Building a political brand: Ideology or voter-driven strategy
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PETER REEVES is a doctoral researcher within the Centre for Research in Brand Marketing at the Birmingham Business School, where he is writing his PhD on the branding of political parties. He has a first degree in commerce and an MSc in economic development research and policy. Peter has held the Joseph Chamberlain Scholarship in the academic years 2002/3 and 2003/4.
LESLIE de CHERNATONY is Professor of Brand Marketing and Director of the Centre of Research in Brand Marketing at the Birmingham Business School. With a doctorate in brand marketing, Leslie has a significant number of publications on this subject in European and American journals. A frequent presenter at international conferences, Leslie has authored several texts, the most recent of which include ‘Creating powerful brands’ and ‘From brand vision to brand evaluation’.
MARYLYN CARRIGAN is a senior lecturer in marketing at the Birmingham Business School, from where she gained her PhD in commerce. She previously held the post of Coats Viyella Research Assistant at the Strathclyde International Business Unit, University of Strathclyde. She has worked in banking, export marketing and consultancy. Areas of research include the over-fifties, marketing ethics and corporate philanthropy, and consumer innovation.
Abstract There has recently been a growing interest and literature in the application of brand management principles to political parties. The idea of applying branding to political parties is, however, challenging as political parties have long viewed themselves as ideologically driven. With the ascent of consumerism, which was encouraged by Thatcher’s neo-liberal ideology, political parties have become more marketing oriented. Given that brands are part of everyday consumer behaviour, it may be that political parties operate and voters make electoral choices similar to the way in which consumers choose commercial brands. This paper demonstrates that the role of ideology has declined in recent years, and political parties in Britain are increasingly attempting to be consumer driven. The paper, however, argues that there is a tension for political brands in that there is a need for them to be voter driven, while at the same time being responsible for the long term. Hence, they have an objective also to ‘drive the market’ in a way that will sustain the future prosperity of Britain.
INTRODUCTION
Peter Reeves Centre for Research in Brand Marketing Birmingham Business School University of Birmingham University House Edgbaston Park Road, Edgbaston Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK Email: [email protected]
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British society, like every other advanced capitalist society, is influenced directly by brand marketing. In every aspect of citizens’ lives they interact with brands, whether during shopping trips, travelling to work or watching television. If citizens consider an activity they take part in during the day, they will find it difficult to say that
they have not interacted with a brand in some way. Given that brands are so much part of contemporary culture,
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