CampaignWorks‘ Toronto plant churns out election signs
Election season is crunch time, and not just for the candidates.
As politicians make their way around the country, shaking hands, presenting stump speeches and crafting their policies, those Canadian small businesses that support candidates with printed materials, polling information and strategy advice are under immense pressure. Elections are big business, and Canadian entrepreneurs working in this field are scrambling to scale up, increase production and deliver on tight deadlines, or risk losing major accounts with parties and candidates.
The delicacy of operating as a small business in the election space was highlighted during the previous federal election. In 2011 Edmonton-based RackNine found itself in the midst of a scandal and a federal investigation when an anonymous operative under the alias "Pierre Poutine" used the automated-calling company to direct voters to non-existent polling stations.
While each candidate is under pressure to run a successful campaign, small businesses operating in this space must assist with multiple campaigns at once. Furthermore, in an industry largely built around trust and relationships, one major mistake during this high-pressure period could have enormous repercussions for small businesses.
"They're dealing with one campaign, we could be dealing with 40 in a week, and so you take the intensity that they're under and you can multiply that," said Lisa Herbst, the office manager of Mississauga-based Lakefront Graphix Technology, which manufactures campaign materials such as the metal frames for lawn signs.
Lakefront Graphix has been operating in the same space for 22 years, and outside election periods they build posts and signs so farmers can identify where they've planted various seeds in their fields. During election season, the company doubles its staff, and it expects to create more than 300,000 signs during the federal campaign period this year.
But in spite of the greater workload, many companies don't see the financial return one might expect from such a high-capacity period. Toronto-based pollster Mainstreet Research, for example, increases its workload by approximately four times during election season, but only expects to double its profits.
"There's lots of extra part-time help, lots of overtime hours, lots of additional resources that have to be spent on travel and different things related to our business," said Quito Maggi, president and chief executive of Mainstreet Research. "Every small business, at the best of times, has cash-flow issues. When business increases, it only increases the cash-flow problem."
Mr. Maggi adds that the extended election season this time has created additional challenges, both for the business and for his personal life.
"It comes with good, bad and a personal impact. I was on vacation last week because we expected the election to be called on Aug. 10, so I took a vacation on the 3rd to the 9th, and it was called on the 2nd, which put increased pressure on some of my staff," he said. "Normally we bring on additional staff during an election, [so a longer election season] means those costs go up."
The polling business is a particularly difficult one come election season, when stats and figures are under a microscope for their fairness and accuracy, adds Mr. Maggi.
"Every time any poll is released, somebody somewhere is not going to like it, and somebody somewhere is not going to believe it," he said, adding that social media has only amplified the ability to challenge polling accuracy. "It's a high-pressure situation. Every time we release a poll there is always the inevitable critique thereof, and so there is a lot of pressure for us to work quickly but also to be very meticulous."
Mr. Maggi adds that all aspects, including methodology, the language of the questions, and compliance with the broadcast watchdog's and Elections Canada's regulations, must be carefully examined for each poll.
While campaign season is a difficult and strenuous time for any small business with clients in the political arena, the 2015 election presents a number of unique challenges.
"The [strong] U.S. dollar, because of that, our material cost is higher," said Jey Jeyarasalingam, the president of Toronto-based promotional materials manufacturer CampaignWorks. "It's very competitive, so everyone is trying to run promotions, and the prices that things are being sold at are so low that there's very little margin or no margin at all. They're hoping to build long-term relationships to make their money in the future."
Mr. Jeyarasalingam explains that the cost of oil-based printing materials typically goes down with declines in oil prices, but the strong American dollar has held costs higher than average for an extended period of time.
"All of our cost of material went up 25-, 30 per cent," said Gagan Khurana, Director of Brampton-based Print1, which sells printed materials, including lawn signs and vehicle graphics. "All of the prices have been really high for the material, and we're trying to keep our assembly costs low so that we can do the maximum, but it's hard this season just because of the U.S. dollar."
Mr. Khurana, who started the company almost 15 years ago, says that in the months leading up to election, the company expands its staff to up to 30 people, from about 11.
"During elections, we hire extra people to come in because we run 24 hours most of the time, all three shifts," he said. "We've got to make sure we've got extra people working, no down time, not even a minute. One stops and another goes right on."
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