Phil Harris

Political marketing ‐ vive la différence!

Suggests that insufficient attention has been given to the significant differences between political and product or service marketing. The rise in awareness of political marketing has coincided with a decline of party membership in Britain and an increased distance between party and voter. Considers the relationships between party leader, brand image, exposure and awareness. Notes the current absence of predictive and prescriptive theories of political marketing action, and the relative significance of exogeneous factors in electoral success. Crossovers between conventional marketing, political science and political marketing are identified for future study.

The political marketing planning process: improving image and message in strategic target areas

A marketing planning framework to aid political parties in improving their image and co‐ordinating election campaigns has been developed to reflect the changing nature of electoral campaigning in the developed world towards the need for more long‐term planning; together with the development and implementation of marketing models in a wider sphere of social situations. The planning model has been developed using both a hypothetico‐deductive and an inductive approach, incorporating recent developments in US and UK political campaign management and depth interviews with political strategists in the UK. Suggests that national political parties need to co‐ordinate their election campaigns more effectively in order to strengthen their image among key citizen and voter groups by determining which target areas are most in need of resources. Further research is needed to determine how to position the party and to select and place advertising in the relevant media. Concludes that local election campaigns are becoming more co‐ordinated by national parties but that such co‐ordination neglects to provide local area research and telemarketing campaigns, and post‐election analysis exercises to monitor strengths and weaknesses in party strategy and campaign plan implementation.

Machiavellian marketing: The development of corporate lobbying in the UK

Political lobbying by business has grown considerably in recent years. This paper considers its relationship with marketing communication and marketing. Niccolo Machiavelli, in “The Prince”, gives a practical treatise on how to use power and the influences upon the ruler. It is argued that the role of the political lobbyist and corporate campaigner is a modem reflection of Machiavellis ideas. The literature on lobbying and corporate campaigning in the UK is reviewed and there is an assessment of the insights which marketing can bring to this growing area. The paper presents a working definition of corporate lobbying and campaigning, and an indication of the scale of activity in the UK. A practical research programme for marketing researchers in this significant area is outlined. Some recent cases from current research are given with an outline of some of the core reasons for the growth of “Machiavellian Marketing”.

Considerations on the Evolution of Political Marketing Theory

The significance of politics and election for societies demands the integrated engagement of researchers in politics and marketing. The natural diversity of political contexts, structures and processes complicates the process of theory development in political marketing, but continuous change in political marketplaces provides a rich ground for study. Recent considerations on the evolving dominant logic of marketing — a perspective that emphasizes intangible resources, the co-creation of value and sustainable relationships — resonate with the interests of political marketing scholars. The extension of marketing models to social and political contexts increases their contribution to societal welfare; directions for future work in the field are proposed.

To Spin or not to Spin, that is the Question: The Emergence of Modern Political Marketing

Emergence of Modern Political Marketing In November The US elections were thrown into chaos by the humble chad, a paper perforation on a punch operated ballot paper. The election campaign had cost a total of

“Mind the gap”: the rise of political marketing and a perspective on its future agenda

3 billion (Washington Post, 6 November) the largest ever. Eventually George W, Bush emerged as the victor after various court rulings. He had been elected however more as a result of the effective use of marketing than confusion in the ballot. He won because of his campaigns ruthless targeting of swing voters and marginal states. In June 2001, Tony Blair was re-elected Prime Minister as a result of the Labour party’s second landslide victory in the UK General Election. The result was no fluke but had been based on a long-term strategic political marketing planning process, which had been plotted and refined by the marketing headquarters at Millbank. All this of course will be denied or under played by politicians because there are no votes in it, but the reality is that the use of marketing in politics is greater than at any time before and is a major service business and operation. This article outlines political marketing’s evolution, relationship to other communications, implications for the voter and society and how it can be applied to bring victory and thus power.

RETAILING REFORM AND TRENDS IN CHINA

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a selection of papers on such subjects as: increased application of marketing to modern politics; the perceptions of its effectiveness – particularly in closely contested elections; the escalation in funding of campaigns; and the increase in international collaboration.Design/methodology/approach – There has been a marked increase in the quantity and quality of research since the first EJM special issue in 1996. Political marketing is now in the mainstream of research in marketing. The themes in the earlier special issues are tabulated to provide a comparison with those in this issue. The contributions in each paper are summarised.Findings – The paper reveals key issues for research. One is the rapid rise in influence of the internet in the political sphere, particularly in blogging and social networking, although it presents major methodological challenges. There is also a need for more studies crossing cultures and electoral systems and empirical work ...

Establishing the Charles Kennedy Brand: A Strategy for an Election the Result of which is a Foregone Conclusion

Since the reforms in China after 1979, great changes have taken place in the retailing sector, although from the Western point of view it still remains underdeveloped. There is little literature devoted to retailing in China, and an introduction is given here to the retailing sector and the retailing reforms that have occurred during the last decade. The study also provides evidence of some trends which probably will arouse researchers and foreign investors to explore this untapped area.

High‐tech corporate branding: lessons for market research in the next decade

We outline the history of the UK Liberal Democratic Party (LibDem) and the context of the 2001 UK General Election and show how the strategy for the General Election campaign evolved within the party. The article traces the presentation of Charles Kennedy MP as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, the allocation of campaign resources and key events impacting upon the campaign. Particular consideration is given to the branding aspects of the leader role and the interaction between the party and leader in establishing the public perception of the LibDem brand.

Who sets the agenda? ‐ An analysis of agenda setting and press coverage in the 1999 Greek European elections

Established corporate brand research has two significant weaknesses. The first is the lack of empirically based research behind the theory. The second is the “over‐quantification” of research methods to deal with marketing topics concerning consumers” beliefs, perceptions and values. Additionally, high‐tech corporate brands are rarely the basis of brand research. This study explores consumer reactions to technical brands to draw inferences and build more effective brand strategies. The mobile phone market is selected to represent a high‐tech consumer market. In‐depth interviews guided by the principal of personal construct theory and using the laddering technique (Kelly, G.A., The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Norton, New York, NY, 1955) are used. Two polar groups of consumers are selected as respondents. The findings reveal three shared key dimensions of brand value that are relevant in this type of market. The nature and relative importance of these dimensions are outlined. The evidence indicates that perceptions of corporate “credibility” are based on emotional and experiential associations rather than on more obvious, rational ones.