Political Marketing

Journal of Public Affairs J. Publ. Aff. 6: 269–282 (2006) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.218

Segmenting voters online: the youth vote Lorna Chicksand* and Marylyn Carrigan The University of Birmingham, USA *

This paper will build on previous work that has examined the impact of the Internet on political processes, such as the work of Gibson and Ward (1998, 2003) and Dermody and Wring (2001). Most of this work has focused on developing frameworks with which to analyse the ‘effectiveness’ of these websites. Our approach complements this earlier work by utilizing an interpretive methodology (Thompson, 1996) to gain a deeper insight into end-users perceptions of political parties’ websites. This paper will discuss the activities of young people on the Net and outline some of the reasons why political parties’ websites are failing to attract a younger audience. A consideration of the technical factors that make a ‘good’ website will be followed by in-depth interviews with young people to elicit their views and experiences of political parties’ websites. At a time when voter apathy is at an all time low, this study is especially relevant. Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction The growth in the importance of the Internet as both an information source and a tool for interactive communication, among other things, has been phenomenal. In the US alone, there are over 100 million Internet users (Aarp National Survey, 2003). One in five Europeans were using the Internet in 2000, whilst in Britain there are more than 18 million people with Internet access (Szmigin et al., 2001). The importance of the Internet in terms of its impact on democracy and political processes is a contested subject, but the potential of the Internet cannot be underestimated. We now live in a world where social protests can take place online and ‘virtual activists’ are making

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*Correspondence to: Lorna Chicksand, The Birmingham Business School, University House, Edgbaston Park Rd, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2RT, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

themselves heard in ways that would previously have seemed impossible. If we look to the US and the use of the Internet for political purposes, we can further see how this potential is coming to fruition. Between 2000 and 2002,the number of people who visited a government website grew from 40 to 68 million (Larsen and Rainie, 2002). Of those visiting a government website, 62% were seeking out information regarding an issue that concerned them. Furthermore, 34% had e-mailed a government official and 19% had used the Internet as part of an organized lobbying campaign. More recently, a study conducted by Pace University of new registered voters found that 44% relied on the Internet as a major source of campaign information (clickz.com, 2004). A study by Darr et al. (2004) found that online activists involved in the presidential election tended to be politically engaged elsewhere. They were seven times more likely than Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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the general public to have attended political rally, speech or protest; nearly five times more likely to have contacted a politician; over four times more likely to have donated money to a political candidate; and three times more likely to belong to groups trying to influence public policy.

Young people and the internet Young people are ‘switching off ’ from electoral politics in their droves with only 40% of 18–24 year olds voting in the 2001 general election (ESRC, 2000). Conversely, young people are spending more and more of their time surfing the Net. As of 2000, 73% of 18 to 24 year olds and 62% of 25 to 34 year olds in the UK were using the Internet (Bristol Group, 2000). Young people are now using the Internet for a myriad of online activities including communication-related activities, entertainment, media consumption, information gathering and transactions (Strauss et al., 2003). Indeed, Gibson et al. (2003, p. 663) suggest that there is an intrinsic relationship between young people and the Internet. As such, it is no surprise to find that more and more young people are choosing to express themselves politically on the Internet. According to an ESRC study, the 15–24 year-old agegroup are three times more likely to be politically active through the Internet than through traditional political activities (ESRC, 2002). In addition, a poll conducted by ICM for HEDRA found that 51% of people aged between 18 and 34 said that they would be more likely to vote if they could do so online (Dhanendran, 2003). Figures from the US back up this finding. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project (2004), about one-in-five young people, aged 18–29, have got their campaign information from the Internet. However, as Ward (ESRC Public Release, 2002) points out: ‘[w]hile most political organisations are online, they are failing to tap its growing potential to get their message across. Yet with over half the population now online, there is surprisingly strong appetite for political information. The Internet may not revolutionise political Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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participation, but it can make a difference especially with young people.’ Therefore, a study that seeks to elicit the views of young people on political parties’ websites is highly appropriate. As Ward has noted above, the Internet might not have revolutionized political participation, but there are a myriad of uses that a savvy political party could have at their disposal. In terms of a political resource for parties, as part of their overall political strategy, the Internet can be used as a tool to reach and engage targeted segments of the online public. Information can be customized for these online users and marketing communications can be targeted to specific groups. As Challen (2001, p. 254) argues: ‘[t]he Internet will eventually enable politicians and parties to address a mass audience in qualitative new ways, tailoring their message and information dissemination to individual and local concerns’. In the US, political websites are seen as one of the core strategic assets of the campaign, being used to raise money, organise grassroots supporters, targeting core communities of voters, boosting support and communicating the core message (Hillwatch, 2004, p. 1).

The importance of ‘good’ website design Effective user interface design has been recognised as a critical success factor for Websites (Kumar et al. 2004). In order to determine whether political parties’ websites were ‘fit for use’ for young people, a set of evaluation criteria were needed. Although there is a burgeoning literature on website design and website usability for commercial websites and a more specific literature on the usability of political websites, Kim et al. (2003, p. 1) note that there is, ‘no comprehensive and coherent set of evaluation criteria exists that corporations and researchers can use to examine Websites’. However, Carrigan et al. (2004) have demonstrated the usefulness of Katerattanakul’s Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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(2001) framework for analysing effective Website design. The four elements of the framework are: ability, motivation, benefit and cost. We can apply these elements to design on the Web in the following way:

Ability

The ability to search is based on the users’ capability to locate particular information included in the Website. Knowledge about the organization of the site will assist users to navigate the information. This is often referred to in the literature as ‘usability’. Nah and Davis (2002, p.99) define usability as: ‘the ability to find one’s way around the Web, to locate desired information, to know what to do next, and, very importantly, to do so with minimal effort. Central to this idea of usability is the important concepts of ease of navigation and search’. In fact several commentators have stressed the importance of navigation as one of the prime factors determining a website’s success (Congress Online Project, 2003; Lin and Hu, 2000; Zhang and von Dran, 2001–2; Jackson, 2003; Esterling et al., 2004). Kim et al. (2003) argue that: ‘[n]avigation is the essence of the Website because moving around using links is what the Web is all about’. Similarly, Zeithaml et al. (2001) argue that ease of navigation with a good search engine and the ability to manoeuvre through the site easily are the cornerstones of good website design, a point also made by Waite and Harrison (2002) who point out that search efficiency through the use of specific tools such as search engines and site maps will aid users in their ability to retrieve the information they require. Factors such as ease of navigation and search might seem straightforward but the importance of them cannot be overstated in terms of branding the political website. According to the ICS (2000): The site a candidate constructs for his/her campaign may be the only means available for many voters to learn about the candidate and participate in the campaign. Therefore, Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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it is crucial that visitors are drawn into the site and enjoy looking through the information. The overall quality of appearance and ease of navigation with largely determine the success of the site (ICS Report Cards Criteria, 2000). This importance of the ‘quality of appearance’ of the website has been noted by other commentators. According to Constantinides (2004), the aesthetics of the site and the homepage in particular are important indicators of website credibility. Motivation

The motivation to search for information is influenced by the desire to expend effort in the collection and processing of information. Katerattanakul (2001) suggests increased customization of the information provided to match consumer interests to the products and information. Turban et al. (1999) argue that customization gives the visitor a value-added experience and encourages revisiting and building of brand loyalty. A suggestion might be the adjusting of page content to match individual customers demographic and preferences, or personalisation. This approach is supported by Zeithaml et al. (2001) and Huizingh (2002), who argue that customization is an essential element of website design. Benefit and costs of information search

Katerattanakul (2001) emphasizes the importance of information and its quality obtained during the consumer’s information search process, as do Liu and Arnett (2000). Issues such as current figures and up to date material; appropriate grammar and non-technical language will add to the benefits for the user. Waite and Harrison (2002) also argue that the provision of speciality information can provide a decision-making environment that reduces the temporal and mental search costs associated with using Websites. Other commentators who stress the importance of information quality and reliability include: Lin and Hu, Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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2000; Zhang and von Dran, 2001–2; Aladwani and Palvia, 2002; Barnes and Vigden, 2002; Kim et al., 2003; and, Conway and Dorner, 2004. Political websites carry a great deal of information. According to research by Challen (2001, p. 258), MPs’ websites are primarily used as an information source. He found that as of 2001, only 12.4% of MPs even had websites (p.258). Information included on political websites includes: biographical details (89%); speeches and press releases (86.5%); e-mail within website (80.4%); links to other sites (68.2%); and surgery details (52.4%). Similarly, work by Gibson and Ward (2004, pp. 154–155) has outlined the type of information which should be found on a political website, including: organizational history; structure; values/ ideology; policies; documents; newsletters; media releases; people/Who’s Who; leader focus; candidate profiles; electoral information; event calendar; conference information; FAQs; privacy policy; article archive/library; and group pages. Katerattanakul (2001) maintains that the quality of presentation and usefulness of the content determines whether or not customers will be drawn to, or driven away from a Website (Gehrke and Turban, 1999). A framework was developed conceptualizing the underlying aspects of information quality that are important to consumers. Reliability is one factor; both in terms of typographical accuracy, and the accuracy of the information given. Relevance is another issue; information can be irrelevant due to incompleteness, or because the information seeker perceives it not to be pertinent to their search. Information format relates to the conciseness, consistency and design (i.e.images, icons, colour, font) of the Web page (see D’Angelo and Little, 1998), and the interaction of these factors in their effect upon the user to interpret and use the site. Finally, Accessibility, in terms of technical accessibility of the system is a key issue. Websites need to provide enough navigational mechanisms to enable users to reach their destination in the fewest possible steps, that stylistically they are similar on each page, and

that linkages are consistent (Rayport and Jaworski, 2001). In addition the ability to download or analyse that data is important, as is the amount of data disclosed (Ashbaugh and Johnstone, 1999); the issue of information overload may be as relevant in electronic format as it is in traditional paper documents. Whilst Katerattanakul’s framework is quite comprehensive, two other factors can be identified from the literature as being important components in the design of political parties’ websites: interactivity; and, innovative/entertaining website design features. As Constantinides (2004, p. 113) notes, the ‘web experience’ is as important for sites as providing informational content. He argues that, ‘[t]he virtual customer’s total impression and actions are influenced by design, events, emotions, atmosphere and other elements experienced during interaction with a given Website, elements meant to induce customer goodwill and affect the final outcome of the online interaction’. Supporters of this view include: Dermody and Wring, 2001; Congress Online Project, 2003; Gibson et al., 2003; Villalba, 2003; Ellinger, 2004; and, Hillwatch, 2004. The importance of interactivity can be illustrated by a survey of 1000 15- to 25-year old Americans, conducted by The Council for Excellence in Government. This study found that respondents would be more supportive of a candidate campaign employing opt-in communication methods, such as online chat, issue e-mails, blogs, and Meetup events. Other, less personalized, less interactive tactics such as e-mails urging a vote, banner ads, weekly e-mail updates and weekly text messages were not favoured overall (MediaPost, 2004). Additional research examining interactivity on political websites has found that it contributes to a corresponding increase in ‘liking’ the candidate (Ahern and Stromer-Galley, 2000) and increases the level of psychological affinity felt by a voter toward the candidate featured on the site (Sundar et al., 1998). However, in the UK, evidence of interactive features on political websites are very limited. According to Challen (2001, p.258), only 6% of

Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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MPs’ websites featured chatroom facilities and only 3.6% had online polling. In terms of the usefulness of employing entertaining and innovative features on a website, several authors have flagged this up as an issue to be considered in website design. Challen (2001), Chen et al. (1999) and Loicano et al. (2002) discuss entertainment content; Esterling et al. (2004) note that a website should introduce innovative features to attract end-users; Zhang and Dran (2001–2002) stress that a website should be enjoyable, whilst Liu and Arnett argue that a website should convey a sense of playfulness. From what has been discussed in the literature, it would seem reasonable to assume that an effectively designed and developed website, could prove to be a powerful communications tool for MPs/political parties to target younger people. However, the key question that this research seeks to address is not so much whether the parties’ websites have these features, which most of the literature has focused on, but whether young people want to see these features on a political website. This paper will seek to address this shortfall by eliciting the views and experiences of younger people in relation to the three major political parties’ websites in the UK: The Labour Party (http://www.labour.org.uk) The Liberal Democratic Party (http://www. libdems.org.uk) The Conservative Party (http://www. conservatives. com).

The study In order to explore the views of young people and their experiences with political parties’ websites, a series of qualitative interviews and email surveys were conducted. For this study we chose to focus on the 16 to 34 age-group. Purposive sampling criteria were that each participant be between the ages of 16 and 34 and allowing for a range of male and female respondents. A considerable level of expertise in using the Internet was not essential, but some previous Internet experience was necessary. We made contact with younger people Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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through a number of routes: a notice was put on WebCT, a web-enabled system to support the learning and teaching programmes of the Birmingham Business School, and distributed to both undergraduates and postgraduates, asking for participants; further education colleges were contacted asking for volunteers; and, e-mails were sent to the ‘youth’ wings of the three political parties. Individuals who agreed to participate, and who met the criteria laid down were contacted by e-mail and asked if they would be willing to participate in a university-based research project to gain a better understanding of young peoples’ experiences with political parties’ websites. Those who were willing to participate were either interviewed while accessing the Internet from a computer located in the researchers’ offices, or, were e-mailed the task and survey. In pursuing these questions a series of audiotaped, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with six young people. A further twenty-one respondents completed the task and survey questions remotely and emailed their responses to the researchers. The choice of six respondents for in-depth analysis was set in the light of guidelines and precedent for this form of research study that emphasises developing a more in-depth analysis of the life stories expressed by a relatively small number of participants (Levy, 1981; McCracken, 1986; Thompson et al. 1989; Mick and Buhl, 1992; Thompson, 1996; Fournier and Yao, 1997; Holt, 2002). Verbatim transcripts from the audiotaped interviews and the e-mailed survey responses served as the primary texts on which the following interpretive account is based (Thompson, 1996). The conversations developed from loosely structured questions that introduced the themes that have arisen from previous literature on political parties and Internet usage. Initially the respondents were asked for their views about the Internet in general, and to narrate any benefits or difficulties they had experienced while using the Net. Following this, each respondent was invited to access the Internet on the computer, and then requested to seek out one of the Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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political parties’ websites. An exploratory pilot study had revealed that the interview respondents found the research an intensive and tiring exercise; this underpinned our decision to contain each respondent’s website examination to just one of the three political parties. Limiting the research to the three main political parties was important so that the websites could be compared, enabling us to elicit similarities and differences in their responses. Respondents were asked to comment upon the websites and their design, and to carry out an identical information seeking task on each website. The task involved locating information about university tuition fees; finding out whether the site could be used to feedback their views on this issue; and, seeing if they could use the site to receive information that was tailored specifically to young people. Their comments and conversation during this exercise were tape-recorded, and after completion they were asked to comment upon how they felt about the websites they had been searching. The authors conducted the interviews or were emailed the completed survey responses, and the interpretation process followed the same hermeneutic process prescribed by previous research (McCracken 1986; Thompson 1996; Dobscha 1998). This entailed reading, documenting and systematizing the interview and survey transcripts. For each interview and survey the transcript was closely read by two of the authors to gain a sense of a whole. During the reading, each author begins the process of noting key phrases and patterns of meaning; through each iteration the interpretation is developed and an effort made to grasp thematic similarities and linkages in the experiences described. Once each author had independently studied interviewees’ transcripts and survey responses, described and developed insights and noted these in memo form, they then compared their individual interpretations (Szmigin and Carrigan, 2001). This led to a shared understanding of key central themes. Information characteristics are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Interviewee profiles

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Name

Age

Sex

Education

Jean Sam Amelia Monica Leonardo Vivienne Patricia Susan Emily Pritesh Neil Janet Jade Sophie Sarah Martin Jack Simon Kim Linda Anna Ian Kirsty Ivan Matthew Sarah Janet

22 20 20 20 28 24 22 25 21 18 33 27 18 18 18 21 29 21 19 17 19 29 18 25 29 17 29

F F F F M F F F F M M F F F F M M M F F F M F M M F F

U/G U/G U/G U/G Masters PhD U/G PhD U/G A’ Levels Masters Masters A’ Levels A’ Levels A’ Levels U/G Masters U/G U/G A’ Levels U/G Masters A’ Levels Masters Masters A’ Levels Masters

Party Conservative Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrat Conservative Labour Conservative Conservative

Findings and discussion As a general overview the study revealed that younger people are by no means a homogenous group. Yet there are similarities that emerged in relation to their Internet experiences that closely echo the cited literature in the field. Accessing the Internet on a daily basis is very much the norm with the young people that we interviewed, with some spending up to six hours a day online. It was also apparent that younger people used the Internet to support the interests and activities pursued in their lives. The most common usage of the Internet for the students we interviewed and surveyed was as an aid to their studies and research. Other uses included: communication; paying bills; booking accommodation and travel; ‘surfing’ the Net; playing games; music; and searching for jobs. Although the Internet offered these students access to a vast array of

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information, many of them cited the problem of information overload and often had difficulties with managing the available information: Kim: ‘Search engines give too many possible sources and it takes considerable time to sift through the masses of information. It is frustrating when looking for research for my studies’. In terms of first impressions of the design and layout of the homepages many of the students found them far too cluttered and several had considerable difficulties in locating the ‘youth’ sections of the websites. The literature has identified the importance of the visual appeal of the homepage in respect to branding strategy and stresses the need to keep the website and brand messages aligned. However, the majority of respondents felt that this had not been given sufficient attention and clarity and simplicity had been overlooked: Susan: ‘I had just seen the Conservative site and my first reaction was ‘‘uck’’ upon seeing the Labour one. The Conservative site was a lot better laid out with all the content almost one browser page. The Labour site front page has huge fonts, is very chaotically laid out without having links elsewhere on the sidebar and runs over several browser pages. It was lurid, contained a large number of different clashing colours, the ticker strip at the top didn’t really contain any interesting information and would have been better turned over to news’. Neil: ‘It wasn’t really a website I would expect from a party of government; it was THAT badly designed. I was very surprised by how awful their website was given I expected the party to be more slick and professional’. The use of colour and the style of the homepage is a very important aspect of political parties’ brands, but again this has not always been carefully considered. The students gave quite negative responses to the use of Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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colours on all three of the websites and several referred to the websites as ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘serious’. They felt that the websites did not offer much to appeal to younger voters: Leonardo: It looks very old . . . even the colours are not very attractive. Anna: ‘I found the use of yellow a little over powering. I appreciate that yellow is the Lib Dem’s official colour, but I think more subtle shades of yellow should have been used!’ Sarah: ‘It’s quite dark, the blue. I think it’s quite serious. It’s not colourful and lighthearted. It’s very factual, focused on policy. I think it could do with being a bit simpler . . . it’s a bit fussy for me . . . there’s no pictures of any politicians and I think that’s quite interesting . . . well, there’s one . . . I think it would give me more of an impression of the party . . . there’s no ‘‘real’’ Conservatives on there’. Respondents highlighted the usage problems cited in the literature, particularly frustration at sites that were less than obvious to navigate. The importance of good site design is that less time is wasted on futile searching that offers more cost than benefit to the user. Katerattanakul (2001) highlights ‘ability’ as a key factor in supporting information search, and it was evident from our respondents that site designers did not always chart out an obvious route for them to follow to the information that they seek. Common refrains from the students included: ‘cluttered’, ‘disorienting’, ‘confusing’, ‘complicated’ and ‘disorganised’. Many of the students stated that it was not clear what information was to be found under the various headings: ‘policy paper’; ‘policy briefings’; ‘motions’; ‘newsheadlines’; and, ‘newsrooms’ etc. Furthermore, they were unsure whether to begin their search with information displayed at the top of the page, in the middle section or the columns either side: Linda: ‘There were two main menu sections which meant it was difficult to know Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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which one to use. In addition, the page looked as if they had tried to cram too much onto it. There was election results as well as recent news and too many links which made the site look cluttered and meant that I didn’t really know how to start’. Martin: ‘The site is disorganised. The homepage is slightly confusing as there are links on the sidebar, at the top and on the right of the page. There were often various similar headings and it wasn’t clear which one was the right one. There were also a lot of links and it seemed like you often had to go through loads of other pages before getting to the one you want’. Simon: ‘There were quite a lot of pages which made is slightly confusing—it was hard to know where to start! Every link seemed to open a new window which just left my desktop in a mess and wasn’t helpful’. Monica: ‘there were two main menu sections which meant it was difficult to know which one to use. In addition, the page looked as if they had tried to cram too much onto it . . . there was election results as well as recent news and too many links which made the site look cluttered and meant that I didn’t really know how to start . . . extra advert style links around the borders gave an unorganised impression since it appeared that they had not been simply organised into the relevant menu option’. Kirsty: ‘It was a bit confusing as there is no way of knowing what comes under policy papers, policy briefings, motions, etc until you download the files’. In terms of finding information specific to young people, just finding the youth sections of the websites was problematic for some of the respondents: Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Anna: ‘The original homepage does not encourage or ‘‘publicise’’ the youth site very well. If I had not been specifically asked to find the youth site I probably wouldn’t have found it’. In terms of their ‘look’, the youth sections of the websites were branded quite differently from the main parties’ websites. The respondents generally preferred the simplicity and cleaner lines of these sections. However, some students still did not feel that the sites were engaging them as younger voters and were not capturing their attention: Ian: ‘I thought that the ‘‘youth’’ website was pretty boring and I would not visit it again out of choice. I would like to see a more lively page, something which when I visit it, makes me feel as though it has been specially created for me (well, my target age group). Currently the website appears to be very standard and aimed at anyone who is willing to look’. Valerie: ‘The LDYS website only covered one browser page. It looked very sparse and there were no pictures which made it look a bit ‘‘dehumanised’’. The youth pages were just functional and had limited graphics . . . I think if the LDYS site had games I would visit the site itself and not just the forums more than I do and I think it needs more graphics on the front page . . . The LDYS website comes across as being ‘‘text heavy’’ and lacking in ‘‘people’’ somehow, although this isn’t my perception of LDYS at all’. Amelia: ‘[Pointing to graphics at the top of the webpage] . . . waste of space. It doesn’t say much to me. They don’t tell me much about what they are about. They don’t seem to convey a clear and appealing message . . . [Scrolling to the bottom of the page] . . . you shouldn’t have to go all the way to the bottom to find their ‘‘brand’’ . . . the logo doesn’t catch your eye’. Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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As has been mentioned, although some respondents were negative about the style of the youth sections, several preferred how the information was displayed: Matthew: ‘Compared to the homepage, this is a much better design. The information is presented better. It is less cluttered . . . less information and good use of links. They haven’t tried to put everything of relevance on the one page . . . if you want anything more, you just click’. Vivienne: ‘The Conservative Future site was much less ‘‘stuffy’’ in appearance than the main site. It was neatly coloured and visually appealing and much easier to navigate through than the main site. There didn’t appear to be as much content as the main site although there was an interesting article about whether the Conservatives should support Kerry or Bush. I think the main party should change their colour scheme and the appearance of the site to look more like the CF one. However, in terms of getting a ‘‘feel’’ of CF it wasn’t ideal’. Pritesh: ‘The Young Labour page was miles better than the main party site. Everything was clearly laid out, lots of white space, not cluttered or chaotic and the main body of information was on one browser page’. Jade: ‘I preferred the design. The policy and information was much easier to find as it was divided into categories’. Katerattanakul (2001) cites the importance of motivation in relation to how much effort is involved in searching information; matching user expectations is essential to making sites accessible for users. The respondents in the study noted that it was not unusual to seek information on a site and find that it did not reveal what they were expecting from it. This results in dissatisfaction, and the likelihood that a site will not be revisited. Capturing and retaining supporters online is as important as it is offline, and site design can be a key factor in Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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achieving site loyalty. On one of the parties’ websites a search under ‘policy’ and ‘policy summaries’, which would have seemed logical places to search for information about university tuition fees, did not elicit any relevant information. Another respondent began his search under ‘policy’ and then ‘education’, but could not find any information. He tried searching for ‘fees’ but no matches were found. Furthermore, when information was found, it tended to be attacks on the other parties rather than detailed reviews of their own policy. Simon: ‘It was very hard to locate the information on tuition fees. I looked in ‘‘policy’’ and then ‘‘education’’ but couldn’t find a mention. Then I tried searching for ‘‘fees’’ and no matches were found. I presume the fees policy was being glossed over since it is unpopular. I eventually found a page attacking the Tories on the subject without really explaining Labour’s policy’. Anna: ‘Originally I clicked on the tab labelled ‘‘policy’’ and scrolled through the available options. However, despite looking at the party’s 2004 Manifesto, I couldn’t find any information on tuition fees. I then entered ‘‘tuition fees’’ in the search engine but this just brought up a list of press releases . . . no actual information on policy regarding tuition fees. I then went back to the homepage and clicked on ‘‘policy summaries’’. I scrolled down to find ‘‘higher education’’ and found out that the Lib Dems would like to abolish tuition fees. All that searching took about 25 minutes, which was frustrating and I did not find enough relevant material’. Matthew: ‘I found it hard to get the information . . . I can’t even remember how I got there. Having got there I was still doubtful whether I had got the right information . . . there’s just one paragraph . . . [Looking under ‘‘policy’’ and then ‘‘education’’] . . . this is where I would logically look . . . that drew a blank . . . it’s such Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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a topical thing that I’m surprised that it’s so difficult to find . . . The information was presented poorly . . . sketchy . . . I didn’t feel that they gave it the attention it deserves. If I was a new member of the Labour party and I wanted to find out this position on this matter I would leave the website completely uninformed’. Susan: ‘I went to policy issues and looked up education but this was primary and secondary only. I also tried ‘‘our policies’’ and it wasn’t there. I looked up campaigns but it wasn’t there either. I looked up news and then a piece of education news on Tory policy but there was no links. I went to policy forum and Partnership in Power and found a consultation document on education. This contained HE somewhere near the bottom but it seemed reasonably old because it was talking about the stuff to do with top-up fees as if it was a new proposal. Eventually I gave up with the site’. Kim: ‘I had to sort through the top links to attempt to find information on tuition fees. I assumed it would be under ‘‘our policies’’ and from there went on to ‘‘policy issues’’ and ‘‘education’’. There was no actual information on tuition fees, just a summary about further education. I had to continue searching which I found frustrating. I then used the search engine on the website. It gave me three results but there is nothing particular on tuition fees, which I am very shocked about’. In view of a recent survey (clickz.com, 2004), which found that 87% of 18 to 24 year olds and 82% of 25 to 34 year olds favoured personalised content and were willing to provide personal information to get it, more effort needs to be put into website design if the parties are serious about targeting the younger voter. The parties are not utilising the segmentation possibilities of the Internet. As previously mentioned, many of the respondents were unable to find a link from the homepage to the ‘youth’ sections. Sarah, Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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one of the most politically active of the respondents stated that: ‘[t]he only reason I knew about Conservative Future is because I’m interested in politics. I would have had to try and find it . . . it wouldn’t have been obvious to me . . . I would have had to search for it’. Similarly: Simon: ‘I’m aware that there is a Young Labour group but I couldn’t find a link to them. I even tried searching for it on the site search engine but I couldn’t find it. In the end I had to just google ‘‘young labour’’, but I can’t see how anyone who didn’t know it exists would find it’. The ability to establish two-way, deeper relationships with potential voters is being missed by the political parties. Several respondents did not feel that the websites were trying to engage and interact with them to gauge their views and establish a relationship with them: Sarah: ‘[Asked whether the website makes the respondent feel that they are interested in their views] eq . . . no, I’d say they want you to have their opinions . . . they want to give you their message. They want to give you their opinion. It doesn’t really say ‘‘what do you think?’’, ‘‘how shall we draw up our policies for you?’’ . . . they could ask ‘‘what do you think?’’ under each policy section’. Matthew: ‘[Asked about information tailored to young people] . . . you had to go to the information. The impression I got was that after signing up you would most probably get a password to access the information . . . because there’s nothing to suggest that after signing up the information will be sent to you’. Vivienne: ‘The main Conservative site seemed primarily to be a repository of information i.e. it was made to tell people about the Conservative party. The CF site was more interactive but this came across more as a site aimed at actictivism and recruitment than getting feedback’. Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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Jean: ‘The online poll on the CF site seemed a bit pointless since it was about what newspaper you read, so I probably wouldn’t use it because I didn’t really feel I was contributing to anything. It seemed to be about interacting with the site for the sake of interacting’. Although respondents have noted that the biggest problem with the websites has been their lack of clarity and simplicity, there needs to be a balance between making sites too complex or too simplistic, and thus, dull. Having said this, our respondents tended to favour content over innovative features: Emily: ‘The page itself seemed quite appealing, although there didn’t seem to be any sort of flashing icons or games. However, I feel that the lack of flashing icons and things such as pop-ups was a very good think, as these things sometimes deter me from visiting some websites’. Simon: ‘The site was fairly simplistic but I’m not overly interested in flashy websites—I think substance is more important’. Martin: ‘It might be good if there were more flashy graphics, but content is more important’. Leonardo: ‘[Conservative Future site] . . . requires more features to attract the attention and keep the attention of young people, because they can easily switch to another site’. A few respondents did, however, favour features designed for a younger audience: Matthew: ‘It’s very information packed . . . when thinking about young people, they should keep in mind all age groups . . . if I were 15 I wouldn’t be attracted to this website. There is nothing that’s tailor-made for me . . . for my interests . . . it’s a very serious looking website . . . one or two games . . . a competition . . . something lighthearted . . . just to attract them . . . to develop Copyright # 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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that affinity with the website and by extension with the party’. Vivienne: ‘There were lots of graphics but no sound, video, etc. It was just a wellpresented and functional site. I’d like there to be games, video, etc. If there was a bulletin board I’d probably visit it and I’d probably be more likely to visit the site if it had games’.

Conclusions ‘If the website is a reflection of the party, then I would say the party could be labelled confusing, useless and something that would frustrate me immensely’ (Anna). This paper has sought to focus on young people as the end-users of political parties’ websites. Although there is a considerable body of work that evaluates frameworks with which to analyse websites in general, and political websites in particular, there has been insufficient focus on the end-users’ perceptions of these websites. As with any study, our research has limitations, and the thoughts expressed by the young people must be considered in the light of the bounded and exploratory nature of the study (Fournier and Yao, 1997). This is a limited pool of respondents, and the role of the researchers as interpreters needs to be taken into account (Fournier, 1998; Holt, 1998). As the above quote reflects, many of our respondents were quite negative about the political parties’ websites. Unfortunately, we found that the three main political parties in the UK are not using the Internet effectively to provide rich informational content and twoway interactivity. As an information source, many of the respondents found the sites too cluttered with insufficient attention paid to navigational mechanisms. As a tool for interactive communications, again the websites were lacking and offered only basic communication tools. The findings of this research support earlier work ( Jackson, 2003), which Journal of Public Affairs, August–November 2006 DOI 10.1002/pa

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showed that MPs are primarily using their websites as ‘shovelware’. If it is content that is paramount for the young end-users we surveyed, users need to be able to locate it, otherwise searching for information becomes a frustrating and timeconsuming activity. The students were asked to locate some information that would be of high interest to them, that is to say university tuition fees. However, this information was not readily accessible. The majority of respondents either could not find the information that they were seeking or it took too long (outside of the research situation they would have abandoned their searches). Also, in terms of information provision, the customization potential of the Internet is being overlooked. Although the sites had e-News or e-Zines, these tended to treat young people as a homogenous group and did not attempt to segment young people, to provide content in relation to specific interests. The Internet offers enormous potential as a powerful communications tool for parties to target younger voters. However, our research supports Challen’s (2001) findings that parties’ websites have very few interactive features. As mentioned above, all three parties had ‘youth’ sections on their websites, but these were failing to truly engage with younger voters. Nor did the websites provide much opportunity for interaction. Most of the respondents wanted to see the parties’ policies clearly laid out with obvious ways to express their views back to the parties about the issues of concern to them.

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