We live in an era where a vote is currency and political parties are product brands. So no wonder we see political advertising everywhere these days. From lonely websites that people hardly visit to almost every nook and corner of every city or village, smiling faces and folded hads in white wear and some form of tricolor greet us everywhere. Politicians are samples which come in various sizes of the political brand that is their party’s ideology and the brand identity that is their commitment. Advertising therefore is a natural progression for them to generate political revenue.
Now I run an agency, so I should be very happy that they do invest in advertising. However, there are times when I get disslussioned with the whole process political advertising when I am subjected to them. Such a sham sometime these things are. I don’t want to judge parties or advertising at this point of time, and that isn’t the idea of the post anyway. I think given the fact political parties have prominent public exposure almost all the time, they should invest in public relations more than advertising. An effective PR exercise can hold them in good stead at any point of public debate (positive or negative) while commercial advertising is most often met with skepticism.
And this is true both online and off.
When you are a mainstream political party active in parliamentary procedures, your under media speculation all the time. You are after all the headline makers more often than not. Your policies, your views on governmental decisions and laws are already known to your customers i.e the voters who keep a tab on you every single day through news channels, papers and blogs. It is not for nothing that India has one of the highest number of news paper prints in the world.
Advertising in my opinion is needed only when you are in the midst of a crowd or when you are at the bottom of the barrel and need to shout out to make yourself known or heard. In politics this is often a new party that finds itself in such a position. Most often these are regional breakaways of a national party and hardly contest enough seats nationally to make use of advertising.
Social Media and Public Relations on the other hand are sphere’s of influence. The media becomes pillars that support all the claims that you advertise. They are not just platforms of propaganda but are also surviving records of what you say and do. More than blatant advertising that can be contrived to meet popular opinion and demand these spots of public discussion are likely to direct voter thought and perception of your party. Blogs slandering your policies, or Youtube videos of your speeches also give weight to general opinion through comments. Newspaper articles define and project your strengths and weaknesses in more way than you can imagine. Under such circumstances it is more important for you to keep track of your public mentions than squabble with your opponents with banners and TV ads.
Public relations is bridging the gap between online and offline media faster than any other tool. An effective strategy involves both media and delivers on both ends to bend voter perception. A politician present for the public can be seen as a more accountable and trustworthy candidate. Of course provided you aren’t building up a list of negativity around you that is hard for even the most experienced agency to handle. So give this a thought the next time a strategy is made to advance political propaganda.
Absolutely true… Our parties and politicians certainly need to take care of their public relations as the most important thing. Their one unthoughtful act or an irresponsible statement generates so much of bad press & publicity, a negative image is created in no time and takes away all the good. I hope they start working on it sooner than later.