Expect meme culture, co-creation and political TikTok to be features of the 2025 federal election as Gen Z and Millennials finally outnumber the Baby Boomers at the electoral polls.
Messaging, and policies, will change according to Peter Faber Business School senior lecturer Alexander Campbell who has noted the implications for marketers in Australia's shifting demographics.
Dr Campbell said Gen Z and Millennials represent 47 per cent of the electorate. That has created a challenge for political parties who aim to reach segments of the community who are accustomed to consuming news from decentralised sources.
"Gen Z consumes the majority of their media through TikTok, Instagram and YouTube," Dr Campbell said. "They are also the generation that really embraced streaming and took it from niche to mainstream.
"This decentralised media consumption, has made it harder to get that mass media message out there with the frequency and reach that traditional campaigns historically would do."
The next federal election is due by May and its relevant conversations will be published, broadcast, posted and streamed via an array of platforms.
Paid political advertising will remain part of each party's strategy, however earned, shared and owned media can be more powerful and lasting.
Content created for sharing via digital media or social channels is complicated and can be a double-edged sword, according to Dr Campbell.
"When something goes viral through a post from a social account, you can't stop it," he said. "The algorithms will keep serving you community-based posts on your social platforms as part of ongoing political conversations.
"But we are really still in the wild, wild west when it comes to mis and disinformation.
"It doesn't take a genius to work out that there is a problem identifying what is real and what is not on social media. If you are on there for a few weeks, you can see just how divisive it is."
