This document provides an introduction to political marketing, including definitions of marketing and political marketing. Political marketing refers to how political elites use marketing tools and concepts to understand, communicate with, and achieve goals with their political audiences. It explores political behavior from a strategic perspective and considers campaign strategies, branding, messaging, and polling. The document then outlines various functions of political marketing, including developing the political product, distributing information, managing costs, communication, fundraising, campaign management, and managing internal cohesion. It concludes by discussing different approaches to political marketing and common political marketing activities.

1. POLITICAL MARKETING
Introduction and Approaches
MUHAMMAD SAUD
Department of Sociology,
Faculty of Social and Political Science
Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Email: muhhammad.saud@gmail.com

2. What is marketing?
• A management process that is involved in identifying, anticipating,
satisfying customers’ needs and wants through the efficient and
effective use of company’s resources (Wright, 1999)
• The management process through which goods and services move from
concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements
called the 4 P's of marketing: product, price, place, and promotional
strategy – (Business Dictionary)

3. What is political marketing?
• A relationship of political science and business marketing:
• Political marketing is a relatively new approach to analysing political
activity that draws upon management marketing assumptions to describe
political behavior (Savigny, 2003).
• How political elites use marketing tools and concepts to understand,
respond to, involve and communicate with their political market in order to
achieve their goals (Lees-Marshment, 2009)

4. PM-continue
• Political advertising, Celebrity endorsements, involvement of professional,
consultants and campaign managers, online campaigning, mobile phone
canvassing, segmentation, micro targeting etc are some of the methods
extensively used in political marketing.
• The traditional definition of a market is where buyers and sellers meet to
buy and sell goods and services.
• In the case of political marketing: the election is the market (where they
meet), the political party is the company (selling a product) and the vote is
the purchase.

5. How PM exactly do
• It explores a range of political behaviour from a strategic perspective
that is both analytical and applied. (Lees-Marshment, 2009).
• It considers what works, what should be and what might have gone
wrong.
• It stresses on long term interactive relationships,loyalties and
obligations.
• It is a fundamental part of political life
• It has become the focus of many movies and series which cover
strategy, branding, positioning, crisis management and polling.

6. Functions of political marketing: The product
function
• This could be
• The leadership/the candidate
• Members of legislature (senators/MPs)
• Membership or official supporters
• Staff
• Symbols – name, logo
• Activities
• Policies
• Constitution

7. The distribution function
• The campaign delivery function provides the electorate-with access to
all relevant information about the political product.
• This includes the dissemination of information regarding crucial party
polices and programs, placing the candidates in right channels, making
sure that medium of distribution fits the ideology of the party etc.

8. The cost function
• This refers to the management of attitudinal and behavioral barriers
of voters through calculated campaign strategies.
• The voter should receive all the information regarding the product
without spending money for it.

9. Communication function
• Providing political content, political ideas and future programs but
also aiding the interpretation and sense making of a complex
political world.
• Often the communication function involves simplification of
political messages and a concise political stand

10. News function
• Targeted to secondary exchange partners or intermediaries of
which media is an important part.
• Management of publicity of the candidate and party.
• Public relation activities, media management, online advertising
campaign management are news management functions.

11. Fundraising Function
• Political marketing management cannot survive without fund
raising.
• In order to provide the political actor with appropriate resources,
a distinct fund raising function needs to be addressed.
• A political party depends to a varying extent on membership fee,
donations.

12. Parallel campaign management function
• The requirement of co-coordinating the campaign management
activities of a political party with those of parallel organizations.
• Coordinated and synergic use of managerial activities allows for a
more efficient deployment of campaign resources.
• Furthermore, the use of parallel campaigns and the endorsements
by other organizations can increase the trustworthiness of the
political messages.

13. Internal Cohesion Management Functions
• The function is concerned with relationship with party members
and activists as well as the spokes persons.
• The internal marketing functions play a critical role in creating
internal stability and therefore the credibility of the party
regarding its outside image.

14. Political Marketing approaches
• As a product based transaction strategy –assumes that voters will
realize that its ideas are right and vote for it.
• As selling – focused on selling its argument to voters using market
intelligence.
• As market oriented – Uses market intelligence to identify voter
demands and adjusts their product to fit the needs of voters.

15. Political marketing activities
• Product design
• Market intelligence
• Product adjustment
• Implementation
• Communication
• Campaign
• Election
• Delivery

16. • Politicians, government departments use marketing in their pursuit of
political goals
• Market research is used when deciding on policies, to understand what
the people they serve and seek votes from want and need;
• Voter profiling helps create new segments to target;
• Strategy guides creation of the political brand to develop an attractive
vision;
• Internal marketing guides the provision of volunteer involvement;
• Analytics and experimental research test and refine communication
messages

17. REFERENCES
• Savigny, H. (2003) Political Marketing, Journal of Political
Marketing, 3:1, 21-38, DOI: 10.1300/J199v03n01_02
• Wright, R. (1999). Marketing: Origins, concepts, environment.
London: Business Press.
• Lees-Marshment, J. (2009). Political marketing: Principles and
applications. London: Routledge.