Burlington’s 2022 Municipal Election
Informational Campaign
Campaign to educate residents about the 2022 municipal election in the City of Burlington.
In October 2022, the City of Burlington’s municipal election occurred. Elections for municipal government in Ontario are held every 4 years. Eligible voters are able to vote for their Mayor, their ward Councillor, their ward School Board Trustee and the Regional Chair. Working with the City Clerk and the Clerks department, care was taken into creating a visually stimulating and engaging campaign to educate voters about the upcoming municipal election while attempting to reach new immigrants and visible minorities.
The Vote 2022 identifier was created and applied on all tactics alongside the City’s logo to maintain consistency and enforce voter confidence. A minimalist approach to the campaign design was used to keep the message clear while diverse stock images were chosen so residents would feel a sense of connection and representation.
On election night in 2018, high volumes of traffic to the City of Burlington’s website caused it to crash. In preparation for the same response this election, a microsite was created while the normal city website still operated separately to assist residents with other inquiries.
The city’s website for the 2022 election on election night redirected to the microsite while offering visitors the option to view the normal site once there. The design of the microsite remained consistent with the rest of the campaign—minimal colour scheme and layout with diverse representation and clear messaging. Digital tactics were used to promote the new web address. Regular news updates were posted to the website and setup to notify subscribers by email.
Photos of people in your neighbourhood were carefully chosen to have residents see themselves represented—these people could be your aunt, your neighbour or your co-worker. These stock images showed people in surroundings that could be Burlington. A small amount of budget was also assigned to photograph and interview real Burlington residents who shared what voting means to them (not shown).
A variety of tactics were produced with some photos strategically placed based on the audience—an older adult appeared on posters in seniors’ centres, a youth appeared on digital screens in community centres, etc. Direct mail postcards were distributed to all residents in Burlington, with alternate versions available in other languages.
