POLITICAL MARKETING

A NEW KIND OF MARKETING

I think it is a little boring to follow a topic like elections because after a while the things you read in newspapers are more or less the same. In their speeches and interviews, candidates repeat their political platforms, repeat their slogans and even if they try to use different words, in the long run their statements seem to become idle chatter. I mean, important issues such as health, economy, immigration, work…seem without content and everything seem to be reduced to oratory exercises: candidates speaks as if they were selling a product. I think that in the last decades, politics has followed communication styles belonging to advertising: slogans, jingles, placards, symbols, adds (on TV, radio, in magazines, leaflets, e-mails…), photos with smiling people…are used more and more. Perhaps we can start talking of “political marketing” to all intents and purposes!!!

In this last week there wasn’t big or interesting news…at this stage of campaign, everything has already been said and now candidates start to attack, overtly or covertly, the opposition. So, you read lines and lines of nothing…
I think that both in American and Italian campaigns, candidates endeavor to persuade those part of undecided voters who can really determine the winner.

As regards Italy, foreign papers wrote about Alitalia near bankruptcy, holders of accounts in Liechtenstein banks and mozzarella cheese with dioxin. In general, Italy continues to be seen as a country with big problems that are hampering its growth and whose population is discontent and weary.
Italian papers update thousand times a day their pages with candidates’ silly statements: you read articles on politicians’ empty statements which often have no real connection between them.

As regards America, things are not so different. For example, some headlines are: “Obama and Clinton exchange slurs”; “Obama blames Clinton era for crisis” and so on. Somehow, the tones of the campaign are becoming harsher.
In order to persuade people, journalists often interview famous actors which becomes sorts of testimonials: for example, George Clooney and Brad Pitt support Obama, Angelina Jolie supports Clinton.

The stake game is high and of course, candidates try all-out to be the winner.