Battle of the Brands February 2, 2012

The campaigns are in full motion. Each candidate has had more time this past week to get their name out amongst voters and have their voices heard to increase their support.  Of particular interest in this respect is “branding.” The chart below depicts knowledge (represented by the number of candidates an individual could name) according to who the candidate stated they were likely to support. Does knowledge about the candidate(s) predict vote intention?

Most noticeable here is that forty-five percent of Nolan Kreis’ supporters were unable to name any candidates and under five percent could name all four candidates. Considering that Kreis also shows the fewest supporters in the Campaign Period Poll, there is no surprise here. The trend is not due to any fault by Kreis himself, but instead is reflective of the focus that the other candidates have placed on Brantford, or lack there of.

In contrast, the most even spread of support is for Jenny Solda. Solda has managed to resonate with a wide variety of students. This is evident in the above chart, which shows her support most evenly distributed between those with both high and low knowledge.

Michael Onabolu receives a clear peak of support among students who have heard of him and no other candidates. There is no denying however, that he also has an impressive showing by students who are aware of some or all other candidates.

The biggest difference between the two frontrunners can be found in the diversity of the knowledge base of their supporters. While Solda seems to be holding her own amongst knowledgeable and unknowledgeable students alike, Onabolu seems to be stronger the less a voter knows about other candidates.

Written by Alex Haladyn (First Year, Political Science).