Change. Forward. Together. For you.

They are the buzzwords of political campaigns worldwide, used time and again in various combinations, to sum up a campaign theme in few enough letters to fit on a podium sign.

On Tuesday, the NDP became the fifth and final major party to unveil its campaign catchphrase, hoping sa国际传媒淚n it for Yousa国际传媒� will catch voterssa国际传媒� attention.

Dennis Matthews, a vice-president at Enterprise Canada who worked in the message mines as an advertising and marketing adviser to prime minister Stephen Harper, said sa国际传媒渁 ton of effortsa国际传媒� goes into finding a phrase that can sum up an entire campaign in one short and snappy sentence.

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sa国际传媒淎 campaign will do all kinds of research, look at all of their potential voters and what theysa国际传媒檙e looking for,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚n a campaign you want to imagine the voter going into the voter booth and asking themselves a question. A good slogan sets up that question so they can only pick you as the only option.sa国际传媒�

The NDPsa国际传媒檚 new slogan points, without being negative, to the idea that the NDP are there to help the little guy while the Liberals and Tories are in it for themselves and their wealthy friends.

Itsa国际传媒檚 similar both to the slogan the federal Liberals used in 2008, sa国际传媒淎lways Here for You,sa国际传媒� and to the Conservativessa国际传媒� current sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 Time for You to Get Ahead.sa国际传媒�

Such echoes are not uncommon, said Matthews, because sa国际传媒渃ampaigns are referendums on the future.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淰oters are looking forward so most campaign slogans at least hint at a forward-looking or action-oriented thesis and there are only so many words that fit that.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淔orward togethersa国际传媒� was one of Winston Churchillsa国际传媒檚 most common speech slogans throughout his political career. It has been used by two of his successors as British prime minister sa国际传媒� Margaret Thatcher in 1980 and Theresa May in 2017 sa国际传媒� and at least two American presidential candidates. Richard Nixon used it in his inauguration speech in 1969 and Hillary Clinton turned to it for her presidential run in 2016.

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In 2019, the Green Party of Canada is building on it for its slogan: sa国际传媒淣ot Left. Not Right. Forward Together.sa国际传媒�

The Liberals have dropped the sa国际传媒渢ogethersa国际传媒� part and are just going with sa国际传媒淐hoose Forwardsa国际传媒� in 2019. Itsa国际传媒檚 remarkably similar to the 2004 Liberal theme phrase of sa国际传媒淢oving Forward.sa国际传媒�

The Bloc Quebecois is using sa国际传媒淟e Quebec, csa国际传媒檈st noussa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� roughly, sa国际传媒淲e are Quebec.sa国际传媒�

In 1980, Ronald Reagansa国际传媒檚 slogan in his first successful presidential campaign was sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 Make America Great Again.sa国际传媒� Twenty-six years later, Donald Trump tweaked it into one of the best-known political slogans in history. sa国际传媒淢ake America Great Againsa国际传媒� hats and T-shirts are still common (Trump now has to decide whether he can still use it after four years in office).

In 2015, in an election campaign almost entirely about voter fatigue with a decade-old Conservative government, both the Liberals and NDP went with sa国际传媒漜hangesa国际传媒�: sa国际传媒淩eal Changesa国际传媒� for the Liberals and sa国际传媒淩eady for Changesa国际传媒� for the NDP.

Scott Reid, who was a communications adviser to prime minister Paul Martin and is now a principal at the strategy firm Feschuk.Reid, said most slogans are developed as part of an intensive and lengthy research process to suss out a potential path to electoral victory. Polls and focus groups and voter outreach guide sa国际传媒渁 whole slew of decisionssa国际传媒� including advertising spots and which public issues a campaign will prioritize.

sa国际传媒淭he slogan itself emerges from that,sa国际传媒� he said.

As for the actual words? sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 believe they matter very much,sa国际传媒� said Reid.

Few, if any, campaigns are lost on bad slogans and most slogans end up on the floor as soon as the last vote is counted. Some of the best arensa国际传媒檛 even official slogans at all.

In 2011 sa国际传媒漚 strong, stable, national Conservative majority governmentsa国际传媒� wasnsa国际传媒檛 the official Conservative campaign slogan but became the recognizable theme for a campaign appealing to voters tired of fragile minority governments.

Barack Obamasa国际传媒檚 2008 presidential campaign added sa国际传媒淵es we cansa国际传媒� to the political-slogan hall of fame, but his official slogan was actually sa国际传媒滳hange We Can Believe In.sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淵es We Cansa国际传媒� was a holdover from Obamasa国际传媒檚 previous Senate campaign, a catchphrase he used in speeches, that took off as a rallying cry for his supporters.

As proof that slogans arensa国际传媒檛 everything, one need only know that the Green Party of Canada also used sa国际传媒淵es We Cansa国际传媒� for its 2006 election effort. That netted the party zero seats and less than five per cent of the vote.

Trudeausa国际传媒檚 2015 campaign is remembered for promising sa国际传媒渟unny wayssa国际传媒� even though Trudeau didnsa国际传媒檛 talk about sunny ways sa国际传媒� borrowed from Wilfrid Laurier sa国际传媒� until his victory speech on voting day.

Matthews said as in any advertising, the best slogans cansa国际传媒檛 always be predicted.

sa国际传媒淪ome of this stuff, yousa国际传媒檝e got to put it out there and see if it catches on,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚n the marketing world you can be a little lucky and land on something that really catches on. Sometimes it doesnsa国际传媒檛.sa国际传媒�

Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press

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