Political marketing is the use of advertising and branding to sell a particular platform, party or candidate to prospective voters. Much in the same way that corporate advertising is designed to sell various products, political marketing is designed to make candidates, parties and political ideologies more appealing to the masses. Intelligent marketing and presentation can make previously forbidden or taboo concepts more palatable to the mainstream, enough so that candidates can get elected or referendums passed that were seemingly unthinkable several years prior. Additionally, good political marketing relies on using existing political trends to one’s advantage. We can see in recent years the rise of previously verboten ideologies and candidates in the political systems of various countries due to their smart use of political marketing and their ability to take advantage of cultural changes.
One of the most notable examples of intelligent political marketing is the victory of the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom last year. Following his party’s victory in the parliamentary elections in 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron promised a referendum in which British voters would be allowed to decide whether the U.K. would remain in the European Union or leave it. The Remain side was supported by much of the political establishment, including the opposition Labour, Liberal Democrat and Scottish National parties, with Cameron and about half of his Conservative Party also onboard. The U.K. Independence Party, led by Nigel Farage, and the other half of the Conservatives backed the Leave side. The Leave side was able to triumph by marketing the U.K.’s continued membership in the E.U. as a drain on national resources. Flyers put out by the Leave campaign stated that the hundreds of millions of pounds that the U.K. was sending to the E.U. could be reallocated to the National Health Service in the event that Britain left the European Union. The Leave campaign also successfully pitted working-class voters against the political establishment, stating that pro-E.U. politicians were wealthy and didn’t care about the poor. The end result was that Brexit passed with considerable support from poor left-wing voters who traditionally supported Labour in general elections.
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Another example of successful political marketing is the rise of Marine Le Pen and the Front National in France. The Front National has long been marginalized in French politics due to its anti-immigrant positions, but when Marine Le Pen assumed the leadership of the party several years ago, she worked to rebrand it, moving it to the left on economic and social issues and shedding its image as a far-right party. Her efforts have paid off: in the recent first round of the French presidential election, Le Pen came in second place, entitling her to compete in the runoff vote and potentially be elected president. The Front National has accomplished this due to a surprising amount of support from young people, particularly gays, who are concerned about the Muslim migrant crisis and the wave of Islamist terror attacks in France and Europe.
As we can see, smart political marketing has the ability to make ideas and candidates that were previously off-limits more acceptable to the general population. By changing their party’s image, exploiting class and racial divisions, and taking advantage of cultural or societal shifts, politicians can see considerable success where there was none before. The triumphs of the Brexit campaign in the U.K. and the Front National in France show that the sky is the limit when it comes to political marketing’s effectiveness, as seemingly offensive ideas gain an increasing audience among a desperate, impoverished and angry people eager for change and sick of the political establishment.
- Kaufmann, Eric. “It’s NOT the economy, stupid: Brexit as a story of personal values.” British Politics and Policy at LSE (2016).
- Mayer, Nonna. “From Jean-Marie to Marine Le Pen: electoral change on the far right.” Parliamentary Affairs 66.1 (2013): 160-178.
