Chlöe Swarbrick a 22 years old girl who started a campaign encouraging Aucklanders to exercise their right to vote. Without realising it she was running for Mayor of Auckland.
With a small budget and using only the word of mouth and the media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and her website Chlöe came third in Auckland Mayoral race with 26,474 votes on the last Saturday 8th of October.
Her campaign was based on the love Chlöe has for Auckland and her desire for a better city for her and all the people who live in it. Her principles policies were on housing, transport, sustainability and art and culture. During the three months of her campaign through social media, she encouraged people to talk to others, share her policy and also to talk about the future of the city. At the same time to encourage family and friends to exercise their right to vote.
For Chlöe the word of mouth is a strong thing people have:
“Word of mouth is about people talking, people believing in something, people critiquing, doing their research”
On the last 2 days of the campaign, Chlöe created a link where followers were able to change their profile picture and add the captions Vote Chlöe Swarbrick. Lots of people actually did it and showed their support to her.
Her campaign was mainly on social media, and with the support of 19.062 followers on Facebook and 3,057 on Instagram her voice was heard and her posts shared.
I reckon this viral campaign showed a success, after only three months of campaigning this unknown 22 years old journalist, achieved third place in a contest against experienced politicians. She got to be known in the city and not only by young people but by adult people happy to support her with their vote.
Maybe she needs more experience in politics or more time campaigning. I hope she keeps training herself and through her website shows the Aucklanders what is she standing for during the next 3 years, before the next mayor elections. Chlöe has an amazing future in New Zealand politics, she just needs more experience and dedication.
Chris Trotter is comparing her with Helen Clark in his blog, have a look at it here
Franzú 