Change Makers

By Brian Byrne     11th Feb 2020  

On Sunday as Storm Ciara sent hail hurtling against my windows, I sat snuggly inside with a glass of red and watched the 2020 Irish general election results roll in. And oh, what entertainment! From Danny Healy Rae exclaiming “To hell with the planet” to the Dessie Ellis cohort singing “Come out ye Black and Tans”, I haven’t had as much fun since that time Maria Bailey said “Sean” 247 times in a 20-minute radio interview!

But apart from the questionable triumphalism, and well, the pig ignorance of some of our elected officials, one thing became very apparent—if you get your messaging right, if it resonates with enough people, and you repeat it again and again then you are on to a winner! Sinn Fein is now statistically the most popular party in Ireland.

What was their message? Change! “If you want change, vote for Sinn Féin”. “We are the voice of change.” “A vote for Sinn Féin is a vote for change.” “People who voted for Sinn Féin voted for change.” It was a simple, powerful message, and they hammered it home. When leader Mary Lou McDonald entered the RDS count centre on Sunday, she continued the mantra, “Obviously this election was all about change,” she told reporters. “Sinn Féin went to the people, and we convinced them in very, very large numbers that we are the alternative, that we are the vehicle for change.”

I am not naive enough to think that it was just their message that got Sinn Féin over the line; it wasn’t. The homeless crisis, problems in healthcare, a Taoiseach who seemed to be lacking in empathy and a Fianna Fáil party still distrusted after the economic crash, all played their part. People are genuinely tired of unaffordable rents, the lack of housing, and being repeatedly let down by the health service. So the appetite for change was already out there, and Sinn Féin cleverly tapped into that. But do not underestimate the power and the impact of a simple message, clearly delivered. Over and over again.

The performance of the party is astonishing given that last year Sinn Féin was hammered in the local and European elections. They dropped from 159 council seats to 81 and lost two MEPs: Lynn Boylan in Dublin and Liadh Ní Riada in Ireland South. So how did they turn it around? Well, they said they spoke to people ‘on the doors’ and they were fed up with their negativity toward the government and wanted a more positive outlook. They listened to what the people had to say, and they took note.

Sinn Féin is a polarising party, for all sorts of historical reasons and whether you like them or not there are lessons we can take from their campaign in terms of its messaging. As a business owner, designer or marketer, developing simple, effective messaging that resonates with customers is a powerful tool for building brand awareness.

Alina Wheeler in Designing Brand Identity gives a great synopsis—“Stay on message. The best brands speak with one voice. On the web, in a tweet, in a sales pitch, in a speech given by the president, the organisation needs to project the same unified message. It must be memorable, identifiable and centred on the customer.”

Good old Alina could actually be describing how Sinn Féin won the election there! The consistent message across all platforms. Check! The party leader and members all communicating with one voice. Check! A memorable, unified message based on their understanding of their target voters. Check!