'The personal touch': Why lawn signs survive in the digital age

When election signs started sprouting in his neighbourhood, Stan Gallant decided to jump on the bandwagon.

He commissioned his own custom sign for the front yard of his St. Albert, Alta.,home.

It carries his name, a graphic of a glass filled with red wine and the slogan: "Not running for anything. Just wanted a sign."

It was meant as a joke, to lighten the mood and have a laugh,said Gallant, a real estate sales representative.

"It cracks up the neighbours," he said."It was, in no way, meant to put down the political process. It's just a sign."

But in the race to the ballot box, a lawn sign is never just a sign. Common in every race and at every level of politics, it's considered a powerful campaign tool.

There's a reason these relics have stubbornly survived the digital age, said Zain Velji, a political strategist with the Calgary firm Northweather.

Signs work

They work.

"A thousand years of marketing history shows, awareness matters," Velji said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"If every sale was directed by a Facebook ad, every company would be successful constantly. And we know that's not the case."

Political candidates rely on campaign signs for name recognition.And not every sign is equal in the eyes of political strategists, Velji said.

Lawn signs on private property are the most prized, andconvey a powerful message to anyone passing by.

We make decisions based on trust and the people around us.- Zain Velji

"They broadcast your opinions to the people closest to you, and campaigns know that,"Velji said. "So they put a disproportionate time and energy into it."

"For a campaign, they don't have the resources to reach out to every single person, regardless of their ambition. So having someone to take on that responsibility, it's a very overt message.

"And we make decisions based on trust and the people around us."

Coveted real estate

There is a strategy around earning the best real estate for lawn signs, said Duane Bratt,a political scientist at Mount Royal University.

Campaign teams will identify key streets and the busiest intersections within given ridings and do their best to earn the support of voters livingon those coveted spots.

"There are particular houses, particularly on corner lots, that are seen as more valuable," Bratt said. "They've identified key intersections, key homes.

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Bratt helped conduct two studies on lawn signs, counting each one in a given riding. The surveys were conducted in key battleground ridings in Calgary during the 2014 provincial byelection and the 2015 federal race.

The counts showedlawn signs are a key predictor of who will ultimately win, Bratt said.

"You often hear, 'Signs don't matter.' But they really do matter on private land," he said.

"There is a reason parties continue to door knock and put up signs, even if it takes a lot of time and money."

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Bratt doesn't expect lawnsigns to wane in popularity, even as targeted ads on social media sites like Facebook become more common in political campaigns.

"It's the personal touch," Brattsaid. "With lawn signs, you don't have to worry about fake ads.

"A homeowner is willing to put this sign on their property and tell their neighbours who they're voting forand that's important.It's a show of support that is stronger than just voting."

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