In a bid to further educate and engage young voters in this year’s federal election, Snap Australia and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) have launched a series of in-app tools on Snapchat, leveraging the power of Augmented Reality (AR) and premium, made-for-mobile video to drive enrolments, educate on voter services and share key information around polling day.
Given only 85% of youth aged 18-24 are registered to vote, the campaign hopes to leverage Snapachat’s
seven million Australian users to increase engagement, drive young voter registration and encourage
positive discourse around the election and voting for young people.
Snap Inc. APAC general manager Kathryn Carter says the team is thrilled to partner with the AEC to
help educate the Snapchat community on the upcoming election. “We reach millions of young Australians everyday on Snapchat, many of whom are politically engaged but voting for the first time. Using the power of the Snapchat camera, we’ve partnered with the AEC to ensure young Australians have all the information they need to vote confidently in this election. Tapping into the educational capabilities of AR and making content highly shareable, the campaign has been designed to share with friends so Snapchatters can encourage one another to get involved and start a discussion about the upcoming election.”
The fully-integrated campaign will include a new AR Lens, filter and in-app video series, all designed to engage and further educate young voters.
With the power of AR, Snap has built an educational Quiz Lens that enables Snapchatters to find out how old they need to be to vote and if they know how to make their vote count, and drives young Aussies to check their enrolment status.
A highly political generation, Snapchatters are encouraged to make their voices heard with a national filter that states “My vote will help shape Australia,” as well as a sticker pack and a mass Snap that reminds Snapchatters about polling day and encourages them to vote. The stickers and Lenses are designed to share with close friends and generate discussion about the upcoming election.
An in-app video series will help drive voter education and enrolment. The series is split into three short episodes that explains how to enrol, why voting is important, and how to correctly fill in ballot papers.
Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesperson Evan Ekin-Smyth says it’s exciting to see the partnership unfold to support young voters to have their say this election. “It’s been great working with Snapchat to create fun and engaging content that will establish voting as a rite of passage,” he said.
“The AEC wants to help young people enrol and learn how to vote correctly, so this becomes a lifelong habit that will have a positive impact on themselves, their friends, families and communities. I encourage all Snapchat users to check out our Federal Election content and make their vote count in 2022.”
