The election campaign took place from late March until 20 April, employing a mix of traditional devices and concepts inspired by election campaigns in the West. These largely involved the use of posters, flags bearing the Croatian chequy arms, graffiti, badges, stickers, support from entertainers and media, and the use of political rallies. Parties also relied on word of mouth, media manipulation and even paranoia. An overall lack of political experience led to the use of some awkward, distasteful or otherwise poor slogans and posters. SKH-SDP posters were largely devoted to Račan and his messages: "We stopped single-mindedness, achieved democracy, Croatia freely elects" and "Račan's NO to single-mindedness". The HDZ used simple messages: "One knows – HDZ" and "HDZ – our name is our agenda", while the KNS used an image of a chessboard with the word "Koalicija" ("Coalition") inscribed in its fields. In the initial stages of the campaign, the SDP-SKH was generally expected to win; "The Economist" predicted a coalition government would be formed.