Labour’s decision to reverse National’s tax cuts and spend some of that money on health and education is clearly a big ideological difference between the parties. However, it does mean that Labour has a harder job to communicate the benefits of its policy. This blog isn’t about the value of each option, but how easy it is to communicate the benefits to potential voters. The reason Labour has the harder job is because announcing they will add 8 billion to the...

One of the best ways to make a point stick with audiences is to relate it to a personal story. This brings the point to life, makes it concrete and adds emotion. This makes it attractive for reporters to use as the focus of their stories and sticks in the minds of those who hear or see it. This is clearly understood by Greens co-leader Metiria Turei, who admitted to withholding information from WINZ as a solo mother because it would...

We haven’t seen anyone master the use of the analogy to get a point across since John Key left the top job. But it now seems that someone in another top job has stolen the mantle. Steve Hansen’s description of the drawn series with the Lions as “a bit like kissing your sister” has led the news coverage of the result in New Zealand, and even more so in the UK. John Key was the master of the analogy. He regularly...

I doubt Shane Jones will have any impact in this year’s Election, but 2020 could be a different story. With Election campaigns being dominated by party leaders and Winston Peters always offering the media an exciting sound bite, he will undoubtedly dominate the New Zealand First media attention. The party would be silly to plan it any other way because many would argue that Peters is New Zealand First. But what about the next Election? If Peters doesn’t stand as a...

Anyone trying to generate some good publicity in the New Zealand mainstream media over the last week will have been completely out of luck. Why? There’s been so much big news, meaning there has been little space for anything other than political scandals and the Americas Cup victory. Often people who have good news to tell approach media without thinking about what else is competing for the limited space that’s available. The last week is a great example of when it...

The Labour Party will have to think seriously about how much attention they give to the Todd Barclay. While it may seem natural to attack Bill English, will it win them votes? If they look back to New Zealand’s last two Prime Ministers, they will see that attempts to discredit them failed on all counts. Many commentators predicted that John Key would lose popularity over ‘Ponytail Gate’, the GCSB issue and more. Helen Clark had her own challenges like ‘Paint Gate’...

Gareth Morgan seems to understand that without lots of media coverage, his party is history. Even with media attention, TOP will find it hard to get into Parliament because it has no state funding for campaigning, no state-funded staff and no automatic profile that comes with parliamentary seats. But Morgan’s knowledge of what levers to pull to attract interest from reporters and producers is why TOP has been able to get its message across to some extent and is now registering...

There have certainly been hiccups for the UK Conservatives in the lead-up to tomorrow’s Election, but before the latest terrorist attack in London, they were using social media well to hammer home their campaign message. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make in both media interviews and political campaigns is try to get too many points across and go into too much detail. They need a clear and simple message and repeat it again and again. A former Conservative Party leader...

They will be hoping that rugby dominates the news coverage of their New Zealand tour, but the Lions management and players should be prepared for that controversial non-rugby story that could break on either social or traditional media. The team will be under huge pressure on this tour, and that’s before we even mention the media. They have 10 tough matches, they’ll have commitments to sponsors, they’ll need to stay in shape with ongoing training, while they’ll also take time to...

Budgets are notorious for bringing out the best in financial terms and jargon, despite most audiences not understanding the majority of it. This is something for politicians to be aware of when they speak to media after tomorrow's big event. How many people do you think understand the difference between a Balance of Payments Deficit and a Current Account Deficit? I bet very few. That’s why it’s so important that politicians explain what they mean before they comment on these things...