Political marketing
Political
marketing implies the usage of advertising and other marketing
techniques by political parties, members, government officials and
other political figures in order to gain popularity, to win votes,
positions and trust.
Compared
to
commercial advertising, the political advertising maintains the
typical structure featuring the political
candidate as the
product, the
citizens as consumers and employing the same
marketing methods.
Political
marketing
functions:
-
Product function : the product advertised is
more than just the candidate, it is also the promises of change, good
government and success.
-
Distribution function : delivering the right
message to the right target market is crucial. The marketers have to
make sure that the message suits the distribution channel and the
target audience.
-
Result function : just as commercial product is
advertised to achieve customers buying the product for a certain amount
of money, the political candidate is advertised to gain positive
perception, attitude and approval from the public, the public not
needing to pay anything for the promotional materials received.
-
Information function : the political marketing
should provide the voters with the needed information for their
decision. Party's and candidate's history, intentions and programmes
should be made public.
-
Financial function : political advertising also
focuses on calling the audience to action such as making donations,
volunteering.
The
main
events in which political marketing is involved are
political
campaigns. These are the most important
techniques used in
campaign advertising:
-
Target market segmentation – the campaign addresses
different market segments with specific, targeted messages depending on
peoples' culture, preferences, expectations.
-
Competition research – very popular nowadays are the
negative messages focused on opposition, comparative advertising, even
ironic attacks. In order for these methods to be effective, a
opposition research is required so that the facts and affirmations
employed are pertinent.
-
Internet marketing – politicians can use the
continually expanding opportunity of e-marketing to advertise their
person, campaign, party, using conventional e-mail marketing, banners
and pay-per-click advertising or social media( Facebook, Twitter),
blogs.
-
Direct marketing – the classic marketing methods
should also be employed. The candidate can deliver his message through
direct mail, telephone, fliers, speeches, concerts, tours, banners.
-
Product development – the citizens are more and more
interested in knowing their options, in political marketing's case, in
knowing more about the candidate. So an efficient technique in this
area is creating an extensive image of the candidate, beginning with
his history and life, continuing with his family and personal opinions
and preferences.
-
Branding – associating the candidate with a visual
image, or a positive social symbol leads to wider awareness and
recognition of the politician.
-
Marketing surveys
–
represented in politics by public opinion polls can provide useful
information about citizens' approval of the candidate or political
opinion ans choice.
Political
marketing
has become a flourishing business and some think that the
status of consumer-citizens it attaches to people minimizes their
ability to make correct political decisions.