The assignment
Increase brand awareness of the TV-network Nickelodeon in Sweden and strengthen their position as experts on children.
Target audience
Parents, children, opinion leaders and decision makers throughout the country.
Idea
To talk about children’s attitudes towards politics during the election year – and let the children vote in their own election, ”The Children’s Election”.
The activity was inspired by Nickelodeon in the United States where they have implemented the activity called “Kids Pick The President” since 1988. The American children have forecasted the correct winner five out of six presidential elections.
The first step was a survey conducted by the survey company Norstat where 2 600 children between the ages of 7-14 was asked about their attitudes towards politics. The results from the survey showed that half of the children weren’t aware of the fact that an election was being held that year, but also that they think politics is important and that adults ought to listen more to the children’s opinions regarding politics.
With that knowledge, Nickelodeon was inspired to create The Children’s Election during what turned out to be the hottest Almedal’s Week ever. Scanpix was there to photograph the first children’s vote, right at Donner’s place. The preliminary result after the first day’s voting was revealed to the media gathered at the Almedal’s Week.
The Children’s Election continued for the duration of the summer on Nickelodeon’s campaign site where visitors also could learn more about the different political parties and their leaders. Five days prior to the ”real” election all votes were counted and the result was communicated to media (which showed a slight advantage for the Red-Green block)
SVT’s own program about the election, called the Eleventh Hour, brought up The Children’s Election to discussion.
Results
The Children’s Election got substantial attention in local, national and specialized media. SVT’s own program about the election, called the Eleventh Hour, brought up The Children’s Election to discussion. Both Aftonbladet and Expressen made full page articles, as well as web TV, about the results. The Children’s Election created a buzz during the Almedal’s Week and was discussed in social media such as blogs and Twitter.
