Marketing Improvement of Politics - Essay Example

Politics might be improved by more, rather than less marketing. Discuss. Introduction The politics of present times is all about getting the message of the political party or movement to the right people, at the right time and in the right capacity. This means that there must be certain avenues which preach the message or the dictum of the party through usage of media and different publicity stunts so to speak. The leader of present times is one who is in the eyes and minds of the commoners, no matter he does some good for the society or otherwise. (SCHAPIRO, 1950) What people want from the politics of today is sensation, however deep down inside they want true democracy for their own betterment but then again everyone loves to gossip and politics is the favorite amongst the lot. Marketing within the political realm is something that must be judged in the proper light to start with. The citizens of the state must be apprised of their due role within the country and then they must also be told about the different aspects related with the spreading of message through the right channels. Politics must make citizens stand up and act. They should take notice of what is happening around them and what the different regimes and movements are doing for their own betterment. This means that awareness and a sense of knowing needs to be the buzzword when we explore the true meaning of politics and marketing the same gives the whole discussion a real boost in the related scheme of things. What is Political Marketing? Political marketing aims to look at the positive sides of delivering quality to the end consumers, for whom the politics is being done. The society is the eventual recipient hence it is the duty of the society to find out what is happening around it. The people are a part of this society and they are rightly the winners and/or losers at the end of the day. They must be made aware of the happenings around them when it comes to true political movements, activities, situations and the like. The usage of banners, websites, rallies, advertorials, email messages, sms texts, web portals, newspapers, magazines and even television and radio suggest that political marketing could be a real happening thing in the times much like today. (KELLEY, 1973) What also is suggested by these factors is the belief that there are a number of other avenues and different forms of media which could be explored so as to propagate the message of the political party or the politics as we might put it here. Advantages of Political Marketing Politics in the world of today is like a relationship. It connects with an individual in much the same way as a family is connected to him. He is being constantly bombarded with the different slogans and messages of the political regimes and movements and this suggests that the awareness aspect is seriously being taken into loop when we talk about political marketing and the related factors. However, the single most beneficial point of political marketing is to make sure that the right blend of people knows what is going on within a party and what its charter is and how best it can serve the interests of the people. Marketing in today’s age is a part and parcel of any activity and when the talk goes out loud of political happenings within a society or a culture, one must make sure that the marketing aspect of the political regime is very strong and there are no hiccups in the successful propagation of information to the target audience. (ECHOLS, 2002) The political marketing aspect seems to gain more weight when the discussion centers around different kinds of elections and referendums where the complete basis for a party or for that matter, an individual coming to the top most echelon of a country or a state is tested. The right amount of political messages ensures that the party is serious about reaching to the masses and that it has invested its money in the right direction. The failure to do some would mean that the party does not care about getting to the target audience and hence the people would care less about voting for them when the crunch time comes. One feature of political marketing that seems to be missing here is the fact that wastage needs to be avoided. The marketing should center on the different deliverables which would be seen/read or heard by the people for which the marketing strategy is being developed in the first place. The political marketing must avoid the fatal mistake of reaching out to the wrong sets of people, developing strategies and tactics which closely match those of competitors or airing the wrong messages after an activity has subsided. The last point discusses the subject of timing which seems to gain more and more importance and weight with each passing day since timing forms the key basis for all the activities to be successful for a party or a movement. (HAYDEN, 2004) Disadvantages of Political Marketing The disadvantages of political marketing is that it can invade the space of people without any such permission and it seems to hinder in their personal lives when they least expect of it. What this means is that political marketing ensures everyone is being hit with the message of the political party and there is no exception to this rule. There are messages that mean nothing for certain people but since the marketing is strong, they are continuously being fed with those messages day in day out. This strong marketing can go against the wishes of these types of people since they can turn against this kind of politics and hence the political marketing can go down the drain. The most efficient and effective methodology therefore is to adopt a manner which caters to the right people at the right time and in the most productive way possible. Masses could be some political party’s target audience but not every time this is the case and there have been instances when the need is to narrow down the focus and select the right kind of audiences to which the message would be given out to. Hence political marketing must be in a manner which guarantees success at all times. Apart from this factor, one of the drawbacks of political marketing is that it tries to feed the message of the party on to people and tries to change their stance towards a particular party or movement in more ways than one, which is unethical and immoral to state the least. The parties start to think of the people as consumers and nothing more than that which is such a big mistake if seen in the proper contexts. The end result of this activity is nothing but failure for the political marketing that is being done for these kinds of people who are being given the message of the political parties in the first place. Social Implications of Political Marketing The social implications need to be considered so as to understand the basis of creating value for the common people rather than asking them for favors in an all out fashion, which again is immoral and against the norms. (GOLDBERG, 1997) The disadvantages of marketing in a political manner outnumber the benefits but this does not mean that this is a failed strategy. What this means is the fact that the usage of political marketing for ways which are unethical to say the least makes a point for our hypothesis. This is a true snapshot of how the political marketing can go wrong and how it can produce results which were never envisaged by the political parties or individuals who are contesting for certain political events and/or happenings from time to time. The political marketing must be within certain limits which mean that the society does not feel taken for granted in the whole related discussion. Also this brings us to the point that the societal values and norms must be adhered to in order to understand what the political marketing is all about and how best the same can live up to the expectations of the people for which this marketing is being done. The different strategies and tactics coming under the fold of political marketing can also fail if the people feel that the same are not talking their language and are not conveying their point. Hence the marketing aspect within the political domain needs to be very precise in order to reach out to the right people in the right quantity and this means something really pertinent in the related contexts. Another drawback of political marketing lies in the fact that citizens of the state are at times subjected to dire consequences by these political parties if they do not grasp the meaning of what has been propagated or made known to one and all. This suggests that at times some political parties use certain unethical and derogatory methods through which their message gets to the masses, though in an incorrect capacity as well as a manner which leaves a lasting impression in the minds of one and all, however in a negative connotation as one might put it. It is true that political marketing has its due share of benefits as well as disadvantages but the single most significant aspect is to understand how one can truly develop feelings of trust and cordiality in the political marketing scenario and how biasness and falsifications could be done away with, once and for all. Thus one needs to understand that if there are certain good points of the aspect of political marketing then at times there are certain instances where political marketing seems to become a nuisance for the common citizens and this is surely one feature of the whole related debate that we must pinpoint our attention towards. The drawbacks and disadvantages need to be reduced and if possible simply removed from the definition of a pure political marketing regime and the benefits should be improved and enhanced over a period of time so as to have a sense of mutual trust and camaraderie with the general public. (Marketing Politics; Companies Blitz Conventions with Products, Sponsorships, 2004) Improvement of Politics in the related scenario Politics can surely be improved if political marketing is set in a manner which benefits one and all. However it can seriously be hurt and could take a back seat if the efforts that go in its way are backed up with biasness and a sense of unethical prevailing within the minds and hearts of the people propagating the message in the first place. Political parties must understand their due role and try to give in their very best no matter how trying the circumstances are or how tough the political movements are being run at a certain point in time, say for example within a nation. Politics can definitely improve and come out clean and clear if the political marketing strategies and tactics are brought about in a manner which is lucid and apparent in front of everybody so that the people could give in their own judgments when there is such a need for doing the same. (STAMMERS, 2004) However the significant point here is to consider the amount in which people can come about with the different ways and means as concerns to political marketing if they are given a choice to do this and this indeed is the beauty of discussion on politics in the end. One should understand that there is solid evidence available when one speaks of political marketing and this is made even clearer in the context of world politics in the times of today. Therefore political marketing has brought about a change in the thinking of people, whereby it has given them the choice to elect proper representatives to whom they would give their votes and thus understand the psyche of the leaders to which they hold their aspirations and dreams strongly. (GRISBY, 1996) The limits of political marketing cannot be just curtailed down to the electioneering process rather the use of political marketing can be seen very easily in different events, happenings, occasions, rallies and so on and so forth which is testament of the fact that the process of political marketing has achieved more and more in the times of today than it ever did in the yesteryears. The political marketing schemes build a relationship between the leaders and the voters. This is such a strong linkage which words cannot describe. It brings the people in close contact with their loved ones and gives them the choice to choose or reject a leader. Becoming a leader is a difficult job but then again these parties need to understand that people are not naïve and they know who would bring happiness for them and which political party has ulterior motives in the wake of the political marketing that is being done in a particular nation so to speak. (REES, 2000) Consequently, political marketing can pave the way for people’s ease of choosing their representatives and this becomes an interesting discussion in the related discussion since it is not an easy job to know which party will bring relief and happiness for the people and which party is bent upon ruining their lives with hard line policies and the like. The use of political marketing can run side by side with the public relations and publicity aspects which come directly under the marketing domain. The advertising and marketing communications is somewhat of a similar entity as far as political marketing is concerned and thus one needs to see the two in the same light when the discussion is of politics and different events which are run under the banner of political regimes. Publicity could be an important factor which could change the very basis of an activity or event since it has the power to attract different sets of people towards it. Similarly, political marketing and the related engineering tactics ensure that people come somewhat closer to the political parties and thus give in their input and understand what the charter of the political regime is like. Reasons in line with improvement of Political Marketing The reasons as to how politics can be improved due to the incorporation of the political marketing are that people get to know more and more about the different charters brought forward by the respective political parties and they are apprised of the various principles which are there in the strategies of a political party which if it comes into power, would turn the claims into reality. However this is not the case always and there is an element of doubt and uncertainty as we speak of the same. (LAZER, 1971) Conclusion All said and done, it is significant to understand that political marketing can bring about a change, but that change could be short lived if the party is not serious on its agenda and what it is preaching to the commoners of a state. It has to make sure that it follows what it teaches and does not stray from the set course of action at any point in time since these things are monitored very closely by the people who are interested in the whole political saga. BIBLIOGRAPHY ECHOLS, Chris. (2002). Politics, Wellbeing and the Market. International Journal of Politics and Ethics, Vol. 2 GOLDBERG, Marvin E. (1997). Social Marketing: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates GRISBY, Jason. (1996). Vote-by-Mail: A Catalyst for Change in Political Marketing. Public Relations Quarterly, Vol. 41 HAYDEN, Robert M. (2004). Class, Nation and Identity: The Anthropology of Political Movements. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 10 KELLEY, Eugene J. (1973). Social Marketing: Perspectives and Viewpoints. Richard D. Irwin LAZER, William. (1971). Marketing Management: A Systems Perspective. John Wiley & Sons Marketing Politics; Companies Blitz Conventions with Products, Sponsorships. (2004). The Washington Times REES, Patricia. (2000). Machiavelli, Marketing, and Management. Routledge SCHAPIRO, J. Salwyn. (1950). The World in Crisis: Political and Social Movements in the Twentieth Century. McGraw-Hill STAMMERS, Neil. (2004). Taking Part: Social Movements, INGOs, and Global Change. Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, Vol. 29 Word Count: 2,574 Read More