MKT 401

POLITICAL MARKETING

SUMMARY

By

NikeBamz

MARKETING CONCEPT AS IT APPLIES TO POLITICS

 ● What is marketing?
Marketing is the process of planning and evaluating of conception, pricing, promotion, and
distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create an exchange that satisfies individual and
organizational objectives

● What is political marketing?

> political marketing is the process by which political candidates and ideas are
directed to the voters in other to satisfy their political needs and thus gain their
support for the candidate and ideas in question.

> political marketing is about how political elites use marketing tools and concepts to
understand, respond to, involve, and communicate w h political market in other to
achieve their goals.

> Political Elites includes

a)Candidates
b)Politicians
c) leaders
d) parties
e) governments
f) Government departments and programs
g) NGOS
h) Interest Group

Political marketing is the marriage between marketing and politics and empirically it
represents the political arena through marketing.

> A brief comparison between political marketing and marketing of goods and services.

1. They both have one common concept of promotion.

> there is extensive use of media by the seller ( candidate) to inform, remind, as well
as changing the attitudes and behaviors of buyers (voters).
2. Marketing of political candidates utilizes similar tools such as market research and
various statistical and computer techniques in studying the market and even some
tools for analysis.

These points denote a few similarities between market and political marketing.

A more serious comparison indicates many more concepts and tools shared by the marketing
of goods and services and political marketing.

Some well-known concepts of marketing:

 sellers and buyers, consumer behavior, market segmentation, image, brand loyalty,
product concept, and product positioning are all concepts of political marketing.

> The most powerful test for applying the concept of marketing in the area of political
marketing, Is by examination of the applicability of consumer behavior concepts to the area
of voter behaviour.
Reason: consumer orientation of marketing has made consumer behaviour concepts the focal
point of marketing.

FUNCTION OF POLITICAL MARKETING.

These are conditions( pre-requisites) for successful political marketing management

according to political theorists.
The 8 generic functions are.

1. Product function:Here parties market their product. there is an exchange between

political parties and the electorate in the electoral market. It may be in the form of an
image of the candidate, ideology, or specific foreign policy.

2. Distribution function: refers to the conditions regarding the availability of exchange

offers to the exchange partner. The functions have two aspects.

● Campaign delivery functions: provides the primary exchange partner. The

electorate has access to all relevant information about political products……

● Offering delivery:

3. Cost function: one of the main functions of mainstream marketing is to sell a product
which is cost effective compared to other products in the market so that customers get
greater monetary satisfaction. Cost function refers to the management of attitudinal
and behavioral barriers of voters through calculated campaign strategies. The voters
should receive all info regarding the product without spending money on it.

4. Communication function:
it involves the function of informing the primary exchange partner of the offer and
availability..

It is often seen as the heart of political marketing, for political parties it implies,
providing political content, political ideas and future programs but also aiding the
interpretation and sense making of a complex political world…..
 The communication function also interacts with the campaign delivery of the
distribution function. The campaign delivery provides the content while the
communication function provides the medium.

The communications function prescribes a dialogue with the exchange partners- a

multi directional flow of information and shared agenda setting.

5. News management functions:

The function is closely linked to communication function. But it targeted secondary
exchange partners or intermediaries of which media is an important part. In other
words it is the management of publicity and party. Public Relations activities, online
marketing ads, media management.

In the era of the communication revolution, news management plays an important role
in the success of political marketing.

6. Fundraising functions: A political market cannot survive without fundraising

functions, the success of other functions depends largely on the fund raising function.

They depend to varying extent on membership fee, donation. Etc.

7. Parrell campaign management function: This is the coordination and synergies used
by managerial activities to allow more deployment of campaign resources.

8. Internal cohesion management functions: this function is concerned with relationships

with party members, activists as well as the spoke persons. ….

SIMILARITIES OF CONCEPTS IN POLITICAL AND MAINSTREAM.

1. Sellers, product, and buyers:

Both political and mainstream includes the above main elements.

● The electorate ( voters) are the buyers in political

While
Customer/consumers are buyers in mainstream marketing.
● In political market we buy ideas, image of the party, foreign policy.
HuWhile
● In mainstream market we buy products and services.

2. Consumers:
The core of both marketing and political marketing is the consumers. Without
consumers the marketers of economic goods and services don't have a market,
and without voters the political marketer doesn't have a campaign.
 The semantics difference is an individual is called a consumer the other is
called a voter. Using an organism as example ( check material)

3. Market segmentation and product mix:

Market segmentation is the process in which consumers and potential

consumers of the product are distinguished along one or more homogeneous
groups and select some of them as target groups In order to offer a satisfactory
product mix and achieve the company's goals. E.g ( profit, growth, market
share )
The variables along product and candidate variables markets are segmented
and almost identical: age, income, occupation, characteristics are often
similarly used.

As target groups the product marketer and political candidates select

consumers and voters, respectively, and offer them satisfactory product mixes.

Product mix of political marketing are similar to the ideas of product mix of
marketing. Product mix of political marketing includes.

•product: the basic themes, ideas or issues that the candidate may represent
"law and order" and "full employment" and other active"

● promotion: specific mix of mass media advertising, specialized media

advertising, and personal selling ( canvassing) that the candidate may
reach his target voters. The idea that different voters mix may be
reached by different promotional mixes is well practised by political
marketers.

•Price: The vote given to the candidate, which alternatively could have
been given to the competing candidate.

• place: the importance of when and where the products ( I.e the candidate or
the ideas representing him) are available to the voter.

Availability and timing of the products are as critical elements in political

marketing as they are in marketing of goods and services.

4. Product image:
Both marketing and candidate marketing emphasized that consumer and voter
behavior toward products and candidates in question could be influenced.
 The image of the candidates, what people know about them

5. Brand loyalty: it is measured by the degree of attachment to the brand.

This is the baseline for promotion for products and the candidate.
The first step of such a promotion strategy is to distinguish between voters who are loyal to
the party and swing voters and hence design a different promotion mix for each of the groups.

6. Product Development:
Both marketing and political marketing place great importance on the series of
integrated activities and research that take part in developing a products that
satisfies the consumers and voters.

In consumer products, consumer satisfying parcels of ingredients, quality,

brand, package, etc. Is created.

Similarly, the process of developing a product in the political market is one of

creating a parcel encompassing a candidate, issues party.

7. Product concept:
Essentially a part of the product development process, it includes the central
ideas which serve as core of the product in the target group's mind. The
concept is shared by marketing and political marketing.

8. Product positioning:
It is related to concepts of product development and product concepts.

This is when a product is positioned with its competitors in the market.

This is used in both mainstream and political markets, the products and the
candidate location of the competitors is to be determined, planned and
promoted so as to increase the consumer and voters preference of the product
and candidate in question.
Products and candidates utilize the same research technique in determining
their positions in the market in relation to their competitors.

COMMON TOOLS USED IN BOTH MAINSTREAM AND POLITICAL

MARKETING.
 1. Market Research: To measure product and services, and the marketing of political
candidates make use of market research or public polling for the purpose of
performance, identifying potential consumers, and detecting and solving problems.
Market Research and opinion research use similar methods of data collection ( panels,
interview, questionnaire).

2. Concept testing:
A technique used in the process of product positioning and product development.

The procedure is use to design consumer reaction to different products concept

developed and introduced to the market to satisfy target consumers. It used by both
political marketing and marketing

> similar to concept testing candidate concept involves the following, steps:

a) Identification of possible candidate concepts.

b) introduction of candidates to the voters.
c) recording voters reaction to each concept( by rank order, attitude
measurement, intention to voters)
d) Identification of casual or associative connections among voters
characteristics.(socio economic status, behavioral and political) and
their reactions to different candidate concepts, and to various attributes
of single candidate concepts. and to various attributes of single
candidate concept( factory analysis to reduce candidate attributes space
and voters
f)introduction and promotions of the chosen concept or the concepts
among voters group in reference to the results in step four.
3. Communication: The instrument use of communication media for the purpose of
promoting economic products and political candidates is another characteristics of
both marketing and political marketing.

CONSUMER AND VOTER's BEHAVIOUR.

Consumers and voters are viewed as individuals receiving receiving information, and
possibly seeking out information, processing this information to reach predispositions to
respond, and finally responding towards product and the candidate in question,

In applying the general approach of consumer behavior models to voter behaviour, one can
point out the following
Components that are part of the decision making process.
1. Stimulus input variables
2. Environmental influence on voter
3. Processing stimulus and environmental information to reach voting predisposition
 4. Output variables which relate to the decision how to vote, as well as changes in
perception of, and attitudes towards, the candidate.
5. Feedback processes
[ check material for more details]

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLITICAL MARKETING AND THE MAINSTREAM

MARKETING.

Product and service marketing is concerned with communicating with customers while
political marketing is concerned with communicating with political marketing, media and
prospective sources funding as well as the electorate.

Multiple audiences mean that it has a great deal in common with marketing for public and
non-private organizations.

It's parallel objectives relating to members, funding and votes do not have equivalents in most
mainstream marketing situations.

The following are seven(7)

significant areas in political marketing is different.
1. All voters must make their choice on the same day, this means that all choices become
unified except postal and proxy votes….
2. Political marketing is highly charged with ideas, emotions and conflicts unlike
mainstream marketing
3. Complex intangible product: which the voters can not unbundle. As a consequence,
voters must judge the overall packaged concept or message.
4. In political marketing there is no price directly or indirectly attached to voting but in
mainstream marketing there is a long term individual regret.
5. There is no price attached with voting, voters have to live with a collective choice. It
might not be his or her own preference. This shows the difference between public
choice issues and the consumer market.
6. In election winners takes all especially in countries such as UK where the electoral
system is "first past the post"
7. The use of negative ads doesn't apply to mainstream marketing.

( check the material for details)

DEMOCRACY
Democracy means people-power or rule by the people, the idea came from the ancient Greeks
who combined the word demos(peopls) and krates(rule) to create the term.

CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMOCRACY
1. Democracy rests upon the principles of majority rule and individual rights.
 2. Democracies guard against all-powerful central governments and decentralize
government to regional and local levels, understanding that all levels of government
must be accessible and responsive to the people as possible.
3. Democracies understand that one of their prime functions is to protect such basic
human right such as freedom of speech and religion.etc
4. Democracies conduct regular free and fair elections open to citizens of voting age.
5. Citizens in a democracy have not only rights, but also the responsibility to participate
in the political system that in turn protects their rights and freedoms.
6. Democracies are committed to the values of tolerance, cooperation, and compromise.

FORMS OF DEMOCRACY
We have two basic categories

1. Direct: citizens without intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate

in making public decisions. a system with a low number of people such as
community, organizations, tribal council, or the local unit of a labor union. E.g where
members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by
consensus or majority vote. E.g the use of the internet is creating a new form of direct
democracy, as it empowers political group to raise money for their causes by
appealing directly to like- minded citizens.

2. Representatives: the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000
or a nation of 50 million, is representative democracy. In which citizens select an
official to represent them to make political decisions, formulate laws, and administer
programs for the public good. Every few years an election is held and people are
given a chance to vote for the people they want to represent.people wishing to
represent are usually members of the political party. And the community expects the
elected to operate in ways that benefit the community as a whole.

In democracy governments are only one thread in the social fabric of many varied public and
private institutions, legal forums, political parties, organizations.

Democracies rest upon the principles that government exists to serve the people. In other
words, the people are citizens of the Democrats state, not its subjects. Because the state
protects the rights of its citizens, they in turn give the state their loyalty.

Under an authoritarian system, by contrast, the state demands loyalty and service from its
people without any reciprocal obligations to secure their consent for its actions.

ELEMENT OF DEMOCRACY
1. Personal freedom
2. Political freedom
3. Political Equality
4. Rule of law
 5. Common Good
6. Human Dignity
7. Being informed and Getting involved.
8. Respects.

( see material for explanation)

LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
This is a representative democracy in which the ability of elected representatives to
exercise decision- making is subject to the rule of law, and usually moderated by a
constitution that emphasizes the protections of rights and freedom of individuals, and
places constraints on the leaders and on the extent to which the mill of majority can be
exercised against the rights of minorities.

Liberal democracies tend be characterized by tolerance and pluralism.

They also periodically hold elections where

RIGHT AND FREEDOM

1. Rights to life and security of persons.
2. Freedom from slavery
3. Freedom of movement
4. Equality before the law
5. Freedom of speech
6. Freedom of Information
7. Freedom of the press and access to alternative information sources.
8. Freedom of association and assemblies
9. Freedom of education
10. Freedom to religion.
11. An independent judiciary
12. The right to own property, and to buy and sell the same, is often seen as liberal
freedom bound up with the above, though this is a very hostly contested proposition.

Some specific limitations on specific freedoms in democracies. copyright and laws against
defamation.

Limits on anti-democratic speech, on attempts to undermine human rights, and promotions of

justification of terrorism.

TYPES OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

1. De facto democracies: liberal democracy is sometimes the de facto form of

government, while others are strictly the case.
 2. Proportional and plurality representation :
- Proportional representation: awards seats according to the proportion of
individual votes that a party received nationwide or in a particular region.

- Plurality voting system awards seats according to regional majority. The party
or individual candidate who receives the most votes, wins the seat which
represents that locality.
-
3. Presidential and parliamentary systems
- Presidential system is a system of government of a republic where the executive
branch is elected separately from the legislative.
- A parliamentary system is distinguished by the executive branch of government being
dependent on direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a
vote of confidence.
( check material to see example of country uses the presidential and Parliamentary system.

ARGUMENTS FOR OR AGAINST LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

1. Direct democracy
2. Enthniv and religious conflict
3. Bureaucracy
4. Short term focus
5. Public choice theory
6. Plutocracy
7. Majoritarianism
8. Political stability

(Check material for more note)

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND POLITICAL MARKETING .

Under this section we will be discussing the marketing mix elements(4ps) in relation to
political marketing.

Nift enegger (1989) successfully integrates each of the 4p's of the marketing mix, guided by
marketing research and sophisticated segmentation & simulation techniques as follows;

1. Product: the same way it is offered to customers in mainstream is the same way it is
offered to voters in political marketing.

The main difference is the nature of the products that are offered and the set of people
targeted.
 Nift enegger argues that the product offered by political marketers is really a blend of
many potential benefits.

(See more note on this from material)

A complete package of candidates services includes campaign management, polling

marketers, fund raising, advertising and public relations.

According to butler & colins (1994) The marketing traits of the political products are
considered in three part.
● Person/party/ideology
competence, backup resources, past records, promises for the future, and
degree of autonomy from party line are important consideration when
choosing a candidate usually experience

Political parties and candidates usually experience a continuity of support

which means "winning function" is majorly important to voters.

● Loyalty: also allows a certain amount of flexibility in shifting policy. Loyalty makes
it difficult to convert from one parties to another,

● Flexibility or Mutability: l.e that the purchase is attainable even in a post-purchase

setting, is a notable property of political marketing.

2. Promotion: This is another element that plays important roles in both mainstream and
political marketing. It is often considered to be the most important element for the
election of any political candidate.
Large amounts of money are paid on tv and radio ads.

Example: paid ads are just one part of the promotion; publicity, free campaign coverage by
the news media, constitutes a large parts of the massive.

News media is often criticized for not only documenting a candidates positions but rather
moulding public opinion through the subtle selection and repetition of visual images.

The advertising manager must know the best time and the ads should have a long lasting
impact on them

3. Price : pricing applies to both mainstream and political marketing but in different
dimensions.

According to niffenegger economic costs include possible tax on interest rates costs in
government benefits etc.
 There are also hidden psychological costs such as religion or ethnicity, Associated to
the each candidate.
It might also be a cost of regret associated with the elected candidate, who is not
fulfilling his promises.

National image attracts, such as reduced or increased national pride due to the election
of a particular candidate is yet another possible cost.

A common strategy is trying to minimize the candidates own expected cost while
maximizing the perceived costs of the opponent(s)

4. Place: refers to the path through which a product passes through to reach customers or
voters.

Place strategy is about the methods or channels used to get a candidate across as a
personal way to the voters. In other to be successful the place strategy must include a
personal appearance such as volunteers workers program.

According to Niffenegger:

The former details where the candidate will reach out to the voters I.e at rallies, club
meetings, dinners and factory gates, etc.

The latter is used to extend the candidate in a personal way into the local market
through canvassing, registering voters, soliciting funds etc.

Party members can also be used as surrogates to speak on behalf of candidates.

The internet is also another great tool that offers enormous reach to possible voters in
no-time.

[END]