Election signs are a key weapon in any candidate's arsenal in the lead-up to a poll, Senator Gary Humphries, one of the ACT's most seasoned political campaigners, believes. But - and this is particularly important in Canberra, where an anti-billboard culture means almost any form of roadside advertising is looked on askance - it can't be overdone.
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''People in this town are very sensitive about signage,'' he said. ''They can get testy. It is easy to achieve the opposite effect [of having them vote against you] if you piss people off.''
Petra Bouvain, a marketing expert and assistant professor at the University Of Canberra's Business and Government faculty, agreed, saying Canberra Greens Senate candidate Simon Sheikh was walking a fine line. Mr Sheikh and his supporters startled the ACT with an overnight signing frenzy that saw dozens of their turquoise-and-white corflute notices materialise within hours of the election being called.
In their haste they overstepped the mark and about 30 signs were impounded by TAMS along Adelaide Avenue and Yamba Drive.
Ms Bouvain, who called the Greens' carpet bombing effort ''pesky'', is not a fan of the medium. But she said it was effective and was working well for Mr Sheikh.
''Until the signs went up many people in Canberra would not have known Mr Sheikh even existed,'' she said. Now, as a result of almost subliminal exposure to a succession of signs along major road arteries, everyone who travels by car knows who he is and what he stands for. ''He has an unusual name, the colour is not green (as you would expect) but turquoise, and he has kept it down to four words - three, really,'' she said.
Ms Bouvain said the ''Abbott-proof the Senate'' signage would have been very cheap compared with a traditional media campaign. She suspects it may not have been as successful if other political parties had left the starting blocks equally quickly, diluting Mr Sheikh's message with more signs of their own.
A German citizen, Ms Bouvain is a genuinely independent observer. ''I can't vote [here],'' she said. ''[But] It will be interesting to see what happens on September 7.''
A Greens spokeswoman defended the party's exuberance: ''The response has been overwhelmingly positive,'' she said.
Given Senator Humphries always signed early and signed often, questions are being asked about the apparent ''small target'' strategy used to market former Territory Liberal leader Zed Seselja, who took the spot on the Senate ticket in a controversial preselection fight.
Team Zed said its tactics had nothing to do with potential voter animosity over the way Senator Humphries was dumped. ''We are not hiding Zed at all,'' a spokeswoman said. ''He is our greatest strength.'' She said the Liberals had a firm strategy, including extensive roadside signage, in place. Developments were expected on this front next week.
Some Liberal signs must already be out there. Territory and Municipal Services said on Thursday it had received 36 complaints about signage posted by the Greens, Labor, the Liberals, Stable Population Party and Rise Up Australia Party so far.
Senator Humphries, who has an extensive collection of signs from rival parties acquired by undisclosed means over many years, said the medium was grassroots politics at its most physical.
''Given this a winter campaign, I am glad I am not out there putting up signs at 1am,'' he said.
''Signs are like sausages. They should just appear; it is best if you don't see them being made.''
He has even fought to defend his signs.
''When I was in student politics at the ANU [in the late 1970s], I remember riding around putting up signs for a student election and discovering we were being followed by a group of leftists who were tearing our signs down as fast as we put them up,'' he said. ''They [the left] complain about the violence of the patriarchy; well, they experienced it that night. A few sticks were swung at people's heads and things like that.''
