'Lethal' ad campaign helped Labor achieve landslide victory, says campaign guru Paul Erickson

Australia Broadcast Center

21-05-2025

The mastermind behind the Labor Party's thumping federal election win has given an insight into his tactics, crediting a thorough research program, a "lethal" advertising campaign, and targeting both the opposition and the Greens.
Labor Party national secretary Paul Erickson said Labor ran a positive campaign, contrasting with the Dutton campaign, which he said operated "in an echo chamber" and over-egged an assumption that voters were hostile to the incumbent government.
Erickson, who has been Labor secretary since 2019, told the National Press Club on Wednesday a robust research program which started before the campaign helped hone a strategy to target Peter Dutton.
"Instead of horse race polling, our research program was dedicated to building out our campaign by identifying strengths and weaknesses," he said.
He said one of the key issues Labor identified was that voters had "deeper reservations" about the then-Liberal leader, who ended up losing his own seat of Dickson.
"His aggression and intolerance unsettled people," Erickson said.
"Was he focused on Australians who were looking for the party with the best plan to make them better off over the next three years? Or was his priority winning over voters who were looking for an Australian variation on MAGA?"
Erickson also paid tribute to "the most sophisticated advertising campaign Labor has ever executed" in reversing Labor's fortunes from lagging behind in opinion polls to winning majority government.
"We are confident that when counting concludes this will be the first election since 1966 where the incumbent party didn't lose a seat," he said.
Erickson said Labor-aligned advertising group Campaign Edge, led by Dee Madigan, captured the mood of voters worried about uncertainty overseas.
"Our two opening ads — Labor's cost of living measures and Building Australia's Future — spoke to that sentiment," he said.
"They reminded voters of the relief Labor had delivered and outlined Anthony Albanese's plan to make Australians better off."
Erickson also revealed Labor's pointed targeting of the Greens with a dedicated effort from within the ALP, as well as hiring behavioural change outfit The Shannon Company.
"One of our sorer points after 2022 was the recognition that we underestimated the threat from the Greens, particularly in south-east Queensland," he told the National Press Club.
"The Coalition's blocking strategy meant we had to grapple with the challenge of a Greens political party that was equally committed to frustrating progress."
Erickson also credited an "exemplary" campaign performance from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who attended the speech, along with other Labor ministers such as Katy Gallagher, Tony Burke, Andrew Giles and Tim Ayres.
Erickson joked that he would have said the PM "didn't put a foot wrong", if it weren't for his fall off a stage while campaigning in NSW.
The Labor secretary also launched into the Liberals' campaign strategy of being anti-Labor, while failing to announce policies early enough.
"With less than two weeks to go, on Insiders with David [Speers], [shadow housing spokesman] Michael Sukkar said that the Coalition was saving up their policies so that they could, 'Connect with Australians when they're going to switch on.'
"I remember watching that interview and thinking — you haven't got long now, brother!"
He said the opposition seized on a "conventional wisdom" at the beginning of 2025 that Labor would be rejected by voters angry about the cost of living.
"The opposition embraced this consensus — they were more focused on claiming front-runner status than explaining what they would do if they won.
"They operate in an echo chamber," he said.
"They are more concerned with the prejudices of their hardcore supporters than the experiences of working people."
Erickson also gave a simple "no" to a question about his own political ambitions following reports he could consider running for a seat himself.
Labor has been mostly quiet about its attempts to harness the power of "influencers" or online personalities, but Erickson was asked directly about it.
He said Labor determined it needed to be present not just in traditional media but online, and said he believed his party ran "the strongest possible digital campaign in 2025".
Erickson also revealed Labor drew on the successful online campaign of the "no" vote during the Voice referendum campaign in 2023, and applied some of those lessons.
"We also tried to connect with lots of new and emerging forms of media, new content creators, podcasters, things like that," he said.
"We made the effort to be everywhere because, in that fragmented media environment, you can't pass up any opportunity to try to connect with people and get your message across."