Students and politicians can both learn from each other for effective election campaigning tips

'There are so many ways they could campaign that isn’t down the usual - and sometimes boring - path. All they need to do is look at what the students are doing'

Exeter University's Toby Gladwin, pictured, channelled his inner Adele in his campaign video and landed the role of guild president (Vote Toby via YouTube)

Disengagement with politics on a national level is a problem. It could be argued this is, in part, due to the lacklustre campaigns politicians run in the build up to elections. In no way does this mean politicians should start singing mash-ups to mainstream pop songs, or make laughingstocks of themselves in other ways, but simply show a bit of enthusiasm and passion. Of course, student politics is not as serious as ‘real-life’ politics, but there are lessons to be learned here.

Even if you’re not a student at Exeter, it’s likely you’ll have seen Toby Gladwin’s campaign video for his bid to become guild president. Channeling his inner Adele, Macklemore and Bruno Mars, Gladwin had the enthusiasm that politicians certainly need to aspire to just to make politics a bit more interesting and inspire Britain’s young people. While politicians don’t have to do anything overtly-foolish i.e. twerking to ‘Anaconda’, they could at least try to make their campaigns more accessible and interesting with a touch of enthusiasm and creativity.

Gladwin’s video shows just that. Changing the lyrics to match his manifesto points, he managed to get his point across in a way that is not only engaging to a student audience, but is actually enjoyable to watch. Oh, and he stormed to victory to land the role of president on 12 February.

Melissa Owusu’s re-election campaign video is another great example as she runs, again, for education officer at Leeds University. She’s covered Stormzy’s ‘Shut-Up’ using the instrumental from ‘Function on the Low’ by XTC. With, so far, almost 25,000 views, Owusu’s proven that a little bit of creativity to demonstrate your policies can go a long way.

Ex-sabbatical officer and graduate from the University of Southampton, Megan Downing, agreed that politicians could change their tune. Describing how the enthusiasm for campaigning is “unrivalled” when it comes to student elections, Downing added that politicians could take a lot from what students do when campaigning.

She said: “For example, they get to know their electorate through fun and engaging activities, as well as actually really listening to what they have to say and how they will affect their lives if they get elected. I know it’s on a much smaller scale for students, but the passion is there and this should inspire politicians to think outside the box.

“There are so many ways they could campaign that isn’t down the usual - and sometimes boring - path. All they need to do is look at what the students are doing.”

In fact, this year, students campaigning for roles within their unions have been taking inspiration from politicians themselves. So, why can’t it be the other way around?

One student, Cameron Meldrum, from the University of Southampton, is running for the sabbatical role of vice-president of democracy and creative industries - and he’s been channeling Obama in his campaign, using the same style of poster to attract attention. Why? Because it’s recognisable and memorable.

Meldrum maintains creativity and spirit in his campaign. His video ‘Carpool Camaoke’ looks set to be inspired by James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke, and will keep with the running theme of pop culture/manifesto combinations.

Speaking with the Independent, he described how he was suggested the slogan ‘Yes We Cam’ by a friend, and automatically thought it was “brilliant.” He said: “It was coincidental the phrase is similar to Obama’s successful campaign slogan in the 2008 US presidential election, so I decided to run with his campaign theme for all of my campaign.

“Obama’s original slogan and campaign also channelled feelings of hope, change, and progress which are all good things for any campaign. I think it’s been so successful because it catches people’s eyes and they know what it’s referencing.”

Clearly, students and politicians can learn from each other. However, perhaps we shouldn’t expect a rap from David Cameron on the EU referendum anytime soon.