Multi channel marketing push in AV referendum

A campaign group wanting to retain Britain's current first-past-the post system used in local and general elections is to launch a major multi channel marketing drive in the final days before the public gives its verdict on May 5th.

The no to AV campaign is to use digital and guerrilla marketing measures, Marketing Magazine reports.

It is opposed to a switch to the alternative vote (AV) system, in which seats where no candidate gets a majority on the first ballot are settled by redistributing the second-preference votes of the supporters of the weakest candidates.

A vote is being held as part of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with the former wanting to keep the current system and Nick Clegg's party advocating change.

The campaign group has already used direct marketing by sending leaflets to the public, while its outdoor advertising has included a poster arguing against the cost of AV on the grounds that the extra money needed to run elections could be better spent on hospital maternity wards.

Customer loyalty in terms of party political preference may not be decisive in the poll, as the Labour Party is split on the issue, with prominent supporters on both sides of the debate despite the clear support for AV given by its leader Ed Miliband.

The no campaign appears to be succeeding in its battle against AV, with the latest New Statesman/ICD poll giving it a 14 per cent lead.