preview

The Rise And Growth Of Political Marketing

Better Essays

The rise and growth of political marketing in many western democracies is evidence of its major importance. The innovative Conservative party campaign effort in 1979 could be argued, paved the way for the improvement and transformation in the way political marketing worked. It was this era that gave Margaret Thatcher the title “The Marketing Pioneer” (Lees-Marshment) along with giving the Conservatives the name the “Market-Oriented Party”. In particular, documentaries such as ‘The Marketing of Thatcher’ by Michael Cockerell’s helped to provoke interest in the newly energised style of election campaigning. Political marketing has become more ubiquitous in recent years and has “become a fundamental part of political life” (Lees-Marshment) in the sense that politicians are no longer just seen as politicians but as ‘political actors’ (Ralph Negrine). While some people believe that political marketing is simply about ‘promoting their products and seeking votes’ (Kavanagh 1994). Maarek goes beyond this view suggesting that the idea that political marketing is a much broader concept that needs careful analysis. He emphasises’ this by stating that marketing “no longer means merely designing and printing a message on a poster with no consideration of whom they are addressed to, [in this sense] it embodies the whole marketing process, from the initial market study to testing and targeting (Maarek 1995). With this, Levy and Kotler (1969) has also introduced the idea that political

Get Access