition in Wales (62) while in Northern Ireland the radio advertising performed well with over two fifths (43) having heard it before. A quarter (25) of respondents in Northern Ireland recognised the press/poster advert. England and Scotland recorded the same level of total recognition (67 respectively), with slightly different levels of recognition for the individual media. Eligible voters in England were more likely than those in Scotland to recognise the TV advert (55 vs. 48) while those in Scotland were more likely to have heard the radio advertising (30 vs. 24). Campaign recognition was a Key Performance Measure for the registration campaign, with a target of 60 to 70 of the population of GB and of NI reporting to have seen at least one element of the campaign. An overall reach of 69 in GB, and 78 in Northern Ireland means that this KPM was exceeded - a very positive result. Indeed, when compared to other recent campaigns conducted by The Electoral Commission, as shown in Figure 4.6, the 2014 registration campaign has performed very well May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

30 Figure 4.6: Campaign recognition comparison with previous Electoral Commission campaigns Recognised any campaign media 2014 UK (Registration Campaign) England (excl. London) (Registration campaign) E+W excl. London (PCC Elections) excl. booklet (post-wave) GB (Registration campaign) UK (AV Referendum elections) excl. booklet GB (Registration campaign) England and Wales Scotland (Change to Voting System) excl. booklet 55 With 69 total recognition the 2014 registration campaign recorded the highest level of recognition than any of the previous Electoral Commission campaigns. In 2013 the England (excluding London) registration campaign achieved 62 recognition, while the 2012 GB registration campaign was recognised by 66 of eligible adults in England, Scotland and Wales. Whilst this is a very good result, it is useful to look at levels of recognition by the main demographic sub-groups in order to assess where targeting of the campaign has worked well and highlight where it could be improved in the future. Recognition of the campaign, and the individual media, among demographic sub-groups is shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

31 Figure 4.7: Prompted recognition of registration campaign (by demographic sub-groups) A1, A2, A3a, A3b, A4a Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ in UK who are eligible to vote in each sub-group (post wave) UK TV VoD Radio Online All (2302) Male (1032) Female (1270) (257) (384) (708) (953) AB (440) C1 (583) C2 (452) DE (827) Total campaign recognition was generally consistent at around seven in ten for most sub-groups. It was highest among 18-24s (76) and those in the lower socio-economic groups (77 of C2s and 73 of DEs) and so the campaign was successful in reaching those groups where levels of registration tend to be lower. Recognition was lowest among ABs (60). Looking at recognition of the individual media by sub-groups, all channels appear to be working well in general, though some media work more effectively for certain groups than others. The age group recorded average or higher than average recognition for all campaign media which is a particularly positive result given that this group is often hard to target. Video on demand advertising among 18-24s performed particularly well (25) while radio and online advertising was more likely to be recognised by year olds. Respondents aged 55+ were more likely than other ages to recognise the TV advert (60), though radio was less effective among this group (16). In terms of differences by social grade, TV, video on demand and radio recorded a strong performance among C2DEs, but recognition of all media channels was lower among ABs. While this may be of some concern and action could be taken to improve this, if desired, it is important to note that ABs tend to be more engaged with elections already, being more likely to be registered as well as more likely to vote. Overall, it appears that the media mix utilised for the registration campaign is working well to reach all groups and so going forwards the media buying approach being used should be continued May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

32 Figure 4.8: Prompted recognition of registration campaign (by country) A1, A2, A3a, A3b, A4a Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ in UK who are eligible to vote in each sub-group (post wave) UK England Wales Scotland NI All (2302) Male (1032) Female (1270) (257) (384) (708) (953) AB (440) C1 (583) C2 (452) DE (827) When looking at sub-group differences in each of the individual countries, there are no obvious patterns in recognition of the campaign but there are a few points of interest worth highlighting, as shown in Figure 4.8. In general the levels of campaign recognition by each sub-group reflect the overall patterns of total campaign recognition by country, i.e. sub-groups in Wales and Northern Ireland generally have higher levels of recognition than the same sub-groups in Scotland and England. However the main difference is the lower level of recognition among year olds in Wales and Scotland, with 59 and 53 aware of the campaign compared with 77 and 90 of the same age group in England and in Northern Ireland respectively. This is a key learning in terms of the performance of the campaign, and The Electoral Commission should review the campaign to establish what differences there were in media buying between the four countries that might account for the differences in recognition among this age group. Recognition levels are lower than average among ABs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but higher than average in Scotland. This may be as a result of ABs being more engaged in the run up to the independence referendum than other social grades. Figure 4.9 shows the levels of recognition of the individual channels of advertising by claimed registration status of respondents and among the key unregistered groups May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

33 Figure 4.9: Prompted recognition of registration campaign (key groups) A1, A2, A3a, A3b, A4a Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ in UK who are eligible to vote in each sub-group (post wave) UK TV VoD Radio Online All (2302) Definitely registered(1840) Probably registered (144) Not sure if registered (64) Definitely/probably not registered (210) (257) Private renters (476) Recent movers (<1 yr) (322) BMEs (209) Looking at differences in reach by claimed registration, total campaign recognition was lower among those probably or not sure if they are registered to vote (61 and 59 respectively compared with 71 definitely registered and 66 definitely/probably not registered). This appears to be as a result of lower recognition among these two groups of the TV advertising (42 and 43 respectively compared with 58 definitely registered and 47 definitely/probably not registered) and radio advertising (16 and 21 compared to 27 and 26 respectively). Among the four key unregistered groups overall recognition of the campaign was highest among year olds and private renters (76 respectively) while recognition of the campaign among recent movers and BMEs was similar to average (70 and 68 respectively). Recognition of the TV advertising was in line with the overall level among year olds (55) and private renters (52) but marginally lower among recent movers (49) and BMEs (50). However, recognition of the other media channels tended to be higher among the key groups than overall, particularly among recent movers and BMEs, helping to add to recognition among these groups in spite of lower levels of recognition of TV. It is encouraging that the media mix is working well among these key unregistered groups, and any learnings from the media buying approach used in this campaign which might have resulted in these levels of recognition among these groups should be teased out and used again going forward. A further analysis of prompted recognition figures allowed us to assess the level of campaign integration. As noted already, as various media contributed to total campaign reach we would expect to see good levels of integration and indeed this is the case. Figure 4.10 shows that one third (36) of those who recognised the campaign claimed to have seen or heard two or more of the different campaign media, suggesting there May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

34 was a fairly good degree of campaign integration in The level of campaign integration is very similar to the levels seen in 2012 when 38 of campaign recognisers claimed to have seen or heard two or more of the campaign media. Figure 4.10: Campaign integration A1, A2, A3a, A3b, A4a Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ in UK who are eligible to vote in each country who had seen/heard at least one element of the registration campaign Seen/heard 1 medium Seen/heard 2 media Seen/heard 3 media GB (1609) England (55) Wales (132) Scotland (229) NI (261) (189) Private renters (332) Recent movers (<1 yr) (229) BME (139) Given the high levels of campaign recognition among eligible voters in Northern Ireland it is not surprising to find higher levels of integration among this group; half of those who recognised the campaign claimed to have seen or heard two or more of the campaign media. Recognisers in the four key groups were also more likely to claim that they had seen or heard multiple campaign media, reflecting the higher levels of recognition of radio, online and video on demand advertising among these groups. Having been shown and played the advertising, respondents were then asked to describe, in their own words, what they thought the main messages of the advertising were. Their spontaneous responses were coded into common mentions and grouped into themes, and the most widely mentioned themes are shown in Figure 4.. A full breakdown is provided in the data tables May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

35 Figure 4.: Main message of registration campaign (spontaneous) A5: Thinking about all of the ads you have just seen and heard, what do you think is the main message of this advertising? What is it telling you? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country (UK=2302, England=1672, Wales=175, Scotland=344, Northern Ireland=333) UK England Wales Scotland NI Any campaign message (total) Any mention registration (sub-total) Register to vote Make sure you are registered (to vote) Have to be registered to vote / can t just turn up To vote / telling people to vote Any mention duty/ important /makes a difference / be heard The main messages of the registration campaign were communicated clearly, with around four fifths in England and Wales, three quarters in Scotland, and seven in ten in Northern Ireland spontaneously mentioning a campaign message. The vast majority of those mentions related to registration, specifically register to vote (38 at UK level), (you) have to be registered to vote/can t just turn up (21) and make sure you are registered (). As shown in Figure 4., similar levels of message take out were recorded across England, Wales and Scotland, with slightly lower mentions of registering to vote in Northern Ireland and higher mentions of being encouraged to vote (25 compared with 13 overall). Among the key unregistered groups the picture was very similar, with around four fifths mentioning a campaign message. The level of 80 spontaneously mentioning a campaign message in 2014 compares well with the levels recorded for the same measures for the 2012 GB registration campaign (69). This improved score could be as a result of increased campaign recognition over time and a better understanding of what the advertising is about. In 2014, over eight in ten (83) of those who recognised the campaign mentioned a campaign message compared with seven in ten (73) who hadn t seen the advertising campaign before. In order to better understand attitudes towards the registration campaign, six statements about the advertising were included in the post wave questionnaire and respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with each statement. Figure 4.12 shows the total results for each statement at UK level May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

36 Figure 4.12: Agreement with statements about the advertising A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in the UK (2302) UK 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () The ads made it clear that you have to register to be able to vote The ads made it clear where to go for info about how to register The ads stuck in your mind The ads are aimed at people like you The ads told you something that you didn't know before The ads made you think about checking if you are registered Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know Overall, perceptions of the registration campaign were very positive, with particularly high levels of agreement that the ads made it clear that you have to register to be able to vote (90 agreed, 68 strongly) and made it clear where to go for information about how to register (80 agreed, 48 strongly). Over three fifths (64) agreed that the ads stuck in your mind and over half (53) agreed that they are aimed at people like you. While lower levels of agreement were recorded for the other two statements the ads told you something that you didn t know before (41) and the ads made you think about checking if you are registered (35) it is still encouraging that a considerable minority had cause to agree with each of these statements, showing there is a need for the advertising. As shown in Figure 4.12, the overall levels of agreement with each of the statements were similar to those recorded in 2012, although slightly more positive for some statements, perhaps indicating that the campaign was a little more relevant in 2014 given the wider scope of the elections. The full results for each statement broken down by country can be found in Appendix C. However, Figure 4.13 shows a summary of the total levels of agreement for each of the statements by country and Figure 4.14 shows the total levels of agreement by key group May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

37 Figure 4.13: Agreement with statements about the advertising (by country) A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in each country (shown in brackets) Agree Agree Made it clear that you have to register to vote Aimed at people like you Made it clear where to go for info on how to register Told you something you didn t know Stuck in your mind Made you think about checking if you are registered UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) In general, the levels of agreement by country for each statement are similar to the overall levels, though there are some significant differences. All countries recorded high levels of agreement that the ads made it clear that you have to register to be able to vote, with eligible voters in Northern Ireland most likely to agree (96 compared with 90 overall). Eight in ten in England and Northern Ireland (80 and 81 respectively), and just over seven in ten in Wales and Scotland (73 respectively) agreed that the ads made it clear where to go for information about how to register. Respondents in Northern Ireland were significantly less likely to agree that the ads stuck in your mind (53 compared to 64 overall) but more likely to agree the ads are aimed at people like you (63 compared with 53 overall). Respondents in Scotland were more likely to agree the ads told you something you didn t know before (48 compared with 41 overall) and those in Northern Ireland were least likely to agree that the ads made you think about checking whether you are registered (26 compared with 36 overall). When looking at agreement with the six statements among the key unregistered groups the results are again broadly similar to overall levels. Encouragingly the advertising appears to be perceived more positively among these key groups than overall, particularly among year olds and BMEs May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

38 Figure 4.14: Agreement with statements about the advertising (by key group) A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each group (shown in brackets) Agree Agree Made it clear that you have to register to vote Aimed at people like you Made it clear where to go for info on how to register Stuck in your mind Told you something you didn t know Made you think about checking if you are registered UK (2302) (257) Private renter (476) Recent movers (322) BME (209) Across all four groups nine in ten agreed the ads made it clear that you have to register to be able to vote. BMEs were most likely to agree the ads made it clear where to go for information about how to register (84 compared with 79 overall) and the ads stuck in your mind (74 compared with 64 overall). Eligible voters aged were most likely to agree that the ads were aimed at people like you (72 compared with 53 overall); indeed all key groups were more likely than average to agree with this statement (63 of private renters, 62 of recent movers and 63 of BMEs) thus recognising that they are part of the target audience. The key groups also recorded higher than average levels of agreement for the last two statements, the ads told you something you didn t already know (60 of 18-24s, 52 of private renters, 50 of recent movers and 56 of BMEs) and they made you think about checking whether you are registered (53 of 18-24s, 48 of private renters, 50 of recent movers and 56 of BMEs). In summary then, impressions of the advertising were very positive. This is an encouraging finding, especially so when there is such clear evidence that the advertising is being received most positively among the key groups most in need of the campaign. Finally, those who claimed to have seen or heard any of the registration campaign were prompted with a list of possible actions and asked whether or not they had undertaken any as a result of the campaign. The results of this question are shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

39 Figure 4.15: Action undertaken as a result of seeing/hearing the registration campaign (prompted) A7: What, if anything, did you do as a result of seeing or hearing the advertising? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country who had seen any element of the campaign (UK=1609, England=35, Wales=132, Scotland=229, Northern Ireland 261) Prompted (among recognisers) Any (total) UK 10 of recognisers who have taken any action England (35) 10 Wales (132) 12 Scotland (229) 12 Checked whether I am registered Registered to vote NI (261) Definitely registered (1316) Probably registered (90) Not sure if registered (64) Visited website/called helpline (Total) 1 Definitely/Probably not registered (140) (189) 13 Visited aboutmyvote.co.uk website 1 Private renters (332) Recent movers (< 1 yr) (239) BMEs (139) 15 Overall, one in ten of those who had seen or heard any of the registration campaign claimed to have done something as a result of the advertising, with most either checking whether they were registered (4) or registering to vote (4). The results were the same as overall in England, marginally higher in Wales and Scotland (12 respectively) and slightly lower in Northern Ireland (7). Eligible adults who stated they were probably registered were more likely to have taken action (18 compared with 10 overall). It is encouraging that levels of action taken were higher than the UK level among the key groups: those aged and private renters were slightly more likely to take action (13 and 12 respectively), while recent movers and BMEs were most likely of the key groups to claim they had done so (19 and 15 respectively). Again the results show that the registration campaign appeared to work more effectively among the key groups May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

40 5. Impact of the registration campaign on key measures Having examined the advertising specific measures, this section of the report discusses the impact of the campaign on other measures such as the need to register in advance in order to be able to vote, awareness of the election date, whether voters believed they had enough information to be able to vote and awareness of the aboutmyvote website. 5.1 Claimed registration The main objective of the registration campaign was to increase the number of eligible adults who are registered to vote. While The Electoral Commission has other data available to assess actual levels of registration, measuring claimed registration within the survey allowed us to better understand what impact the campaign had on registration among the survey sample. To this end all respondents were asked Which of these statements best describes whether you are registered to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? definitely registered, probably registered, not sure, probably not registered or definitely not registered. The results of this question at each wave of tracking are shown in figure 5.1, at a total UK level and by country, and in Figure 5.2 by key groups. Figure 5.1: Whether registered to vote in local elections on 22 nd May (by country) Q9: Which of these statements best describes whether you are registered to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK England Wales Scotland NI Definitely registered Probably registered Not sure Probably not registered Definitely not registered Pre Post (2185) (2302) Pre Post (1646) (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Total registered () At the pre wave around three quarters (74) of eligible adults claimed to be definitely registered to vote, suggesting that around one quarter of the voting population were potentially not registered and therefore in need of the registration campaign. At the post wave nearly four fifths (79) claimed to have definitely registered which was a 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

41 significant increase, indicating the campaign has achieved that key aim of increasing registration (based on the claimed registration measure). There were increased levels of claimed registration in all four countries following the campaign. Significant increases pre to post wave were reported in England (74 pre to 78 post wave) and in Northern Ireland (69 pre and 88 post wave). In Northern Ireland claimed registration was the lowest of all four countries at the pre wave but at the post wave it was the highest. It may be that the local government restructure increased uncertainty around whether people were registered to vote for these particular elections, which may have been clarified by the end of the campaign period, due in part to the campaign itself and to a better understanding of the elections themselves. Figure 5.2: Whether registered to vote in local elections on 22 nd May (key groups) Q9: Which of these statements best describes whether you are registered to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK 18-24s Private renters Recent movers (<1yr) BME Definitely registered Probably registered Not sure Probably not registered Definitely not registered Pre (315) Post (257) Pre (502) Post (476) Pre (361) Post (322) Pre (249) Post (209) Total registered () There were also increases in claimed registration following the campaign among all four key groups, however, these increases were not significant. The increase in those definitely registered was similar among 18-24s, private renters and BMEs at between 5-7 percentage points, while among recent movers the proportion claiming to be definitely registered only increased by 2 percentage points. In fact the proportion definitely/probably registered decreased pre to post wave by 3 percentage points. It could be that some recent movers thought they were registered at the pre stage but the campaign made them realise they were not, resulting in the slight drop in claimed registration at the post wave. This is evidenced by the finding that recent movers were the most likely of the key groups to have taken action following the campaign. 5.2 Awareness and knowledge measures At the start of the interview, all respondents were asked to spontaneously say which elections they were aware of that will be taking place this year in their area. They were then prompted with a list of possible elections and were asked to select the ones they May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

42 thought were taking place. When looking at awareness of the elections, only those who were aware of correct elections in their area were included, that is those in England who mentioned any of local, European or mayoral elections, mentions of European elections only in Wales and Scotland, and in Northern Ireland those who mentioned local and European elections. The results are shown for UK overall in the top two sets of bars in figure 5.3 Figure 5.3: Knowledge and awareness measures (UK level) Q1: Which elections are you aware of that will be taking place this year where you live? (Spontaneous) Q1/Q2: Which elections are you aware of that will be taking place this year where you live? (Spontaneous and prompted) Q7a: (England only)european Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year and on the same day, local elections are taking place in many areas in England and mayoral elections are also taking place in some parts of London and in Watford. Q7b: (Wales/Scotland only) European Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held. Q7c: (NI only)european Parliamentary and local council elections are being held in Northern Ireland this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held? Q8b: Thinking about voting in these elections, which of these 2 statements is true? Q13: What do you think is the deadline for registering to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? (Spontaneous) Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK Spontaneously aware of correct elections on 22 May* Total awareness of correct elections on 22 May* Spontaneously aware of 22 May as election date 7 43 Aware of need to register in advance to be able to vote Spontaneously aware of 6 May registration deadline 9 Pre (2185) Post (2302) Spontaneous awareness of any correct elections rose significantly from a third (33) at the pre wave to nearly seven in ten (67) at the post wave at a UK level. The level of prompted awareness also increased significantly from nearly half (48) at the pre wave to nearly four fifths (78) at the post wave. The campaign also aimed to make everybody aware of the election date. During the interview all respondents were asked to spontaneously say when they thought the elections were taking place. As shown in the third set of bars in Figure 5.3, at the pre wave just 7 spontaneously said 22 nd May, increasing significantly to over two fifths (43) at the post wave. There was, however, greater awareness that the elections 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

43 were some time in May - this increased from just over a third (36) at the pre wave to two thirds (65) at the post wave. A key aim of the registration campaign was to increase awareness of the fact that you need to be registered to be able to vote. In order to assess the impact of the campaign on this measure, respondents were shown two statements at each wave, as follows, and asked which of the two was true: Anyone aged 18 or over living in the local area can vote on 22 nd May simply by turning up at the local polling station on the day with proof of their name and address; or Only people who register in advance can vote in the elections on 22 nd May. The proportion of eligible adults who said you have to register in advance was already very high at the pre wave at three quarters (75) but there was a further significant increase at the post wave to four fifths (80) (as shown on the fourth set of bars in Figure 5.3). Respondents were also asked when the deadline was for registering to vote in the elections on 22 nd May (see the fifth set of bars in Figure 5.3). Just under one in ten (9) of eligible adults at the pre wave were aware of the 6 th May deadline, increasing significantly to just over one in ten () following the campaign. However, it is notable that awareness of this measure is considerably lower than for the other main knowledge measures. In summary, at a UK level there were significant increases in all five of these knowledge and awareness measures, which is very encouraging. However, the lower awareness of the registration deadline may be something which needs to be addressed in the future. Figure 5.4 shows the results for these five knowledge and awareness measures by country May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

44 Figure 5.4: Knowledge and awareness measures (by country) Q1, Q2, Q7, Q8b, Q13 Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Spont. aware of correct elections on 22 May* UK England Wales Scotland NI Total awareness of correct elections on 22 May* Spontaneously aware of 22 May as election date Aware of need to register in advance to be able to vote Spont. aware of 6 May registration deadline Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) On the first three measures - spontaneous and prompted awareness of elections, and awareness of the election date - there were significant increases over the course of the campaign in all countries. However, there were some differences at a country level that are worth highlighting. In Wales and Scotland spontaneous and prompted awareness of elections taking place was lower than overall at the pre wave (14 and respectively compared with 33 overall), presumably because only European elections were taking place here. Following the campaign, awareness increased in Scotland to levels more in line with England and Northern Ireland, though awareness in Wales remained lower. It may be that although only European elections were held in May in Scotland, the noise around the forthcoming referendum had increased awareness of elections in general by the post wave, or perhaps respondents in Wales have less interest generally in European elections. Awareness of elections and of the election date was higher in Northern Ireland, even at the pre wave nonetheless, significant increases were still recorded in on these measures in Northern Ireland over the course of the campaign. It is likely that this initial high level of awareness is related to other activity or media coverage/discussions of the local government reforms and the trailing of the new shadow councils. In all four countries around four fifths of eligible adults were aware of the need to register in advance to be able to vote. This increased significantly in England (74 pre to 79 post wave) and in Northern Ireland (82 pre and 92 post wave) over the course of the campaign. Looking at awareness of the deadline date to register to vote, the levels of awareness of the 6 th May deadline were low in relation to the other measures. Again awareness in Northern Ireland was higher than the other countries (17 at the post stage compared 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

45 with overall). The only significant increase in awareness of the registration deadline was in Scotland (5 at pre and 10 post wave). While results by country are encouraging, they do show that knowledge does appear to vary depending on the elections taking place and engagement with the elections. Finally for these measures, Figure 5.5 shows the results among the four key groups. Figure 5.5: Knowledge and awareness measures (by key group) Q1, Q2, Q7, Q8b, Q13 Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Spont. aware of correct elections on 22 May* UK s Private renters Recent movers (<1yr) BME Total awareness of correct elections on 22 May* Spont. aware of 22 May as election date Aware of need to register in advance to be able to vote Spont. aware of 6 May registration deadline Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (315) Post (257) Pre (502) Post (476) Pre (361) Post (322) Pre (249) Post (209) Again on the first three measures of spontaneous/prompted awareness of correct elections taking place and awareness of the election date, there were significant increases for all key groups over the campaign period. Awareness of the need to register in advance increased slightly for most groups (from already high levels) - the only significant increase was among BMEs (58 pre and 67 post wave). There were marginal but no significant increases across all groups in those aware of the correct deadline date. Despite improvements across the key groups, it is clear from the results that awareness levels are lower than average, hence the need for the campaign to target these groups in particular. BMEs are closer to the overall levels than other groups, although they are slightly less likely to be aware of the need to register in advance years olds in particular have much lower levels of awareness and knowledge of elections, and as such it is important that future campaigns continue to target this group. Detailed results for each of these five measures can be found in Appendix C, with full details available in the data tables May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

46 5.3 Sources of information and use of online sources The research also aimed to measure usage of various sources of information about the election, and specifically of aboutmyvote.co.uk. Firstly respondents were asked a general question about whether they agreed or disagreed that they had enough information about the forthcoming elections and what they had to do to register. The results of this question are shown in figure 5.6. Figure 5.6: Whether have enough information about forthcoming elections and what to do to register Q12: To what extent do you agree or disagree that you have enough information about the forthcoming elections and what you have to do to register? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither Disagree slightly Disagree strongly Don't know Pre (2185) UK England Wales Scotland NI Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre (2302) (1646) (1672) (153) (175) (332) (344) (613) Total agree () Post (333) Overall the proportion of eligible voters agreeing that they did have enough information increased significantly in the run up to the elections from just over a third (36) to just under three fifths (57) following the campaign, with the proportion agreeing strongly increasing to three in ten (30) from 17 at the pre wave. Encouragingly this pattern of significant increases in both agreement and strong agreement is also evident in all four countries, particularly in Northern Ireland where at the post wave nearly half (47) strongly agreed they had enough information. This is in line with greater awareness generally of the elections in Northern Ireland and with the larger than average increase in registration during the campaign period. Despite the increase in proportion of eligible voters agreeing they had enough information, it should be noted that around one fifth overall, and around one quarter in Scotland and Wales, disagreed that they had enough information. For a significant minority, then, there is still a need for greater information and for campaigns. There were similar increases recorded among the key groups, although it is worth noting that 18-24s were least likely of the groups to agree they had enough information. With nearly four in ten (38) of this group disagreeing they had enough information at the post wave this is further evidence that The Electoral Commission needs to continue to target this group May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

47 Respondents were also asked If you wanted to get more information about registering to vote, where would you go or look to find this information? The most common spontaneous responses recorded are shown in Figure 5.7 (full details are available on the data tables). Figure 5.7: Sources of information about registering to vote (spontaneous) Q: If you wanted to get more information about registering to vote, where would you go or look to find this information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave * NB: Includes those mentioning EC website or aboutmyvote.co.uk Unprompted Use internet/websites* UK Contact my local council Any Electoral Commission (total) - Go to/visit Electoral Commission website -Go to/visit aboutmyvote.co.uk website Any information through door Don t know Post wave Use DK internet / websites 18-24s Private Renters Recent movers (<1 yr) BMEs Pre (2185) Post (2302) The internet was the most common source of information mentioned spontaneously, by nearly half (47) at UK level. This definition included a range of responses, most commonly online searches (30) and visiting gov.uk websites (12). A third (33) mentioned that they would contact their local council. The Electoral Commission was mentioned in some form by 8 of respondents 5 the Electoral Commission website and 3 specifically mentioning aboutmyvote.co.uk. Overall around one in five (18) said they didn t know where they would go for information, so it is clearly still an issue for some. The key groups were no more likely than average to say that they didn t know where to go for information. However, it appears the internet plays more of a role as an information source for three of the groups 62 of 18-24s, 52 of private renters and 57 of recent movers spontaneously said they would use the internet (vs. 47 overall). Given the importance of the internet as a source of information for many eligible adults, the advertising also aimed to increase awareness of the aboutmyvote.co.uk website. In order to track awareness and usage of the website over the course of the campaign, respondents were asked if they had heard of the website before the interview, and if they had, whether they had visited it. The results are shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

48 Figure 5.8: Awareness and usage of aboutmyvote.co.uk Q13: Have you heard of the website aboutmyvote.co.uk? And if so, have you visited this website? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Aware of and visited Aware of but not visited 2 9 Pre (2185) UK England Wales NI Scotland Total Aware () Post (2302) 2 8 Pre (1646) 5 13 Post (1672) 2 10 Pre (153) 2 15 Post (175) 3 Pre (332) 3 15 Post (344) 7 Pre (613) 4 15 Post (333) UK 18-24s Private Renters BMEs Recent Movers Total Aware () Aware of and visited Aware of but not visited 2 9 Pre (2185) 4 13 Post (2302) 3 9 Pre (315) 20 Post (257) 2 9 Pre (502) 6 15 Post (476) 4 12 Pre (361) 17 Post (322) 3 8 Pre (249) 7 12 Post (209) When prompted, awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk increased significantly over the course of the campaign from to 18 at a UK level, and visits to the website increased from 2 to 4 of eligible voters. Increases in awareness were recorded in England, Wales and Scotland, however the only significant increase was in England with 18 aware of the website, up from at the pre wave. Usage of the website also increased in England, from 2 at the pre wave to 5 at the post wave. There was a slightly different picture in Northern Ireland with no change in awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk in the run up to the elections (18 at both waves) and a decline in visitors pre to post wave (7 pre to 4 post wave). This may have been as a result of confusion about registration status in relation to the new councils which generated enquiries earlier in the process, which had been resolved by the post wave. More importantly, it is encouraging to find that awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk also increased among the key groups. Significant increases in awareness were recorded across all four groups to 27 of 18-24s, 21 of private renters, 28 of recent movers and 19 of BMEs. Three groups were also significantly more likely to have visited the website in the run up to the elections 6 of private renters, of recent movers, and 7 of BMEs. These increases are particularly positive given the internet has been shown to be important as a source of information among these key groups. 5.4 Campaign impact Finally, one of the caveats of this research is that as the elections approach there is increasing noise around the elections from, for example, the media and political parties. As a result we cannot definitively say that the changes recorded in the research are solely attributable to the registration campaign. However further analysis can be 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

49 conducted to determine the impact of the campaign by looking at what differences there are in knowledge and awareness between those who had seen any element of the registration campaign and those who had not seen the campaign, and between those seeing different numbers of campaign media. Table 5.1 details the results for the awareness and knowledge measures discussed in this chapter, broken down by campaign recognisers and non-recognisers, and also by those who had seen/heard only one of the campaign media, those who had seen two and those who had seen three or more. Table 5.1: Key measures by campaign awareness and number of media seen/heard Q1, Q2, Q7, Q8, Q12, Q13, Q19 Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave in each sub-group Recognisers (1609) Nonrecognisers (693) Seen/heard 1 medium (1018) Seen/heard 2 media (420) Seen/heard 3+ media (171) Spontaneous aware of correct elections on 22 May (Q1) Total aware of correct elections on 22 May (Q1/Q2) Spontaneous aware of 22 nd May as election date 22 May(Q7) Aware of need to register (Q8) Spontaneous awareness of registration deadline of 6 May (Q13) Agreement have enough info about what to do to register (Q12) Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk (Q19) The first two columns of data in Table 5.1 show the results for recognisers and nonrecognisers. While there are no differences between the two groups in terms of awareness of elections taking place, on all other measures those aware of the campaign had significantly higher awareness. For example, 82 of recognisers were aware of the need to register to vote compared with 75 of non-recognisers. This clearly highlights the role of the campaign in helping to generate positive movements in these measures. Looking at the multi-media impact there is clear evidence that the campaign worked to increase awareness where it is lowest, increasing awareness of the deadline date for registering and awareness of aboutmyvote.co.uk. For example, 48 of those who had seen 3 or more of the campaign media were aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk compared with 15 of those who had seen/heard 1 medium. In addition, 70 of those aware of 3 or more of the campaign media agreed they had enough information about what they needed to do to register, compared to 55 of those aware of only one element of the campaign. This demonstrates the value of a multi-media approach to communicating key messages, and the importance of continuing to do so for future campaigns. In conclusion, there have been several, significant increases in awareness and knowledge of measures targeted by the campaign, both overall and at a country and sub-group level, with evidence that the campaign is contributing to these changes May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

50 6. Voter information campaign (Northern Ireland only) The other campaign covered by this tracking research was the voter information campaign which ran in Northern Ireland only. This section of the report looks specifically at the voter information campaign. 6.1 Voter information campaign - overview The voter information campaign comprised radio, outdoor, press and online advertising targeting all eligible adults in Northern Ireland. The aims of the campaign were to: Ensure all eligible electors know to take an acceptable form of photographic ID with them to vote; Ensure electors wishing to participate understood how to vote using the single transferable vote (STV) system; Ensure voters have all the information needed to vote with confidence; Remind electors of the date of the election; Increase awareness that polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm; and Ensure electors know where to go for more information. The campaign ran between 7 th and 22 nd May Radio and digital advertising ran from 7 th 22 nd May, outdoor from 8 th 22 nd May and press from 12 th 18 th May and on 22 nd May. In terms of the research in Northern Ireland, the pre-wave took place from 21 st March to 2 nd April 2014 before any activity (registration or voter information). Post wave 1 was conducted 7 th to 21 st May following the registration campaign and before the election, but whilst the voter information campaign was still live. Post wave 2 was conducted 23 rd May to 3 rd June, following the conclusion of the voter information campaign and after the election. 6.2 Spontaneous awareness of the voter information campaign As described previously when discussing the registration campaign, a number of questions were included in the tracking research to better understand spontaneous awareness of the campaigns. This section returns to these questions, but looks specifically at the results in Northern Ireland. Firstly, eligible adults in Northern Ireland were asked whether they had seen any activity. At the pre wave and post wave 1, respondents were asked: Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote?, whereas at post wave 2, after the voter information campaign and the elections, the question was changed to: Thinking about the European Parliamentary and local council 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

51 elections that took place on 22 nd May, did you see or hear any advertising, publicity or other information about these elections? By this we mean advertising publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need(ed) to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. The results are shown at the top of figure 6.1. Figure 6.1: Spontaneous awareness of advertising and campaign cut through Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave Among all eligible adults 18+ in NI Spontaneous awareness of advertising, publicity or other information recently about Pre/Post 1 = about registering to vote Post 2 = about these elections Where seen: Spontaneous mentions of mentions of EC / sources potentially from EC Cut through: Any spontaneous mentions possibly linked to campaign* Any spontaneous mentions of EC being responsible for activity seen/heard Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) The pre wave to post wave 1 increase in spontaneous awareness of advertising from 22 to 50 has already been discussed earlier in this report in relation to the registration campaign in Northern Ireland. As seen in Figure 6.1, the proportion of eligible adults who claimed to be aware of any activity then dropped significantly from 50 at post wave 1 to 31 at post wave 2 claiming to be aware of activity about the 22 nd May elections. In spite of this fall, spontaneous awareness at post wave 2 was still higher than the pre wave (22). Those who claimed to have seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information about the elections on 22 nd May were then asked follow-up questions. As noted earlier when discussing the registration campaign, because the proportion aware of activity changed wave on wave, in order to make a fair comparison the results for these followup questions have been rebased on all eligible adults in Northern Ireland, and these rebased results are shown in Figure 6.1. More detailed findings for these questions can be found in Appendix C. Firstly, when asked where they had seen or heard activity about the elections on 22 nd May, the proportion who spontaneously mentioned either The Electoral Commission or any of the advertising channels or sources used by The Electoral Commission for the voter information campaign decreased at post wave 2 to one fifth (21) of eligible voters, from two fifths (40) at post wave 1. As expected given there was no TV May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

52 advertising for the voter information campaign, the proportion spontaneously mentioning TV declined to 14 at post wave 2 from 30 at post wave 1. Mentions of radio advertising remained the same at both waves (6 respectively). When asked to describe what they had seen or heard, a wide variety of spontaneous responses were given. These were coded into similar mentions, and the results for anything that could be attributed to the campaigns are shown in the third row on Figure 6.1. Whereas at post wave 1, following the conclusion of the registration campaign, one in five (20) spontaneously mentioned something related to the registration campaign, at post wave 2 only 5 spontaneously mentioned something related to the voter information campaign. Finally, respondents were asked to state who they though was responsible for what they had seen or heard. Again, this question was unprompted, and the results for any mention of The Electoral Commission are shown at the bottom of Figure 6.1. At post wave 1, 9 mentioned The Electoral Commission, and this dropped marginally to 6 at post wave 2, but was still slightly higher than the pre wave level of 4. In conclusion, while there is evidence of awareness of the voter information campaign at a spontaneous level, it is lower than was seen for the registration campaign, partly due to the lack of TV in the voter information campaign but potentially also due to the elections being over and therefore activity may no longer be particularly top of mind. 6.3 Prompted recognition of the voter information campaign Having established levels of spontaneous awareness of the campaign, the research then sought to measure prompted recognition. In order to measure recognition as accurately as possible, respondents were shown and played the campaign materials. The use of multi-media CAPI allowed the radio advertising to be played in full, while the press, online and outdoor advertising was also shown to respondents on the screen of the CAPI machine. To assess the voter information campaign, respondents were played the Remember Song radio ad, stills of the online ad, the 123 execution which was used in the press and on phone boxes and bus shelters, and the photo ID execution which was used on billboards and buses. Stills of these are shown in Figure 6.2 for reference May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

53 Figure 6.2: Voter information campaign stimulus shown to respondents Online Images of online ad shown Radio Remember Song ad played in full Press /Poster Billboard / bus After being shown each of the campaign media, respondents were asked whether they had seen or heard the advertising before the interview. Having obtained a measure of prompted recognition for each element of the campaign, it was then possible to calculate the total reach of the campaign among the target audience by combining all of the advertising recognition figures. The proportions recognising each element of the campaign are shown in Figure 6.3, along with the figure for total campaign recognition. Figure 6.3: Prompted awareness of voter information campaign B1-B4 Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI Total campaign rec. 69 Registration (Post 1 NI) 78 Radio Online display ad Press/poster seen in newspapers 9 seen as poster 2 seen but not sure where 25 Billboard/Bus 46 n/a May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

54 When prompted, almost seven in ten (69) were aware of at least one element of the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland. This is a positive result given the absence of TV advertising in the media mix; indeed this level of recognition is only 9 percentage points lower than the same measure for the registration campaign in Northern Ireland (78), which included a TV ad. Radio and billboard/bus advertising were most likely to be recognised (49 and 46 respectively), while press/poster (19), and online (13) made an additional contribution to total reach. There were also good levels of campaign integration - among those who recognised the campaign half had seen/heard one medium, around a quarter (24) had seen/heard two types of media, while the remaining quarter (26) had seen three or more, so the different media appear to be working very well together. For comparison, the Northern Ireland voter information campaign performed well with the 2012 voter information campaign in Scotland this recorded a recognition figure of 68, but this also included a TV ad. Figure 6.4 summarises the total reach figure across the demographic sub-groups, and shows the reach for the individual media among each group, at post wave 2. Figure 6.4: Prompted awareness of voter information campaign by sub-group (post wave 2) B1-B4 Prompted recognition questions Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI in each sub-group *small base aware of any element of campaign Radio Online Press/ poster Billboard/ Bus All (328) Male (148) Female (180) (80) (9) (129) AB (31*) C1 (71) C2 (65) DE (161) Campaign recognition among the sub-groups was generally consistent with overall levels although there are a few exceptions worth noting. Recognition of the radio and online advertising was lower among 55+ year olds (38 and 7 respectively), while recognition of all media was especially low among ABs (though this should be treated 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

55 with caution due to the low base size for this group). Radio performed particularly well among C1 (53), C2s (61) and year olds (61), while recognition of online advertising was highest among year olds (19) and press/poster advertising most likely to be recognised by 55+ year olds (27). Again, this is evidence of the multi-media mix employed by the campaign working well amongst most groups. Having been shown and played the advertising, respondents were then asked to describe, in their own words, what they thought the main messages of the advertising were. Their spontaneous responses were coded into common mentions and grouped into themes, and the most widely mentioned themes are shown in Figure 6.5. Figure 6.5: Main message of the voter information campaign (spontaneous) B5: Thinking about all the ads you have just seen and heard, what do you think is the main message of this advertising? What is it telling you? Full details available on data tables Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI at post wave 2 (328) Spontaneous Any what to bring/what needed (total 41 -bringid -bringphotoid 7 18 Any ID =25 - what you need to vote 12 Any voter information campaign messages = 62 Opening/closing times 19 Date of election/22nd May 9 Whatyouneedtodotovote 5 To vote/telling people to vote 22 How to vote/complete ballot/use numbers 19 Overall the main messages of the voter information campaign were communicated fairly clearly, with around three fifths (62) spontaneously reiterating a campaign message. Around two fifths (41) referred to needing to bring photo identification or taking what is needed to vote more generally, around a fifth (19) mentioned the opening/closing times of polling stations, just under one in ten (9) recalled the election date and 5 mentioned the advertising being about what you need to do to vote. However just over one fifth (22) simply thought the advertising was telling them to vote and one fifth (19) talked about how to vote/complete the ballot, which were not included in the campaign messages. As such, the voter information campaign was not as clear in communicating its messages as the registration campaign, however, this is often the case when TV advertising is not included in the media mix May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

56 As with the registration campaign, respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements about the voter information campaign using the five point scale shown in the Figure 6.6. Figure 6.6: Agreement with statements about the voter information campaign (1) B6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI Information campaign in NI Total agree () The ads made it quite clear that you needed to take photo ID with you when you vote on 22 nd May The ads made it quite clear that polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm on 22 nd May The ads made it quite clear where to go for information about how to vote The ads made it quite clear that you needed to check you had filled in your ballot papers correctly Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (- 2) Don't know Perceptions of this campaign were also very positive when prompted, particularly with regard to the clarity of the messages. Around nine in ten (93) agreed that the ads made it quite clear that you needed to take photo ID with you when you vote on 22 nd May, with 85 agreeing strongly that this was the case. There was a similar high level of agreement that the ads made it quite clear that polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm on 22 nd May (88 agreed, 77 strongly). Lower levels of agreement were recorded for the two remaining statements, though reactions were still positive: nearly seven in ten (68) agreed that the ads made it quite clear where to go for information about how to vote and just under two thirds (64) agreed that the ads made it quite clear that you needed to check you had filled in your ballot papers correctly. Encouragingly levels of agreement were higher still for each of these statements among those who had seen or heard the campaign before the interview. Respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with four further statements in relation to the advertising and the results are shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

57 Figure 6.7: Agreement with statements about the voter information campaign (2) B6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI Information campaign in NI Total agree () The ads were aimed at people like you The ads stuck in your mind The ads told you something that you didn t know before The ads made you want to find out more about how vote Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (- 2) Don't know Two thirds (67) of eligible adults in Northern Ireland agreed that the ads were aimed at people like you, which is encouraging when compared with the same measure for the registration campaign where just over half (53) agreed the ads were aimed at them. The voter information campaign was less effective, however, in relation to the other three statements. Just over half (55) agreed that the ads stuck in your mind, a third (33) agreed that the ads told you something that you didn t know before and just over two fifths (22) agreed that the ads made you want to find out more about how to vote. These relatively low levels of agreement can in part be attributed the elections being in the past and people have already gone through the experience of voting. However, if there is any concern about the campaign it would be that it may not be sticking in people s minds because it is not telling them something new. The voter information campaign did, however, appear to play a good reminder role and generate action as a result. Those who had seen or heard any element of the campaign were asked whether they had undertaken any of a list of actions as a result of the campaign. One fifth (21) claimed to have done something, which is a very positive result. The proportion claiming to have undertaken each of the listed actions is shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

58 Figure 6.8: Action undertaken as a result of seeing/hearing the voter information campaign (prompted) B7: What, if anything, did you do as a result of seeing or hearing the advertising? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI who recognised any element of the information campaign (328) Prompted Any (net) 21 MadesureIhadthecorrectphotoIDtotaketothepolling station 17 Called the helpline Talked to someone about ad/what it was saying 2 Found out more about the correct way to cast my vote 7 The majority of those who claimed to have taken action said they had made sure they had the correct photo identification to take to the polling station (17), though 7 were also prompted to find out more about the correct way to cast their vote. Whether action was taken is correlated with the number of media seen/heard - of those aware of one medium claimed to have done something as a result of seeing it, rising to 31 of those who had seen/heard two campaign media and to 38 of those who had seen three or more. This is further evidence of the benefits of the good levels of multimedia integration seen for this campaign May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

59 7. Impact of voter information campaign on key measures Having reviewed awareness, recognition and impressions of the voter information campaign, this section of the report discusses the impact of the campaign on a number of knowledge measures, specifically knowing about the need to take photo identification to polling stations, opening and closing times of polling stations, awareness of STV (Single Transferable Vote) and of how to vote and having enough information to vote. When reviewing this section, it should be borne in mind that the figures for post wave 2 are likely to have been impacted to some extent by the elections themselves. Respondents were asked several questions at each wave in relation to their knowledge of elections. The results for each of these questions are summarised at a total level in Northern Ireland in Figure 7.1. Detailed results for the individual questions can be found in Appendix C. Figure 7.1: Knowledge measures in Northern Ireland Q8c, Q14, Q15, Q16, Q17 Base: All respondents aged 18+ in Northern Ireland who are eligible to vote at each wave Among all adults 18+ in NI True that you have to take photo ID to vote Any aware polling station opens at 7am Any aware polling station closes at 10pm Aware of both polling station opening and closing times aware of voting using STV who say they know exactly how to vote Agree that have enough information about the elections and what to do Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) Firstly respondents were asked whether they thought it was true or false that you had to take photo identification to the polling station in order to vote. The vast majority were aware of the need to take photo identification at all three waves, yet awareness still increased to 95 over the course of the campaign. Knowledge of the need to take photo ID was a Key Performance Measure for the voter information campaign, with a target of of the population aware of this. With 95 aware by the end of the campaign, this KPM was therefore achieved May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

60 Looking at awareness of polling station opening and closing times, there were marginal changes in levels of awareness of these over time with three fifths (60) aware at post wave 2 that they opened at 7am and seven in ten (69) aware that they closed at 10pm. It may be that knowledge of the specific opening and closing times is not that important to eligible adults on the basis that many will know they will be going to vote at some point during the daytime or early evening. Awareness of the STV system was gauged by asking respondents whether when voting they were required to rank candidates in order of preference (i.e. STV) or whether they were required to put a cross beside the candidate they supported. Awareness of STV did increase significantly over the campaign period from 57 at the pre wave, to 75 at post wave 2. Given the importance of this measure to the smooth running of the election, it is very encouraging to see a significant increase in awareness. Having presented respondents with the two voting options, it was then made clear that in the elections on 22 nd May voters had to rank candidates in order of preference. Following this explanation, respondents were asked How much would you say you know about how to cast your vote in these elections? Again the proportion saying they knew exactly how to vote increased significantly over the three waves from 52 at the pre wave to 68 at the post wave. Finally respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed that they had enough information about the elections and what they had to do. Across all three waves three quarters agreed that they had enough information. However, it is encouraging to note that by post wave 2 only 14 disagreed that they had enough information, a decrease from one in five (20) at the pre wave. One other knowledge measure not shown in Figure 7.1 is awareness of 22 nd May as the date of the election. As discussed previously this increased from 17 to 58 in Northern Ireland between the pre wave and post wave 1, with a further increase to 62 at post wave 2 (and after the election). Looking at the requirement to take photo identification in a little more detail - as this was a key message from the voter information campaign respondents were asked, unprompted, which types of identification they thought were acceptable to take to a polling station. As shown in Figure 7.2 nearly all eligible adults at each wave were able to provide an answer (98 at post wave 2) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

61 Figure 7.2: Types of acceptable ID to take to the polling station Q8d: What type of ID do you think is acceptable to take to the polling station? DO NOT PROMPT Probe: Any others? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in NI Spontaneous Any - A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part) - A UK, Irish or EU passport - An Electoral Identity Card - A Translink Senior SmartPass - A Translink 60+ SmartPass - A Translink War Disabled SmartPass - A Translink Bllind Persons s SmartPass Other Don t know 2 1 * 1 1 * Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) Whilst there was little change in the high proportion able to mention any correct form of ID, encouraging increases were recorded in mentions of most forms of acceptable identification by post wave 2. At post wave 2 nine in ten (90) respondents mentioned a UK, Irish or EU passport, up from 79 at the pre wave. Other types of identification mentioned included Electoral Identity cards (33 pre to 42 post wave 2) and Translink 60+ Smartpasses (9 pre to 19 post wave 2). It would appear that the voter information campaign had a positive impact on informing eligible voters what they could use, as mentions of acceptable identification were higher among those who had seen/heard the campaign. A small number of people mentioned other, incorrect forms of ID, particularly at post wave 1 (8). These mentions included birth certificates, household bills, medical cards, pension books and student cards, for example. A further aim of the campaign was to ensure that people knew where to go for more information about how to cast their vote; to this end respondents were asked at each wave where they would go to look for this information. The results are shown in Figure May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

62 Figure 7.3: Sources of information about how to vote Q18: If you wanted to get more information about how to cast your vote in these elections, where would you go to look to find this information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote Spontaneous Any internet/websites* Any Electoral Commission Any NI government Any local government/council Any info through door Ask friends/family/work colleagues At the polling station n/a Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) There were differences in the types of sources eligible voters said they would use over the three waves with a move away from the internet and more formal services towards word of mouth. Just over two fifths (43) mentioned the internet at the pre wave, decreasing to two thirds (36) at post wave 1 and 27 at post wave 2, while 8 said they would contact the NI government at post wave 2, a decline from a fifth (21) at the pre wave. By post wave 2 around a third (34) said they would go to friends, family or work colleagues for more information, an increase from 8 pre wave and 17 at post wave 1. These results could simply be a reflection of greater knowledge of the elections among eligible voters over the campaign period resulting in less of a pull towards formal sources as the elections approached. Having reviewed the changes in these measures over the course of tracking, it is important to assess the extent to which these measures were impacted by the voter information campaign. The results for six measures at post wave 2 were analysed by whether or not respondents had seen or heard the voter information campaign and by those seeing different numbers of campaign media. This analysis is shown in Table May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

63 Table 7.1: Key measures by campaign awareness and number of media seen/heard Q8c, Q12, Q14, Q15, Q16, Q17 Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote Campaign recognisers (235) Campaign nonrecognisers (93) Seen/heard 1 (100) Seen/heard 2 (60) Seen/heard 3+ (75) Aware of need for photo ID (Q8c) Aware polling station opens at 7am (Q14) Aware polling station closes 10pm (Q15) Aware of both opening and closing times (Q14/Q15) Aware of STV (Q16) Know exactly how to vote (Q17) Agree had enough information (Q12) Although there were no significant differences between campaign recognisers and nonrecognisers on the measures examined, there were some positive directional differences with slightly higher proportions of campaign recognisers aware of the need for photo identification, the opening and closing times of polling stations and agreeing they had enough information. More importantly, however, knowledge and awareness levels for all measures increased with the number of campaign media respondents recognised. For example, the proportion who agreed they had enough information about the election and what you had to do, increased from seven in ten (69) among those who recognised one medium to just over nine in ten (92) among those who had seen/heard three or more. Once again this illustrates the importance of ensuring a mix of media is used in future campaigns May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

64 8. KPM Review This section of the report summarises the Key Performance Measures (KPMs) of both campaigns. Table 8.1 lists each of the KPMs targets, the actual figures achieved and notes whether the KPM was achieved. Table 8.1: Key Performance Measures Key Performance Measure Actual figure achieved KPM Achieved GREAT BRITAIN of the population report having seen at least one element of the registration campaign 69 Yes - 140,000 registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk 207,815* Yes NORTHERN IRELAND of the population report having seen at least one element of the registration campaign Reg = 78 (Voter info = 69) Yes - 10,000 registration forms downloaded from aboutmyvote.co.uk 6,059* No of the population are aware of the requirement to take a valid form of photographic ID to vote 95 Yes * Figures provided by the Electoral Commission As can be seen in Table 8.1, all but one of the KPMs for both campaigns were achieved. This is therefore a positive and encouraging outcome for both campaigns, and further evidence that learnings from these campaign can be used to enhance future campaigns May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

65 9. TNS Point of View 9.1 Insights Overall, the results of the research indicate that both the registration and voter information campaigns performed well. Both have recorded good levels of spontaneous awareness, campaign recognition and campaign integration, and there is clear evidence of the campaigns impacting on the key awareness and knowledge measures specific to each campaign. In addition, both met the targets for their Key Performance Measures. Both campaigns have also been successful in cutting through a cluttered environment - particularly the noise generated by political parties and the media in the run up to the elections. The multi-media mix used for both campaigns worked well in both instances. Whilst TV advertising acted as the lead medium for the registration campaign, other media were particularly effective in increasing recognition among the key groups, and it is encouraging that years olds were reached by all media channels. The value of the multi-media mix was also demonstrated in the higher awareness and knowledge measures recorded by those who had seen more campaign media. High levels of recognition of the voter information campaign were achieved in Northern Ireland, in spite of the absence of TV advertising, as radio and outdoor executions worked very well. The main messages of each campaign were communicated clearly and the perceived clarity of the advertising is a key strength. Impressions of the campaigns were also generally positive. Encouragingly, the registration campaign was particularly well received among the key unregistered groups who recognise the ads are relevant, provide new information and encourage them to take action. 9.2 Actions Given the apparent success of the campaigns, it is important that The Electoral Commission examine both in detail for learnings that can be applied to future campaigns. While the registration campaign worked well among the key unregistered groups, consideration should be given as to whether the lower levels of spontaneous awareness and cut through among these groups should be addressed, as improving this may help further increase knowledge measures. The media buying should be reviewed for any small changes that may help targeting in the future. Where a particular channel has worked well among a key group, the use of this could potentially be increased in the future (alongside TV advertising). Recognition among ABs was consistently lower than overall levels, and this could also be increased, if desired. Given the evidence of the impact of the multi-media approach on knowledge, May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

66 any changes which would further increase campaign integration would be beneficial. Billboards have been particularly effective in Northern Ireland, so perhaps greater outdoor advertising could be added to future registration campaigns. The one concern about the voter information campaign in Northern Ireland would be that for many the campaign is not providing them with any new information. While recognising the need for maintaining the already high knowledge levels in Northern Ireland, consideration should be given to whether the need for photo identification remains the focus of any future voter information campaign. Finally, at this stage there is no evidence of wear out of the registration campaign and as such there is no reason why it should not be used again for future elections (although small changes may be required in order to bring the messaging in line with the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

67 Appendix A: Pre-wave and Postwave 1 questionnaire (UK) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

68 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 FACE TO FACE: CAPI QUESTIONNAIRE Job Number Name of survey May Elections Campaign Tracking Research Questionnaire Version Number Post Wave1 V2 24/04/2014 Author Katherine McIsaac Alastair Graham Methodology If face-to-face Questionnaire Duration Sample Size Sample Description Quotas Several targets Face-to-face Home: Omnibus CAPI n/a England: c. 1,700, Wales c.200, Scotland c.400, N Ireland c.80 (plus boost to achieve c. 300 in total) Adults 18+ excluding non-eu/commonwealth citizens Usual Omnibus quotas See above under sample sizes Page 1 of 15

69 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ADULTS 18+ ONLY Moving on now to the next topic. SINGLE CODE ONLY SHOW SCREEN. R1 Please look at the categories on the screen and tell me which, if any of them, apply to you? I am a British citizen I am an Irish citizen I am a Commonwealth citizen I am an EU citizen None of these Don t know IF NONE OF THESE OR DON T KNOW SKIP TO NEXT SECTION. ALL OTHERS CONTINUE. ASK IN WALES ONLY. OTHERS CONTINUE AT Q1. R2 For this section, we have a questionnaire in Welsh available that you can complete yourself on the computer if you prefer to, or alternatively we can arrange for a Welsh speaking interviewer to come back at a later date which is convenient for you to complete this section in Welsh. Would you prefer to complete the questionnaire in Welsh yourself, have a Welsh speaking interviewer complete it with you at a later date or are you happy to continue in English? Happy to continue in English Prefer to do self-completion in Welsh Prefer to complete with a Welsh speaking interviewer at a later date. ASK ALL WHO QUALIFY AT R1 (ALL ELIGIBLE) The next questions are about elections and voting but don t include any questions about how you vote or your own personal politics. MULTI-CODE. DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q1 Which elections are you aware of that will be taking place this year where you live? DO NOT PROMPT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY PROBE: Any others? By-election European Parliament UK Parliamentary general election County Council Local Council Local Government National Assembly for Wales (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN WALES) Scottish Parliamentary elections (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN SCOTLAND) Page 2 of 15

70 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 Northern Ireland Assembly (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN NORTHERN IRELAND) Mayoral elections Independence referendum (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN SCOTLAND) Other (WRITE IN) None/don t know ROTATE LIST. MULTI-CODE SHOW SCREEN Q2 Can I just check which, if any, of the following elections do you think will be taking place this year where you live? CODE ALL THAT APPLY PROBE: Any others? By-election European Parliament UK Parliamentary general election County Council Local Council Local Government National Assembly for Wales (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN WALES) Scottish Parliamentary elections (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN SCOTLAND) Northern Ireland Assembly (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN NORTHERN IRELAND) Mayoral elections Independence referendum (INCLUDE CODE ONLY IN SCOTLAND) None of these (DK BUTTON) Q3 Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote? By this, we mean advertising, publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. Yes No Don t know Page 3 of 15

71 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q4 Where did you see or hear this advertising, publicity or information? PROBE: Where else? DO NOT PROMPT. IF TV, PROBE FOR WHETHER PROGRAMME OR ADVERTISING AND SIMILARLY FOR RADIO AND NEWSPAPERS Television programme or interview Television advertising Radio programme or interview Radio advertising Newspaper article Newspaper advertising Leaflet or flyer from the Electoral Commission Leaflet or flyer from the Department of Environment (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Leaflet or flyer for a political party Leaflet or flyer from local council Leaflet or flyer from another source Lecture or talk People talking about it Posters or billboards Local council offices The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Advertising on internet websites Searched online/on the internet (no details) Online advert before catch-up TV programme (INCLUDE IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND & WALES ONLY) The Electoral Commission website On another specific website University / college student union Somewhere else (PLEASE SPECIFY) Don t know ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 Q5 Please can you describe exactly what you remember seeing, reading or hearing in any of this advertising, publicity or information about registering to vote and what you need to do? PROBE FULLY AND WRITE IN VERBATIM OPEN-ENDED QUESTION Page 4 of 15

72 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 Q6 Who do you think was responsible for that advertising, publicity or information? DO NOT PROMPT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY A political party A candidate standing for election Central Government The Electoral Commission Local Council Local Government The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Department of Environment (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) A campaigning organisation Someone else (WRITE IN) Don t know ASK ALL ELIGIBLE AT R1 ASK IN ENGLAND ONLY Q7 European Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year and on the same day, local elections are taking place in many areas in England and mayoral elections are also taking place in some parts of London and in Watford. On which date do you think these elections are being held? IF MONTH ONLY, PROBE FOR EXACT DATE. DO NOT PROMPT PRE-CODED: 22 nd May Other date in May May, don t know date Other (SPECIFY) Don t know ASK IN WALES AND SCOTLAND ONLY Q7 European Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held? IF MONTH ONLY, PROBE FOR EXACT DATE. DO NOT PROMPT PRE-CODED: 22 nd May Other date in May May, don t know date Other (SPECIFY) Don t know Page 5 of 15

73 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ASK IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY Q7 European Parliamentary and local council elections are being held in Northern Ireland this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held? IF MONTH ONLY, PROBE FOR EXACT DATE. DO NOT PROMPT PRE-CODED: 22 nd May Other date in May May, don t know date Other (SPECIFY) Don t know IF NOT CODED 22 nd MAY (CODE 1 AT Q7) SAY: In fact they are taking place on 22 nd May. ASK Q8A OF ALL ELIGIBLE IN SCOTLAND ONLY Q8a Do you think that 16 and 17 year olds are eligible to vote in these elections on 22 nd May? Yes eligible No not eligible Don t know ASK Q8B OF ALL ELIGIBLE ACROSS UK SHOW SCREEN Q8b Still thinking about voting in these elections, which of these 2 statements do you think is true? SINGLE CODE Anyone aged 18 or over can vote on 22nd May simply by turning up at a polling station on the day Only those aged 18 or over who register in advance can vote in the elections on 22nd May (DK- BUTTON) ASK Q8C OF ALL ELIGIBLE IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY Q8c Please tell me whether you think the following statement is true or false: In Northern Ireland you have to take photographic ID with you to the polling station to be able to vote in the elections on 22 nd May. SINGLE CODE True False Don t know IF FALSE OR DK AT Q8C SAY: In fact you do need to take photographic ID with you to the polling station to be able to vote in the elections on 22 nd May Page 6 of 15

74 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ASK Q8D OF ALL ELIGIBLE IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY DO NOT SHOWSCREEN Q8d What type of ID do you think is acceptable to take to the polling station? DO NOT PROMPT. Probe: Any others? A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part) A UK, Irish or EU passport An Electoral Identity Card A Translink Senior SmartPass A Translink 60+ SmartPass A Translink War Disabled SmartPass A Translink Blind Person s SmartPass (Don t know) ASK OF ALL ELIGIBLE ACROSS UK SHOW SCREEN Q9 Which of these statements best describes whether you are registered to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? SINGLE CODE ONLY Yes, I am definitely registered to vote Yes, I am probably registered to vote No, I am probably not registered to vote No, I am definitely not registered to vote I am not sure if I am registered to vote or not MULTI-CODE DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q10 If you wanted to register to vote, how would you do it? PROBE: Any other ways? Ask friends/family/work colleagues Contact my local council Contact local registration office Contact The Electoral Commission Contact The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Visit aboutmyvote.co.uk Visit the gov.uk website Phone an election helpline Search online/on the internet/visit website Download registration form from internet Wait for a form/leaflet to come through the door (and return it) Wait for a canvasser to come to the door Get information from television/radio/newspapers Other (Specify) Don t know Page 7 of 15

75 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 MULTI-CODE DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q If you wanted to get more information about registering to vote, where would you go or look to find this information? PROBE: Anywhere else? Go to/visit Electoral Commission website Go to/visit aboutmyvote.co.uk website Got to/visit gov.uk website Go to/visit The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Go to/visit other website Search online/on the internet Ask friends/family/work colleagues Contact my local council Contact local registration office Contact The Electoral Commission Contact The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Phone an election helpline Read leaflet(s) that have come through the door Wait for a form/leaflet to come through the door Wait for a canvasser to come to the door Get information from television/radio/newspapers Other (Specify) Don t know SHOW SCREEN Q12 To what extent do you agree or disagree that you have enough information about the forthcoming elections and what you have to do to register? Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither agree nor disagree Disagree slightly Disagree strongly (DK- BUTTON) ASK ALL DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q13 What date do you think is the deadline for registering to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? IF MONTH ONLY, PROBE FOR EXACT DATE. DO NOT PROMPT PRE-CODED: 6 th May Other date in May before this date Other date in May after this date May, don t know date Other (Specify) Don t know Page 8 of 15

76 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 Q14 Q18 NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q14 At what time do you think your local polling station opens on 22 nd May? PROBE FOR EXACT TIME. DO NOT PROMPT. 7am Other (specify) Don t know DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q15 And at what time do think your local polling station closes on 22 nd May? PROBE FOR EXACT TIME. DO NOT PROMPT. 10pm Other (specify) Don t know SHOW SCREEN Q16 Thinking now about voting systems and how you cast your vote in the elections on 22 nd May, which of these describes how you are required to vote? INVERT LIST You put a cross beside the candidate you support for your local area You rank candidates in order of preference, with a 1 for your first choice, 2 for your second choice and so on, for as many or as few as you wish (DK BUTTON) SHOW SCREEN Q17 In fact for the European Parliamentary and local council elections on 22 nd May you vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. How much would you say you know about how to cast your vote in these elections? INVERT LIST Know exactly how to vote Know a little about how to vote Don t really know how to vote at all (DK BUTTON) Page 9 of 15

77 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 MULTI-CODE DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q18 If you wanted to get more information about how to cast your vote in these elections, where would you go or look to find this information? PROBE: Anywhere else? Go to/visit Electoral Commission website Go to/visit aboutmyvote.co.uk website Go to/visit The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Go to/visit the gov.uk website Go to/visit other website Search online/on the internet Ask friends/family/work colleagues Contact my local council Contact local registration office Contact The Electoral Commission Contact The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (INCLUDE IN NI ONLY) Phone an election helpline Read leaflet(s) that have come through the door Wait for a form/leaflet to come through the door Get information from television/radio/newspapers Other (SPECIFY) Don t know ASK OF ALL ELIGIBLE ACROSS UK SHOW SCREEN Q19 Have you heard of the website aboutmyvote.co.uk? And if so, have you visited this website? Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk and visited in last 3 months Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk and visited but longer ago than in last 3 months Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk but not visited Have not heard of this website (DK- BUTTON) SHOW SCREEN Q20 How likely are you to vote in the elections on 22 nd May 2014? Certain to vote Quite likely to vote Not very likely to vote Certain not to vote (DK- BUTTON) Page 10 of 15

78 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 A1-7 POST WAVE ONLY. (CHANGES TRACKED VS JN6615) STIMULUS TO BE SHOWN AS AGREED (SUMMARISED BELOW): TV: BUNGEE TO BE USED VERSION PLAYED TO VARY BY REGION (ENGLISH ACCENT FOR ENGLAND; SCOTTISH ACCENT FOR SCOTLAND; N IRISH ACCENT FOR N IRELAND; WELSH ACCENT FOR WALES; WELSH LANGUAGE VERSION FOR WELSH SCRIPT) VIDEO ON DEMAND: BALLOT BOX MAN TO BE USED (ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION FOR ALL COUNTRIES INCLUDING WALES; WELSH LANGUAGE VERSION TO BE USED ONLY IN WELSH SCRIPT). NOT ASKED IN NI. RADIO: HOMEMOVERS EXECUTION TO BE USED EVERYWHERE APART FROM N IRELAND. (DIFFERENT ACCENT/LANGUAGE VERSIONS TO BE USED AS FOR TV. 30- SECONDS EXECUTION FOR N IRELAND.) ONLINE: 3 IMAGES SIDE BY SIDE FROM EACH OF COUNCIL TAX AND MOVING HAND TO BE SHOWN (ONE IN BANNER FORMAT AND OTHER IN MPU) (ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION FOR ALL COUNTRIES INCLUDING WALES; WELSH LANGUAGE VERSION TO BE USED ONLY IN WELSH SCRIPT.) IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY MOVING HAND TO BE SHOWN PRESS/OUT OF HOME: (SHOW IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY) IMAGE OF TRAPDOOR AD TO BE SHOWN I am now going to show and play you some advertising that has been used recently. ASK ALL This first ad is a TV ad. SCRIPTING INSERT TV AD PLAY TV AD A1 Have you seen this ad on TV recently? Yes No DK SCRIPTING: RANDOMISE ORDER OF A2, A3 AND A4 - A3A AND A3B MUST ALWAYS BE ASKED ONE AFTER THE OTHER) ASK IN ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND ONLY The next advert has been used on Video on Demand services such as Channel 4oD. SCRIPTING INSERT VIDEO ON DEMAND AD PLAY VIDEO ON DEMAND AD A2 Have you seen this ad recently when watching TV online through a Video on Demand service such as 4oD? Yes No DK Page of 15

79 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 ASK ALL I am now going to play you a radio advert. SCRIPTING INSERT RADIO AD PLAY RADIO AD A3a Have you heard this ad on the radio recently? Yes No DK A3b And have you heard a similar ad aimed at students on the radio recently? Yes No DK ENG/SCOT/WAL: The next screen shows pictures from two ads that have been used on the internet recently. NI: The next screen shows pictures from an ad that has been used on the internet recently. SCRIPTING INSERT ONLINE ADS SHOW ONLINE AD 1 ENG/SCOT/WAL: A4 Have you seen either of these ads or a similar one about registering to vote on the internet recently? NI: A4 Have you seen this ad or a similar one about registering to vote on the internet recently? Yes No DK ASK IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY The next screen shows a picture of an ad that has been used in newspapers, as well as on buses, phone boxes, bus shelters and billboards recently. SHOW PRESS AD A4A Have you seen this ad recently, either in newspapers or as a poster on buses, phone boxes, bus shelters and billboards? IF YES: Probe for whether seen in newspapers, on posters or both. MULTICODE 1 AND 2 Yes seen in newspapers Yes seen on buses, phone boxes, bus shelters and billboards No, not seen DK A5 Thinking about all of the ads you have just seen and heard, what do you think is the main message of this advertising? What is it telling you? OPEN-ENDED QUESTION Page 12 of 15

80 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 A6 Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? To what extent do you agree or disagree that RANDOMISE ORDER. INVERT SCALE: The ads told you something that you didn t know before The ads are aimed at people like you The ads stuck in your mind The ads made it quite clear that you have to register to be able to vote The ads made it quite clear where to go for information about how to register The ads made you think about checking whether you are registered SHOW SCREEN 01: Agree strongly 02: Agree slightly 03: Neither agree nor disagree 04: Disagree slightly 05: Disagree strongly (DK) IF RESPONDENT RECOGNISES ADVERTISING (YES AT ANY OF A1-A4A ABOVE), ASK A7 SHOW SCREEN A7 What, if anything, did you do as a result of seeing or hearing the advertising? PROBE: What else? Checked whether I am registered Registered to vote Visited aboutmyvote.co.uk website Called the helpline (INCLUDE IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES ONLY) Called the helpline (INCLUDE IN NORTHERN IRELAND ONLY) Suggested to someone else that they register/check whether they are registered Talked to someone about the advertising and what it was saying Other (PLEASE SPECIFY) Nothing (DK) Page 13 of 15

81 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 SHOW SCREEN Q21 Thinking now about your home, which of these best describes your situation? Home is owner occupied Home is rented from Local Authority\ Other Council\ Housing Association Home is rented privately Other (SPECIFY) SHOW SCREEN Q22 How long have you been living at this address? Less than or about a year Longer than a year up to two years Longer than 2 years up to 5 years Longer than 5 years (Don t know) ETHNICITY QUESTION TO BE INCLUDED HERE IF NOT PART OF STANDARD OMNIBUS DEMOGRAPHICS SHOW SCREEN Q23 Which, if any, of these would you use to describe your ethnic group? (IF NECESSARY: By this I mean your cultural background) White 01: British 02: Irish 03: Other White background (specify) Mixed 04: White and Black Caribbean 05: White and Black African 06: White and Asian 07: Other Mixed background (specify) Asian or Asian British 08: Indian 09: Pakistani 10: Bangladeshi : Other South Asian (Sri Lankan, Maldivian, Nepalese, Bhutanese) 12: Other Asian background (specify) Black or Black British 13: Caribbean 14: African 15: Other Black background (specify) Chinese or other ethnic group 16: Chinese 17: Other ethnic background (specify) (R) Page 14 of 15

82 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 1 V2 of 24/04/2014 N IRELAND ONLY Can you please tell me whether you are Catholic, Protestant, other or none of these? Protestant Catholic Other None Refused Page 15 of 15

83 Appendix B: Post-wave 2 questionnaire (Northern Ireland) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

84 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 FACE TO FACE: CAPI QUESTIONNAIRE Job Number Name of survey May Elections Campaign Tracking Research Questionnaire Version Number Post Wave2 V4 FINAL 09/05/2014 Author Katherine McIsaac Alastair Graham Methodology If face-to-face Questionnaire Duration Sample Size Sample Description Quotas Several targets Face-to-face Home: Omnibus CAPI n/a N Ireland c.80 (plus boost to achieve c. 300 in total) Adults 18+ excluding non-eu/commonwealth citizens Usual Omnibus quotas See above under sample sizes Page 1 of

85 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 ADULTS 18+ ONLY Moving on now to the next topic. SINGLE CODE ONLY SHOW SCREEN. R1 Please look at the categories on the screen and tell me which, if any of them, apply to you? I am a British or Irish citizen I am a Commonwealth citizen I am an EU citizen None of these Don t know IF NONE OF THESE OR DON T KNOW SKIP TO NEXT SECTION. ALL OTHERS CONTINUE. ASK ALL WHO QUALIFY AT R1 (ALL ELIGIBLE) The next questions are about elections and voting but don t include any questions about how you vote or your own personal politics. MULTI-CODE. DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q1 Which elections are you aware of that have already or will be taking place this year where you live? DO NOT PROMPT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY PROBE: Any others? By-election European Parliament UK Parliamentary general election Local Council Local Government Northern Ireland Assembly Other (WRITE IN) None/don t know ROTATE LIST. MULTI-CODE SHOW SCREEN Q2 Can I just check which, if any, of the following elections do you think have already or will be taking place this year where you live? CODE ALL THAT APPLY PROBE: Any others? By-election European Parliament UK Parliamentary general election Local Council Local Government Northern Ireland Assembly None of these (DK BUTTON) Page 2 of

86 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 Q7 European Parliamentary and local council elections were held in Northern Ireland this year. On which date do you think these elections were held? IF MONTH ONLY, PROBE FOR EXACT DATE. DO NOT PROMPT PRE-CODED: 22 nd May Other date in May May, don t know date Other (SPECIFY) Don t know IF NECESSARY: In fact they took place on 22 nd May this year. Q3 Thinking about the European Parliamentary and local council elections that took place on 22 nd May, did you see or hear any advertising, publicity or other information about these elections? By this, we mean advertising, publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you needed to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. Yes No Don t know ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q4 Where did you see or hear this advertising, publicity or information? PROBE: Where else? DO NOT PROMPT. IF TV, PROBE FOR WHETHER PROGRAMME OR ADVERTISING AND SIMILARLY FOR RADIO AND NEWSPAPERS Television programme or interview Television advertising Radio programme or interview Radio advertising Newspaper article Newspaper advertising Leaflet or flyer from the Electoral Commission Leaflet or flyer from the Department of Environment Leaflet or flyer for a political party Leaflet or flyer from local council Leaflet or flyer from another source Lecture or talk People talking about it Posters or billboards Local council offices The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland Advertising on internet websites Searched online/on the internet (no details) The Electoral Commission website On another specific website University / college student union Somewhere else (PLEASE SPECIFY) Page 3 of

87 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 Don t know ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 Q5 Please can you describe exactly what you remember seeing, reading or hearing in any of this advertising, publicity or information about the elections and what you needed to do? PROBE FULLY AND WRITE IN VERBATIM OPEN-ENDED QUESTION ASK ALL CODED YES AT Q3 Q6 Who do you think was responsible for that advertising, publicity or information? DO NOT PROMPT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY A political party A candidate standing for election Central Government The Electoral Commission Local Council Local Government The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland Department of Environment A campaigning organisation Someone else (WRITE IN) Don t know ASK Q8C OF ALL ELIGIBLE AT R1 Q8c Please tell me whether you think the following statement is true or false: In Northern Ireland you had to take photographic ID with you to the polling station to be able to vote in the elections on 22 nd May. SINGLE CODE True False Don t know IF FALSE OR DK AT Q8C SAY: In fact you did need to take photographic ID with you to the polling station to be able to vote in the elections on 22 nd May ASK Q8D OF ALL ELIGIBLE AT R1 DO NOT SHOWSCREEN Q8d What type of ID do you think is acceptable to take to the polling station? DO NOT PROMPT. Probe: Any others? A UK, Irish or EEA driving licence (photographic part) A UK, Irish or EU passport An Electoral Identity Card A Translink Senior SmartPass Page 4 of

88 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 A Translink 60+ SmartPass A Translink War Disabled SmartPass A Translink Blind Person s SmartPass (Don t know) SHOW SCREEN Q12 To what extent do you agree or disagree that you had enough information about the elections and what you had to do? Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither agree nor disagree Disagree slightly Disagree strongly (DK- BUTTON) Page 5 of

89 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q14 At what time do you think your local polling station opened on 22 nd May? PROBE FOR EXACT TIME. DO NOT PROMPT. 7am Other (specify) Don t know DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q15 And at what time do think your local polling station closed on 22 nd May? PROBE FOR EXACT TIME. DO NOT PROMPT. 10pm Other (specify) Don t know SHOW SCREEN Q16 Thinking now about voting systems and how you cast your vote in the elections on 22 nd May, which of these describes how you were required to vote? INVERT LIST You were required to put a cross beside the candidate you support You were required to rank candidates in order of preference, with a 1 for your first choice, 2 for your second choice and so on, for as many or as few as you wish (DK BUTTON) SHOW SCREEN Q17 In fact for the European Parliamentary and local council elections on 22 nd May you voted by ranking candidates in order of preference. How much would you say you knew about how to cast your vote in these elections? INVERT LIST Knew exactly how to vote Knew a little about how to vote Didn t really know how to vote at all (DK BUTTON) Page 6 of

90 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 MULTI-CODE DO NOT SHOW SCREEN Q18 If you had wanted to get more information about how to cast your vote in these elections, where would you go have gone or looked to find this information? PROBE: Anywhere else? Go to/visit Electoral Commission website Go to/visit aboutmyvote.co.uk website Go to/visit The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website Go to/visit the nidirect.gov.uk website Go to/visit other website Search online/on the internet Ask friends/family/work colleagues Contact my local council Contact local registration office Contact The Electoral Commission Contact The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland Phone an election helpline Read leaflet(s) that have come through the door Wait for a form/leaflet to come through the door Get information from television/radio/newspapers Other (SPECIFY) Don t know ASK OF ALL ELIGIBLE ACROSS UK SHOW SCREEN Q19 Have you heard of the website aboutmyvote.co.uk? And if so, have you visited this website? Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk and visited in last 3 months Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk and visited but longer ago than in last 3 months Aware of aboutmyvote.co.uk but not visited Have not heard of this website (DK- BUTTON) Page 7 of

91 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 A1-7 POST WAVE 1 QUESTIONS DELETED. B1-B7 TO BE ADDED B1-B7 POST WAVE 2 I am now going to show and play you some advertising that has been used recently. SCRIPTING: RANDOMISE ORDER OF B1-B4. ASK ALL I am now going to play you a radio advert. SCRIPTING INSERT RADIO AD PLAY RADIO AD B1 Have you heard this ad on the radio recently? Yes No DK The next screen shows pictures from an ad that has been used on the internet recently. SCRIPTING INSERT ONLINE AD B2 Have you seen this ad on the internet recently? Yes No DK SCRIPTING INSERT JPG OF PRESS AD SHOW PRESS AD B3 Have you seen this ad in a newspaper or as a poster on a phone box, bus shelter or elsewhere recently? IF YES: Probe for where seen. MULTICODE 1 AND 2 ALLOWED Yes seen in newspapers Yes seen as a poster on a phone box, bus shelter or elsewhere Yes seen but not sure where No, not seen DK SCRIPTING INSERT JPG OF POSTER AD SHOW POSTER AD B4 Have you seen this ad on a billboard or bus recently? Yes No DK Page 8 of

92 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 B5 Thinking about all of the ads you have just seen and heard, what do you think is the main message of this advertising? What is it telling you? OPEN-ENDED QUESTION B6 Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? To what extent do you agree or disagree that RANDOMISE ORDER. INVERT SCALE: The ads told you something that you didn t know before The ads were aimed at people like you The ads stuck in your mind The ads made you want to find out more about how to vote The ads made it quite clear where to go for information about how to vote The ads made it quite clear that you needed to take photo ID with you when you vote on 22 nd May The ads made it quite clear that polling stations were open between 7am and 10pm on 22 nd May The ads made it quite clear that you needed to check you had filled in your ballot papers correctly SHOW SCREEN 01: Agree strongly 02: Agree slightly 03: Neither agree nor disagree 04: Disagree slightly 05: Disagree strongly (DK) IF RESPONDENT RECOGNISES ADVERTISING (YES AT ANY OF B1-B4 ABOVE), ASK B7 SHOW SCREEN B7 What, if anything, did you do as a result of seeing or hearing the advertising? PROBE: What else? Made sure I had the correct photo ID to take to the polling station Visited aboutmyvote.co.uk website Called the helpline Talked to someone about the advertising and what it was saying Found out more information about the correct way to cast my vote Other (PLEASE SPECIFY) Nothing (DK) Page 9 of

93 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 SHOW SCREEN Q21 Thinking now about your home, which of these best describes your situation? Home is owner occupied Home is rented from Local Authority\ Other Council\ Housing Association Home is rented privately Other (SPECIFY) SHOW SCREEN Q22 How long have you been living at this address? Less than or about a year Longer than a year up to two years Longer than 2 years up to 5 years Longer than 5 years (Don t know) ETHNICITY QUESTION TO BE INCLUDED HERE IF NOT PART OF STANDARD OMNIBUS DEMOGRAPHICS SHOW SCREEN Q23 Which, if any, of these would you use to describe your ethnic group? (IF NECESSARY: By this I mean your cultural background) White 01: British 02: Irish 03: Other White background (specify) Mixed 04: White and Black Caribbean 05: White and Black African 06: White and Asian 07: Other Mixed background (specify) Asian or Asian British 08: Indian 09: Pakistani 10: Bangladeshi : Other South Asian (Sri Lankan, Maldivian, Nepalese, Bhutanese) 12: Other Asian background (specify) Black or Black British 13: Caribbean 14: African 15: Other Black background (specify) Chinese or other ethnic group 16: Chinese 17: Other ethnic background (specify) (R) Page 10 of

94 Questionnaire - May Elections Campaign Tracking- Post 2 V4 FINAL of 09/05/2014 Can you please tell me whether you are Catholic, Protestant, other or none of these? Protestant Catholic Other None Refused Page of

95 Appendix C: Additional Results Spontaneous awareness - Registration campaign Q3: Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote? By this we mean advertising publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK Pre (2185) Post (2302) England Pre (1646) Post (1672) Wales Pre (153) Post (175) Scotland Pre (332) Post (344) NI Pre (613) Post (333) Q4: Where did you see or hear this advertising, publicity or information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information * Small Base. Full details on data tables. Among all aware of activity Unprompted Any mentions EC/ advertising sources used by EC *Total) - Television advertising - Radio advertising - Newspaper advertising - Leaflet or flyer from the Electoral Commission Leaflet or flyer for a political party Leaflet or flyer from local council Any commentary sources* (total) UK England Wales Scotland Pre (522) Post (1332) Pre (369) Post (960) Pre (34)* Post (99) Pre (109) Post (205) NI Pre (129) Post (170) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

96 Q6: Who do you think was responsible for that advertising, publicity or information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information * Small Base. Only mentions of 5+ at GB level shown. Full details on data tables Unprompted UK England Wales Scotland NI Electoral Commission A political party/ candidate (Total) Any mention local council / local gov. (Total) Central government Don t know Pre (522) Post (1332) Pre (369) Post (960) Pre (34)* Post (99) Pre (109) Post (205) Pre (129) Post (170) Q5: Please can you describe exactly what you remember seeing, reading or hearing in any of this advertising, publicity or information about registering to vote and what you need to do? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information * Small Base. Full details on data table Among all aware of activity Unprompted UK England Wales Scotland Any mentions possibly linked to registration campaign (total) NI Any mention registration (sub-total) Any political party / candidate (total) Any mentions media/sources (total) Pre (522) Post (1332) Pre (369) Post (960) Pre (34)* Post (99) Pre (109) Post (205) Pre (165) Post (170) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

97 Impressions of the registration campaign by country A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country UK (2302) The ads made it quite clear that you have to register to be able to vote Total agree () 90 Total agree () 85 England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) n/a Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country The ads made it quite clear where to go for information about how to register 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) n/a Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

98 A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country The ads are aimed at people like you 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) n/a Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country The ads stuck in your mind 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) n/a Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

99 A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country The ads made you think about checking whether you are registered 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) n/a Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know A6: Thinking some more about the ads you have just seen and heard, what are your impressions of them? To what extent would you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country The ads told you something that you didn't know before 2014 Total agree () 2012 Total agree () UK (2302) England (1672) Wales (175) Scotland (344) NI (333) Agree strongly (+2) Agree slightly (+1) Neither (0) Disagree slightly (-1) Disagree strongly (-2) Don't know May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

100 Knowledge measures Registration campaign Q1: Which elections are you aware of that will be taking place this year where you live? (Spontaneous) Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Unprompted UK England Wales Scotland NI Any spontaneously aware of correct elections on 22 nd May (Total)* Any local elections (local council, local gov., county council) (Total) European Parliament Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Q1/Q2: Which elections are you aware of that will be taking place this year where you live? (Spontaneous and prompted) Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK England Wales Scotland NI Any aware of correct elections on 22 nd May (Total)* Any local elections (local council, local gov., county council) (Total) European Parliament Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

101 Q7a: (England only)european Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year and on the same day, local elections are taking place in many areas in England and mayoral elections are also taking place in some parts of London and in Watford. Q7b: (Wales/Scotland only) European Parliamentary elections are being held across the UK this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held. Q7c: (NI only)european Parliamentary and local council elections are being held in Northern Ireland this year. On which date do you think these elections are being held? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Unprompted May (Other /don't know date) 22nd May UK England Wales Scotland NI Pre Post (2185) (2302) Pre Post (1646) (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Any May () Q13: What do you think is the deadline for registering to vote in the elections on 22 nd May? (Spontaneous) All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave UK England Wales Scotland NI Unprompted May (Other /don't know date) 6th May Pre Post (2185) (2302) Pre Post (1646) (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Any May () May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

102 Q8b: Thinking about voting in these elections, which of these 2 statements is true? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave True that Only people who register in advance can vote in the elections on 22 nd May UK England Wales Scotland NI Pre Post (2185) (2302) Pre Post (1646) (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) Q10: If you wanted to register to vote, how would you do it? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Unprompted Contact my local council UK England Wales Scotland NI 12 Use internet (Total)* Contact local registration office Wait for a form/ leaflet to come through door Any contact the Electoral Commission/ aboutmyvote.co.uk (Total) Ask friends/family/ work colleagues Don t know Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

103 Q: If you wanted to get more information on the voting systems and how to vote, where would you go or look to find this information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave * NB: Includes those mentioning EC website or aboutmyvote.co.uk Unprompted Use internet/websites* UK England Wales Scotland NI Contact my local council Any Electoral Commission (total) Go to/visit Electoral Commission website Go to/visit aboutmyvote.co.uk website Any information through door Don t know Pre (2185) Post (2302) Pre (1646) Post (1672) Pre (153) Post (175) Pre (332) Post (344) Pre (613) Post (333) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

104 Spontaneous awareness Voter information campaign Q3: Have you seen or heard any advertising, publicity or other information recently about registering to vote? (Post 2) Thinking about the European Parliamentary and local council elections that took place on 22 nd May, did you see or hear any advertising, publicity or other information about these elections? By this we mean advertising publicity or other information about the elections themselves and what you need to do, rather than information from political parties about who to vote for. Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote in each country at each wave Pre (613) 22 Registering to vote Post 1 (333) 50 These elections Post 2 (328) 31 Q4: Where did you see or hear this advertising, publicity or information? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information * Small Base. Only mentions of 5+ at GB level shown. Full details on data tables. Among all aware of activity Unprompted Any mentions EC/advertising potentially from EC (total) - Television advertising - Radio advertising - Newspaper advertising - Posters or billboard - Leaflet or flyer from the Electoral Commission Leaflet or flyer for a political party Any commentary sources* (total) Pre (129) Post 1 (170) Post 2 (120) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

105 Q5: Please can you describe exactly what you remember seeing, reading or hearing in any of this advertising, publicity or information about forthcoming elections and what you need to do? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information * Small Base. Only mentions of 5+ at GB level shown. Full details on data tables. Among all aware of activity Unprompted Any mentions possibly linked to information campaign (total) n/a n/a 16 Any mentions possibly linked to registration campaign (total) Any mention registration (sub-total) 5 34 Any political party / candidate (total) Any mentions media/sources (total) Pre (129) Post 1 (170) Post 2 (120) Q6: Who do you think was responsible for that advertising? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave who had seen/heard advertising, publicity or information Only mentions of 5+ at GB level shown. Full details on data tables. Among all aware of activity Unprompted Electoral Commission A political party/candidate (total) Any mention local council / local gov. (total) Any NI Government (total) Central government Pre (129) Post 1 (170) Post 2 (120) May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

106 Knowledge measures Voter information campaign Q14: At what time do you think your local polling station opens on 22 nd May? Q15: And at what time do you think your local polling station closes on 22 nd May? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote Spontaneous 65 Aware opens at 7am Aware closes at 10pm Aware of either Aware of both Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) Q16: Thinking now about voting systems and how you cast your vote in the elections on 22nd May, which of these describes how you are required to vote? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave You rank candidates in order of preference with a 1 for your first choice, 2 for your second choice and so on, for as many or as few as you wish You put a cross beside the candidate you support for your local area 26 Don't know Pre (613) Post 1 (313) Post 2 (328) 2014 May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

107 Q17: In fact for the European Parliamentary and local council elections on 22 nd May you vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. How much would you say you know about how to cast your vote in these elections? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave Know exactly how to vote Know a little about how to vote Don t really know how to vote at all Don't know Pre (613) Post 1 (333) Post 2 (328) Q12: To what extent do you agree or disagree that you have enough information about the forthcoming elections and what you have to do? Base: All respondents aged 18+ in NI who are eligible to vote at each wave 27 Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither Disagree slightly Disagree strongly Don't know Pre (613) Post (333) Post 2 (328) Total agree () May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014

108 Appendix D: Weighting Targets As noted above, to ensure that the sample was representative of the adult population aged 18+, weighting was applied to the data at each wave. TNS in-house sampling team produced population profiles for each of the four countries and for the UK as a whole, which were based on profiles from Census 20 and TGI April 2012-March 2013 data. Details of the weighting and the unweighted and weighted sample profiles can be found at the end of each set of tables. In summary, however, the weighting targets for each country are shown in the table overleaf. Finally, for the combined UK data set, UK weighting targets were applied (see above), with an additional rim weight applied based on the same sources, in order to correct the over-representation of Wales and Scotland. The weighting targets for this additional rim weight were: England = 83.8 Scotland = 8.5 Wales = 4.9 Northern Ireland = May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS

109 Table 1 Weighting targets UK England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Age within Gender Male Male Male Male Male Male Female Female Female Female Female Female Working Status Part Time (<30 Hours) Full Time (30+ Hours) Not Working Social Grade AB C C DE Region (England only) East East Midlands London North East North West South East South West West Midlands Yorkshire and The Humber Religion (NI only) Catholic Protestant Other/Not Stated Region (NI only) Belfast North South West May Elections Campaign Tracking Research TNS 2014