Liberal Nominee Brochure Review
By Sam Politics

Photo by Scott Cave... the man who kindly hosts this site for us

Yes, in fact that is me. I really do exist and in my real life I own a communications and graphic design firm. In the last few weeks, BC Liberal members have been inundated with a bevy of brochures from, and invitations to meet with, the wannabe politicians as they try their damnedest to win what is probably one of the safest right-wing seats in BC. Seeing as making brochures and corporate communications is generally what “I do”, it has fallen to me to review these stunning examples of marketing collateral.

Now, these brochures definitely range in quality and, generally, have a direct correlation to how much money that candidate has to spend on their own campaign. Also, they all range in the quality of the messages they are trying to get across. But, let’s get into each of them in detail. And these are in no particular order. This is literally the order in which they have been piled on my desk for the last few days.

Penny Kirkpatrick

My first thought upon seeing this flyer was that the text is way too close to the top of the page. Then Jordan told me these were the brochures that had the Liberal logo, which Sonia Patterson won’t shut up about, and the header was cropped off so they could still be used. To be perfectly frank, there is a LOT of text on these two pages. In fact, I don’t really want to be bothered to read the whole thing. Don’t worry, I have read it all, but I didn’t want to because of the sheer volume of information that I felt I was being forced to consume… and I still have five more candidates to get through!

This is not to say that the info isn’t worth reading, because it is. Penny has been incredibly active in the community for years and the endorsements she lists on the second page are a testament to that. My goodness, she even has Eric Bysouth’s endorsement! If she wins and is subsequently elected, will Eric send a personalized report card to her each year?

On the cosmetic side, I’m not terribly impressed. While the information it contains is very important, presentation is just as crucial. It speaks to a candidate’s level of professionalism. I’m sure that this flyer was made using Microsoft Word or Microsoft Publisher and, quite honestly, it shows. And the choice of blue paper… it does break with the other candidates who all used white paper and that does help it stand out. However, in my opinion, it just looks like they loaded up a pack of blue paper in the photocopier, put the original on the glass, pressed the green button and… Voila!

I think if Penny had used white paper and cut some of the text back to let her messages “breathe” a bit, this would have been a much better communication.

2 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

Steve Ferguson

Steve has put together one of the better brochures in the lot. That certainly speaks to his many years campaigning for the various levels of government. I like that there is a good balance between text and images. The text very clearly lays out Fergie’s qualifications and what he feels are the priorities he wants to take to Victoria. The pictures show that he’s a family man, supports the Olympics, is involved in the community, has been a long-time provincial Liberal and, best of all, likes skunks…. What? Honest to God, it looks like he’s holding a skunk while the text above the picture says, “Steve supports such groups who protect our orphaned wildlife and environment organizations.” I’m sure it’s not a skunk, but the animal is black with a white stripe on its back…

Steve’s resume looks fairly impressive, listing his community involvement as a volunteer and as a Township councillor. The platform messages he is trying to get across are brief yet powerful. All in all, I feel like I know what I would be getting if I were to vote for him.

Overall, a good brochure in a simple one-colour (black on white paper) presentation.

3.5 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

Mary Polak

This is definitely the slickest brochure of the lot. Looking at the layout and the use of full colour (including the BC Liberal red and blue), it’s obvious that Mary has just finished a provincial campaign for the Libs. In fact, I’ll bet my next paycheque that this is the EXACT SAME brochure she used in the Surrey-Panorama campaign and has just changed the appropriate text and pictures to make it a Langley brochure. And why not! Truthfully, this is a really good brochure.

The front has a large photo of Mary’s face with simple messages. The inside is still full colour and has more simple messages that talk about her qualifications. Specifically, she trumpets her fiscal discipline/experience in business and the Surrey School Board. Mary also has some good quotes/endorsements from Langley people as well as from around the province, finishing up with the line, “Vote for Someone We Can Count On – Nominate Mary!” There are plenty of photos of Mary being with people be they sod-turnings, students at Kwantlen or a couple of random construction workers who would have no idea who she is.

A very good brochure. Eye-catching, easy to read, informative. Some serious money behind it. Makes me think there are some people who really, really want her elected.

4 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

Bill Brooks

Another slick little brochure. It’s what we graphic designers would term a “4 over 2” – full colour on one side, two colours on the other. The front has Brooksy’s photo with a BC flag in the background and the simple message: “Bill Brooks: Your Right Choice” with a check mark in a white box. As you can see in the photo, Bill has his sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened. He means business, kids, and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty doing the hard work of the riding.

On the other side, we get a brief intro to who he is and his connections in the BC Liberal party. Then we’re treated to a “5 W’s”. My one complaint is that Brooksy is a little short on actual details, preferring to speak in generalities about his past, present and future involvement in Langley politics. My feeling is that he feels that he’s been in the media and at local Lib events enough in the recent past that most local members will already know who he is. Personally, I think this might be a bit of a mistake. I still don’t really know who he is other than a Liberal supporter/organizer. What are his qualifications? Why should I pick him over someone like Zosia (who’s brochure I’ll do next)? I don’t really get this info here when everyone else has done exactly that.

Truthfully, this brochure is a bit too much “style over substance.” However, it looks great. I think this is the best of the bunch in terms of just the formatting. But, I also wanted to see some meat if I was going to be voting on March 9^th.

3 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

Zosia Ettenberg

Like Fergie, Zosia has gone for a 1-colour brochure (in true Grit red) on white paper with her picture on the front. Inside, we are introduced to her employment history, her community/volunteer activities and her education. On the back panels, we read a bit of Zosia’s biography. She talks about overcoming polio (no small task, might I add). She also mentions her background in healthcare (a trained physiotherapist and working in various director-level positions in hospitals, group homes and healthcare professional associations) as well as her knowledge in finance (financial analyst). We also find out that she was the 1999 recipient of the “Woman of the Year Award.”

Zosia has certainly been active in the community and I would never know that she has dealt with all sorts of crippling illnesses all her life. As someone who has to deal with some often painful arthritis myself, I have a lot of respect for someone, such as Zosia, who has worked this much through chronic pain.

That being said, I don’t really get a feel for what Zosia wants to do in Victoria other than “have a seat at the table sharing the yield of BC’s growing economy.” Based on what Jordan wrote after meeting her yesterday, she has some very good and very specific issues that she’d want people to know but I don’t get that from this brochure at all. There’s plenty of room to fit some of those ideas inside as there is a lot of space between each employment/community/education items that are listed.

A decent format, but a little short on content. If Zosia had used this brochure to introduce us to some of specific issues she wants to champion, this would have been a much stronger communication.

3 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

Sandra Hulbert

Last, but certainly not least, is Sandra’s. She stays away from the brochure format favoured by 4 of the 6 candidates. But unlike Penny, she uses colour for her photo and a nice red border in Liberal fashion. However, I feel like I’m looking at a job application with a nice cover letter. In fact, that’s exactly what it is. This is a 4-page document stapled together. The first two pages are the cover letter, the last two pages are her resume.

Be that as it may, Sandra does get her messages across. The cover letter has a nice, readable font in a large size that no one would have trouble reading. She lists some of her community involvement (such as Ishtar Transition Housing Society, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Rotary Club among others), her qualifications from her years of owning and running a real estate company as well as her position on healthcare and the fact that she has lived in Langley since she was in the fifth grade. The resume portion goes into more detail on all these things, but after 2 pages I’ve read all I want to.

I would have preferred a bit more of a point form format so I would be able to easily find out what I want to know about Sandra and her positions on issues. Sometimes the brochure can be a bit trite (in terms of the format), but it does somehow say “professional” more that a long piece of paper. However, I really should mention that Sandra has a broken jaw right now and this letter probably reflects much of what she would say to you in person.

2.5 Spin Cycles (out of 5)

So there you have it. Yes, it was long but I hope you who are voting next week found that helpful. And for those of you not voting, now you know what the Langley Liberal members have been receiving in the last few weeks. This vote will certainly be entertaining. And we haven’t even gotten to the real election yet!!!