This year, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom will hold important political elections amid rapidly changing geopolitical and socio-economic conditions in Western democracies.
Anxiety about political participation has been common in many democracies for at least two decades. A growing number of political leaders are beginning to question whether the average person enjoys politics anymore. Marketing is also expanding in the field of politics, as politicians use marketing techniques to try to attract people's attention by presenting their party and its candidates as best as possible in elections. But do sophisticated political campaigns effectively attract people to participate in the democratic process?
Today's voters are more likely to get political information from social media than from traditional print newspapers or television. The popularity of social media platforms such as Meta, X, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube has accelerated the use of social media in politics.
Arguably the most popular strategy in political marketing is the personal branding of candidates and political leaders. Personal branding uses slogans, values, personality, expertise, and traits to create an impression of what people think about a politician.
With EU parliamentary elections just days away, the campaign team for outgoing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is trying to shift her image from that of a tough crisis chief executive to a more personal person who wants to raise a family. I want to change her into a warm and caring mother and grandmother. Towards a safe Europe. Von der Leyen's campaign chief, Alexander Winterstein, argues: “People know her as her committee chair. People may not really know who she really is.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is trying to build a different brand. She wants to be seen as a political crusader who can bash the “illegal left,” claiming: It is difficult, but it is possible, and we must try. ” She urged her supporters to just write “Giorgia” on her ballot.
Of course, most political observers know that the EU parliamentary elections are likely to result in a new coalition between centre-right and centre-left parties to keep the growing populist parties at bay. There is.
Spending on political marketing will continue to rise, but it is unlikely to address the growing disillusionment with politics among many ordinary people.
When Britain's elections will take place remains shrouded in mystery. Following the Conservative Party's disappointing results in this month's local elections, the possibility of new plots by Tory elites to replace Chancellor Rishi Sunak cannot be ruled out.
One of the big mistakes that kills political campaigns is that political parties tend to pay too much attention to what is sometimes called the “internal audience.”
Simply put, this means that we listen too much to the people who work on our campaign teams. This often makes it difficult to reach undecided voters who need to be persuaded to be successful. Campaign team members often have little in common with voters, especially those who are not affiliated with any political party.
They are highly educated, live in comfortable homes, and enjoy the privileges associated with openly supporting a particular political party. The issues that matter to them don't necessarily matter to the average voter, who doesn't have a college degree, doesn't live in a nice house, and has to work hard to make a living. Politicians who live in echo chambers end up appealing only to those who work for them and alienating the very people they are trying to appeal to.
Spending on political marketing will continue to rise, especially in the months leading up to elections, but it is unlikely to address the growing disillusionment with politics among many members of the public. Some critics believe that intense political marketing contributes to many people's dislike of politics.
Margaret Scammell is a Senior Lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She claims: “Political marketing often gets bad press, not surprisingly. It hollows out the public sphere. It reduces politicians to robots that listen to messages. It reduces voters to cramped numbers and docile targets. It pushes the mainstream into stealing votes from the center and effectively encourages potentially damaging anti-party extremism to grow on the fringes.”
In the world of politics, the old top-down command-and-control marketing model is becoming obsolete. Ordinary people as citizens and consumers have come to expect more inclusivity and higher ethical standards from politicians, leading to less respect and demand.
The political clerics will understand that preaching to the choir is a good way to deliver a sermon that no one wants to hear.
