University of Kentucky
Creativity Meets Politics: Pushing Originality, Emotion and Intrigue to Attract Young Voters
Institution
University of Kentucky
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Buck Ryan; Megan Dickson
Abstract
According to the Pew Research Center, young voters swung the 2012 presidential election. Can young voters swing the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, considered to be among the nation's most important races (Taylor, 2014)? As changes sweep through the political world, creativity is essential for survival. This test of creativity in the form of short public service announcements revealed that the key to getting young voters' attention was a combination of originality, emotion, and intrigue. This research was based on in-depth exploration of creativity across the fields of photography, advertising, music, theater, and poetry. In April 2014, 49 subjects, whose ages range from 18 to 29, viewed six public service videos with different combinations of originality, emotion, and intrigue, and both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. The hypothesis that emotion would be a stronger factor than either originality or intrigue was upheld. Using bivariate tests and running a logistic regression on the significant variables suggested that the determining factor of a successful PSA (ie. one that respondents would hypothetically choose to fund) was a combination of originality and emotion. However, due to the low sample size, caution must be taken in drawing conclusions. The study of creativity in the political arena is a promising area of study, and larger-scale research must be done. These and future findings can benefit campaign managers looking to attract young voters and scholars studying the impact of creativity on the millennial generation.
Creativity Meets Politics: Pushing Originality, Emotion and Intrigue to Attract Young Voters
According to the Pew Research Center, young voters swung the 2012 presidential election. Can young voters swing the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, considered to be among the nation's most important races (Taylor, 2014)? As changes sweep through the political world, creativity is essential for survival. This test of creativity in the form of short public service announcements revealed that the key to getting young voters' attention was a combination of originality, emotion, and intrigue. This research was based on in-depth exploration of creativity across the fields of photography, advertising, music, theater, and poetry. In April 2014, 49 subjects, whose ages range from 18 to 29, viewed six public service videos with different combinations of originality, emotion, and intrigue, and both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. The hypothesis that emotion would be a stronger factor than either originality or intrigue was upheld. Using bivariate tests and running a logistic regression on the significant variables suggested that the determining factor of a successful PSA (ie. one that respondents would hypothetically choose to fund) was a combination of originality and emotion. However, due to the low sample size, caution must be taken in drawing conclusions. The study of creativity in the political arena is a promising area of study, and larger-scale research must be done. These and future findings can benefit campaign managers looking to attract young voters and scholars studying the impact of creativity on the millennial generation.