Get the Vote: Use Political Marketing Techniques to Power Your Campaigns

My MarketingProfs Today newsletter contained a rather interesting article titled Get the Vote: Use Political Marketing Techniques to Power Your Campaigns. The author comments, "Love'em or hate'em, politicians are some of the most effective marketers out there" (Fleming, 2008). It's good to read that they are good at something. My personal commentary aside, the article break downs some of the marketing techniques used by politicians today and how they can be applied to the business world.

The article emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience, having clear messages, and communicating often. With that in mind, the techniques recommended include:

• Create a narrative - and let it go
• Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate
• Mix your media
• Transcend the filter
• Unleash your customers
• Market to your audience, but surprise them too

Create a narrative - and let it go. That sounds like the Narrative Paradigm. We know that the "Narrative Paradigm stresses the effectiveness of influence through narration - that is, persuasion through storytelling" (Dainton & Zelley, 2005, p.120). I think the article makes a valid point in that you have to know when to drop the narrative. "Dropping the narrative is equally important. It's a phase that ends. In this campaign, the financial crisis put the kibosh on the storytelling and refocused attention on the issues at hand. In the marketing realm, emotion and intrigue will get you noticed, but if there isn't steak with that sizzle... customers move on" (Fleming, 2008).

We've learned the importance of knowing the audience and creating clear messages and we've learned what we can stand to lose by not doing so. No pressure John and Barack - you'll only lose the presidency.

Reference:

Dainton, M., & Zelley, E. (2005). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Fleming, J. (2008, October 7). Get the vote: use political marketing techniques to power your campaigns. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from MarketingProfs Web site: http://www.marketingprofs.com/8/political-marketing-techniques-power-campaigns-fleming.asp?adref=znnpbsc2A8