Greens offer personalised election ad

The Green Party is today launching what it claims is the first "personalised election broadcast" in a campaign that relies heavily on digital media, including apps for the iPhone, to punch above its political weight on a small budget. The campaign kicks off today with the online seeding of the Greens' official party election broadcast, which breaks on TV from 26 April, and a targeted billboard push. The election ad, developed by digital agency Glue London, can be personalised by supporters who can fill in details about a friend or relative and tailor the issues raised in the film into a bespoke video. This campaign, which takes a leaf from The Great Schlep, the Sarah Silverman-fronted viral campaign that aimed to get young Jewish voters to push relatives to vote for Barack Obama , draws heavily on social media such as Facebook and iPhone apps to rustle up grassroots support cost-effectively. An iPhone app called policy matchmaker allows voters to see how closely their views match those of the Green Party in 10 quick questions. And the national billboard campaign features mobile phone short codes to allow passers-by to download video content to their phones. With a small budget, the Green Party is running just 50 billboards nationwide, with 30 in the three main constituencies it is targeting. The TV and billboard campaign push a range of issues including trust and bonuses in the financial sector, affordable housing, job creation, the NHS and pensions. "The Green party don't have so much money but do have lots of enthusiastic supporters. It is about mobilising them because it is conversations with neighbours, friends and families that win seats and elections," said Michaeljon Alexander-Scott, a planner at Glue. "As a cheap, grassroots way to speak to the electorate the internet has always been important to the Greens, whereas the Tories and Labour have come to it more recently more as a way of trying to say 'look, we are modernising'." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".