Delvinia’s DIY Markham campaign, created to raise awareness of the 2010 municipal election in the Town of Markham and to increase citizen engagement in the municipality, has been recognized with an award for Best Government Online Video in the Web Marketing Association’s 2011 Internet Advertising Competition.
The social media awareness campaign, designed and implemented by Delvinia, was launched by the Town in September 2010 to inform local residents about the upcoming municipal election. The campaign centred on the use of humorous online videos—distributed through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—to engage voters and increase awareness about the delivery of municipal services and the importance of voting at the local level.
The easy-to-share videos depicted a world in which residents were responsible for their own municipal services—such as garbage removal and water treatment—and illustrated how, in the end, the easiest way to address these issues is to vote. The videos featured tongue-in-cheek scenarios of what do-it-yourself versions of parks and recreation, fire services, garbage collection and water services might look like.
“Since 2003, Delvinia has been involved in a partnership with the Town of Markham to help the municipality strategically use digital technologies to increase public engagement in government,” said Delvinia CEO Adam Froman. “It is rewarding to see our combined efforts having an impact at the local level and an honour to be recognized for our work with Markham.”
With Delvinia’s support and expertise, Markham became the first major Canadian municipality to introduce Internet voting in 2003. Since then, Delvinia has also worked with Markham on the “Click with Markham” and “Greenprint” initiatives as well as 2006 election. Last fall, Delvinia partnered with the municipality to increase citizen engagement in the 2010 election and the DIY Markham campaign was designed as one component of the Town’s larger “Your Vote Counts” campaign. Overall, the Facebook page received more than 3,300 views and of the 17,231 Markham electors who registered to vote electronically, 10,597 used the Internet to cast their ballots.
“By incorporating social media as part of Markham’s voter-awareness strategy in 2010, Delvinia assisted Markham in creating a unique initiative that helped the municipality to connect with voters,” said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “The project also laid the groundwork for greater potential outreach in the future. We’re thrilled to be recognized with this award and congratulate our team on their work.”
To view the rest of the DIY Markham videos, visit the DIY Markham page on YouTube.