Strategic postures of political marketing: an exploratory operationalization

Abstract

In contrast to most political marketing theories which imply that such concepts as ‘voter‐orientation’ or ‘voter‐centric political management’ are trivial and uni‐dimensional, this article will take its starting point from an alternative perspective. It draws on the concept of political marketing ‘postures’, i.e. a multi‐faceted conceptual entity, based on varied dimensions of political marketing orientations. The main duality consists of the constructs of ‘leading’ and ‘following’, with an auxiliary (and complementary) dimension of ‘relationship building’. This article provides an exploratory methodology to operationalize this concept, which will also be initially tested empiricially, using expert judgements as well as electorate's perceptions. Changing postures will be exemplified within a longitudinal application of the concept to perceptions of Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

When does a candidate’s inconsistency matter to the voter?

“…Candidates have to balance elements of continuity and change, as voters expect some aspects of the candidate's appeal to be consistent, and at the same time expect them to be responsive to new preferences (Butler & Collins 1996). Others have indicated that candidates and political parties have started adopting votercentric or market-orientated approaches (Henneberg 2006). Further, many citizens vote retrospectively, looking to past statements, behaviours and performance to reach a voting decision; thus, information from the past is used as a guide to making projections (Boiney & Paletz 1991).…”

Role populismu ve volebním marketingu hnutí ANO před parlamentními volbami v roce 2013

“…They offer an inspirational reinterpretation in marketing terms of Kirchheimer's previous study (1966) of transformational processes at work in political parties and party systems. Henneberg (2006a) claims that the internal character of many political parties, revealed by electoral manifestos, communication methods, and practical targeting approaches towards voters, is still linked to their inherent political ideology. We follow his claim and argue that the ideological profiles of political parties, whether dominant or marginal, may sometimes be supplemented by internal or external party sources.…”

“…Různé typy politických stran a kandidátů přitom vstupují běžně do politiky a voleb s odlišnými postoji a cíli, ovlivněnými jak jejich vnitřně přijímanou ideologií, tak i vztahem k voličům prostřednictvím volební nabídky. To se projevuje i v jejich chování a nastavené marketingové strategii (Henneberg 2006a;2006b;Ormrod, Henneberg a O'Shaughnessy 2013).…”

“…Politická komunikace je totiž maximálně jedním z významných nástrojů politického marketingu (Lees-Marshment 2001; Petrová 2012 a podobně). Ten je sám o sobě, jak si v dalším oddílu ukážeme, mnohem komplexnějším fenoménem, zahrnujícím nejen konkrétní způsob komunikace s voliči (například skrze média), nýbrž celou řadu předem promyšlených metod a postupů, jejichž podoba a způsob využití mohou být ovlivněny různými faktory -například, jak tvrdí německý odborník na marketing S. Henneberg (2006a;2006b), i vnitřně přijímanou politickou ideologií.…”

“…5 Jiný pohled nabídl Henneberg (2006a;2006b), a to propojením volební strategie s politickým marketingem. Ve svém konceptu hovoří o tzv.…”