Marketing is the science of promoting services and products to consumers from manufacturers. The framework of this concept also includes the study of attitudes and preferences of consumers, the systematic application of the information received in order to create new services and goods.
Political marketing is a set of actions applied to the tasks and goals of political struggle. This concept characterizes activities aimed at the formation, change and maintenance of public relations to certain parties, figures or movements in the field of politics.
Political marketing is widely used throughout election campaigns. According to experts, certain principles must be adhered to in the application. So, political marketing should not be reduced to one of the tasks of management in the election campaign. Of no less importance is a clear understanding of the difference between this concept and propaganda, advertising.
According to some experts, the subjects of the modern political market are more focused on the "sale" of their image to voters. In other words, there is a remoteness from the modern marketing concept, which proclaims the guarantor of achieving organizational goals as “identifying the needs and needs of target markets and applying more effective than competitive ways to satisfy consumers”.
P. Lindon defined political marketing as a set of methods and theories that are intended for use by public authorities and political organizations in determining their programs and goals while influencing the behavior of the population.
Management and political marketing in terms of strategy has much in common with commercial management and marketing. The experts consider the main difference that the first is more socially oriented than the second. This, in turn, is emphasized more strongly by the fact that political marketing attaches greater importance to the ideological aspect, intangible values.
In addition, the specified activity has a certain complexity. Thus, a political association cannot disclose one idea, despite all its possible attractiveness (for example, a change of power or the abolition of any duty). Programs and ideologies should be positioned in the minds of the population. Otherwise, there is a certain myopia in politics.
Considering the issue of leadership, the following aspects are distinguished in political marketing:
- Creation (formation) of the image of a leader.
- Market segmentation. For one group of people, the qualities of a politician are attractive, while the same qualities may not fit into the ideas of another group about a political leader.
- Positioning. This aspect indicates the need to determine a specific position in a particular market segment.
- Media impact on the selected group. In this case, there are direct contacts of the leader with supporters, the dissemination of their ideas through support groups. It should be noted that the methods of influence can be not only the media, but also posters, slogans, leaflets and other forms.
Leadership in a civilized political marketing environment requires compliance with a certain system of rules. In accordance with them, the leader is nominated in the government and his powers are fulfilled. Thus, the personification of power occurs through its merger with the personal qualities of a leader. According to political analyst Mukhaev, a political leader has a decisive and permanent impact on the state, society, organization.