Essentials of Political Marketing
Most literatures say that political marketing fundamentally borrowed some concepts from traditional marketing in economics and appropriated these unto the world of politics.
Starting from the above-premise that market economy and politics are two system with analogous structures, it can be considered that the form of organization of the democratic and economic exchange have a similar structure.[1] For instance, in the economy, the exchanges happen in the market whereas in politics, the process is achieved through elections. Here, the Rational Choice theory seems to bridge both economics and politics with their reliance on its fundamental precept of, “maximizing benefits and minimizing losses.” Therefore, some essentials must be put in place to ensure greater advantage.
According to Steve Olenski,[2] there are six essential elements of an effective marketing strategy, to wit: 1] start with a compelling story; 2] develop technical expertise; 3] coordinate the strategy; 4] articulation of content; 5] diversify voices; and 6] branding. This is further expanded by Avraham Shama,[3] locating them in a broad political context to include: 7] market segmentation; and 8] product positioning.
Political marketing begins with a constellation of actors (parties, voters), plots (desires, conflicts, outcomes), targets (goals, mission) and resolutions (conclusion) which all constitute a beautiful narrative that would appeal to the intended audiences. An empowered woman surviving a violent relationship for example would easily get the sympathy of women who desire of liberation from patriarchy. In short, there has to be an irresistible story that will serve as an anchor for marketing politics.
But this story needs to be conveyed to the consumers (voters) around very powerful messages which can be relayed through various channels of communications. These days, the arena for political marketing is deep and wide ranging from traditional print media, to broadcast media and even to social media. One must develop a profound comprehension and technical expertise of how intricate politics can work in an ever-growing world especially that the digital landscape has grown tremendously and has now played a crucial role in elections either as a tool for campaigning, predictor of election results, monitoring candidates’ promises, and even removing elected officials.
The message must be well coordinated and appropriated to different audiences. The power of the story is only as good as how the message is crafted and delivered. There has to be a political strategy covering how parties, candidates and governments think and plan in order to achieve the goals. It requires consideration of many different factors such as the nature of the market, history, culture, governance, stakeholders, competitors, resources and goals.
This strategy has to be articulated in a strong product – the candidate for example. This is sometimes referred to as product development or in a political market is one of creating a parcel encompassing a candidate, issues, party, and the like which will satisfy the target voters.
Authentic product relies on a unique voice. It is critical therefore in politics if there are diverse voices that advocate for the product/candidate. This establishes the fact or at least the impression that trust is given to the product/candidate by people from all walks of life.
All these must be packaged as a political brand. Political branding[4] is about how a political organization or individual is perceived overall by the public. It helps the party or candidate to help change or maintain reputation and support, create a feeling of identity with the party or its candidates and create a trusting relationship between political elites and consumers.
Meanwhile, Shama (1975) asserts the need for market segmentation. It is the process by which consumers are distinguished along one or more variables so as to create homogenous groups and select some of them as targets on the basis of age, gender, religion, ethnicity, employment, etc. The challenge for a political marketer is to create a product mix that would appeal to almost all people from different walks of life. S/He may bring issues of environmental protection to appeal to nature crusaders or poverty alleviation to gain support from the poor sectors of society.
Ultimately, the product must be positioned vis-à-vis the competitors in the market. Sometimes this can be referred to as political niching. Given the many choices available to the target audiences/consumers, on must ask, what sets him or her apart from the other options. One must have perceptual locational map which the people can use as leverage points just like Duterte’s promise of change through crime-busting and anti-drug campaign.
While these elements are not etched in stones, it is critical for p
olitical marketers to have a guide in advancing a political product – be it candidate, party, policy or and idea.
[1] Covaciu, Stefan. Strutural Elements of Political Markeing.
[2] September 16, 2017. Essential Elements of an Effective Marketing Strategy. Forbes.
[3] Avraham Shama (1975) ,"An Analysis of Political Marketing", in SV - Broadening the Concept of Consumer Behavior, eds. Gerald Zaltman and Brian Sternthal, Cincinnati, OH : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 106-116.
[4] Lees-Marshment, Jennifer Dr. Political marketing: principles and applications. 2nd Edition
