Shock news! The General Election will be held on 6 May.

There was confusion at Francis Towers over the weekend when two polling cards arrived in the post on Saturday, seemingly pre-empting the official announcement. Then we realised they were for the local elections already slated for that date.

But apart from the obvious polling card requirement, this morning's official confirmation of the May date did start me wondering whether the election would precipitate a mini-boom for print. Or will this, as some commentators have mooted, be the first election to be played out over Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

What's certain is that political parties are going to have to work harder than ever before to galvanise disaffected voters, in the face of widespread disillusionment with politics following the MPs' expenses scandal - some believe this coming election will set a new record for low turnout. That will surely make it even more vital to use communication tools with a proven response.

While mid-muse the postman arrived bearing a buff-coloured envelope. A letter for me, from would-be chancellor George Osborne! What a brilliant piece of timing by whoever organised that. It's a clever mailer too, because it invites engagement via a tear-off panel: "tell us what you think about the economy and the change Britain needs".

I am sharpening my pencil to do just that, at the same time proving the efficacy of putting a call to action into people's hands. Although I will have difficulty fitting the entire Francis manifesto into the 6cm square provided.