A mobile election?

Election fever is hotting up in the UK with the announcement of a pre-election budget today from The Chancellor of the Exchequer. The smart money has already been placed on a May 6th General Election in the UK, for what will surely be the closest contested election for some time, with the real prospect of a hung parliament.

Plenty has already been written about both the impacts for digital in the UK, and the use of digital technologies as campaigning tools (much of it by Rory Cellan-Jones of the BBC whose excellent blog is covering the subject in depth.)

I am most curious as to how the parties will use mobile to communicate their message. The three major parties all have iPhone apps available to download, suggesting that they feel the election will be less about Motorway Man and more about iPhone fan. This could be a significant miscalculation. For all of the success of the iPhone to date in the UK, the one certain thing is that there are still vastly more people without the device than with it. Still, the iPhone app is today’s “must have” resource for any brand or political party and once one party has one, I guess they all have to.

I am confident that whatever else happens during the campaign there will be numerous ‘Flashmobs’ generated by the parties, perhaps even replacing the old media tactic of the big poster unveil, which seems to have more risk attached to it in the Internet age than simply being defaced.

A more effective application of mobile might be through more traditional methods: text reminders to get people to vote; registration of interest in particular topics through mobile; quick and easy text opinions on policy announcements and initiatives.

Text messaging is often overlooked in the age of mobile data and millions of apps. Yet it still has huge appeal: it is quick, intimate, easy to use and well understood. Most importantly it is universal – it works on every device. In Westminster it may seem like everyone has an iPhone, but across the UK text could prove a far more effective tool for political engagement.