Video is a powerful communication tool in politics (of course, we've known that since Kennedy vs. Nixon), and Canadian political parties continue to experiment with how to make use of the form online. With a confluence of new videos, this week provides an interesting moment to look at how politicians and partisans are trying to reach Canadians.
The broadcast method
Example: 24Seven, a weekly look at what Stephen Harper has been up to, courtesy of the Prime Minister’s Office. Occasional other short videos are also posted to YouTube.
The first genre of online videos are those that seek to mimic the kinds of forms you would find on television. The most prominent case of this is 24Seven, a weekly video update from the PMO that shows footage of some of the things Mr. Harper did during the previous week, along with a voice-over narration that explains it.
“We have a responsibility to share with Canadians what the government of Canada is doing, the events the Prime Minister is doing, the announcements we make, things like that,” Jason MacDonald, Mr. Harper’s communications director, told The Globe and Mail in January shortly after the series began.
Similar to the way in which Mr. Harper’s Twitter account announced how cabinet ministers were being shuffled in July, this form of communication bypasses traditional news channels while borrowing some of its conventions, says Mark Blevis, a digital strategist with Full Duplex.
“The premise behind the 24Seven videos is quite smart, especially for an organization that feels it’s not being represented fairly in the media,” Mr. Blevis said.
There are two other examples that take different spins on the broadcast model. One is the new YouTube talk show Ford Nation, from Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug. On the other hand, the New Democrats’ main YouTube channel presents clips from speeches and Question Period that look like the kind of clips you would see on the news.
All three examples borrow another convention from watching television: It’s a one-way street. All have comments disabled so that viewers cannot respond directly to the videos, though they are free to share them on other platforms.
But Mr. Blevis said, “It’s better to allow evil comments … than to face criticism you didn’t allow the conversation to take place.”
Viewership: The first episode of 24Seven got more than 10,000 views on YouTube. Subsequent episodes have got anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand views.
Explainers
Example: “Justin Trudeau: An economy that benefits us all.” The Liberal Leader narrates over a whiteboard-style video about the economy.
Liberals released a video of Justin Trudeau explaining his approach a few days before a policy convention in Montreal. The “whiteboard” format breaks down a particular issue using drawings, charts and words. The drawing hand is an illusion – if you look closely, you can see it’s a digital composite.
“It’s a cost-effective way to explain complicated issues,” said Ian Capstick, president of MediaStyle and a former political strategist.
He said the danger is coming off like you’re talking down to your audience if you overexplain the issue, so it’s important to know who your audience is.
The video is longer than most at seven minutes, but public YouTube stats say the average view duration is about five minutes, suggesting that most viewers stayed until the end.
Viewership: 29,000 views. (Still short of a Liberal ad last fall that hit 1.2 million views.)
Parodies
Example: “A look back at 8 years of Conservative government,” by the Young New Democrats.
Members of the youth wing of the New Democrats spoofed Facebook’s popular “look back” videos by making a fictitious one about Mr. Harper. (The Ontario Progressive Conservatives have done a similar video starring Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, as have opponents of Mr. Ford.)
Humour can be a good way to pop a politician’s bubble and create a viral hit. “If you need to know what to do online, do this,” Mr. Capstick said.
But the risk is obvious: “Funny” is subjective. Sometimes videos that aim to be humorous can be misinterpreted and alienate non-supporters. And, of course, they could just turn not to be funny.
Viewership: 18,000 views.
Chris Hannay is The Globe and Mail’s digital politics editor.