Marketing experts expose the major problem with The Voice to Parliament Yes campaign

A confusing message, a lack of detail and too many high-profile advocates have damaged the Voice Yes campaign, leading marketing experts say.

However, the No camp has gained popularity due to its reliance on fear and negativity.

Both the Yes and No campaigns for the Indigenous Voice in Parliament have stepped up efforts to win over voters just weeks after the referendum date.

Polls over the past year have shown that the No camp has made a breakthrough and has remained at the top for the past two months, gaining even more ground.

Mr Urquhart said confusion and too many votes were the downfall of the Yes campaign.

‘You need a simple message. Like coke with the real thing. When you have a Yes campaign with John Farnham, Wesfarmers, Bunnings and everyone saying yes yes yes, people say: what does this mean? You have an audience that asks: what’s in it for me?” he said The Daily Telegraph.

“In marketing, the real problem is that you have to be very focused and not confuse people with a whole bunch of messages, and the problem is that you have too many spokespeople on too many topics.”

Regeneration Media director Dr Natalie McKenna said the No campaign slogan ‘If you don’t know, vote no’ was effective because it was ‘simple and clear’.

She also believed that the No camp had influenced voters through fear.

“The no vote is more of a fear campaign, and negative campaign strategies, even if widely frowned upon, are usually effective,” she said.

Marketing and political strategist Toby Ralph was scathing about both campaigns.

He described the Yes campaign as “one of the worst campaigns I can remember in a long time” and noted two strategic mistakes by the government.

The first mistake was the Prime Minister’s ‘one-sided sales pitch’ to voters, encouraging voters to vote yes despite being scant in detail.

Mr. Ralph noted that the second big mistake the government made was “taking a moral monopoly, pretending you’re a good person and a nice person if you support it, and you’re probably reactionary or racist if you don’t do’.

The marketing expert was no less critical of the no vote, describing their campaign as ‘hysterical’, ‘too right-wing’ and relying on ‘misinformation’ to convince voters.

The experts said the No campaign has been effective in influencing voters because of its ‘fear campaign and negative campaign strategies’ (photo, Jacinta Price and Warren Mundine at a ‘VOTE NO’ campaign event)

The latest Newspoll survey shows just over a third of Australians (36 percent) plan to vote ‘Yes to the Voice to Parliament’

The latest poll before the referendum shows that the yes vote has fallen to its lowest level yet.

Just over a third of Australians (36 percent) say they will vote ‘Yes’ to the Voice to Parliament, according to the Newspoll survey of 1,239 people.

It marks a drop of two points in the past three weeks – the lowest level yet for the beleaguered Yes campaign.

Meanwhile, opposition to the historic referendum has risen slightly to 56 percent, with less than three weeks until election day.

The Voice referendum will take place on October 14.