“Mind the gap”: the rise of political marketing and a perspective on its future agenda

TLDR

There has been a marked increase in the quantity and quality of research since the first EJM special issue in 1996, and political marketing is now mainstream in marketing research. The paper introduces a selection of studies on the growing use of marketing in modern politics, its perceived effectiveness in close elections, rising campaign funding, and increasing international collaboration. The authors tabulate themes from earlier special issues to compare them with those in this issue. The contributions highlight rapid internet influence in politics, methodological challenges, a need for cross‑cultural empirical work, and identify key future research issues.

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a selection of papers on such subjects as: increased application of marketing to modern politics; the perceptions of its effectiveness – particularly in closely contested elections; the escalation in funding of campaigns; and the increase in international collaboration. Design/methodology/approach There has been a marked increase in the quantity and quality of research since the first EJM special issue in 1996. Political marketing is now in the mainstream of research in marketing. The themes in the earlier special issues are tabulated to provide a comparison with those in this issue. The contributions in each paper are summarised. Findings The paper reveals key issues for research. One is the rapid rise in influence of the internet in the political sphere, particularly in blogging and social networking, although it presents major methodological challenges. There is also a need for more studies crossing cultures and electoral systems and empirical work to establish a firm basis for key constructs and relate those to voter attitudes and behaviour. Originality/value Drawing on a number of these papers, key issues for research in political marketing going forward are identified.