POLITICAL MARKETING… BORING!
BUT CAN WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THEM?
This weekend we head to the polls to choose which pol gets pole position for the next few years.
Is there anything more annoying than political ads? We are lucky in this nation that we are only subjected to a month or two leading up to the national elections. In America, their election campaigns start years in advance with their two major parties having their primaries and whatnot. Although, it does make for some truly great/cringey watching over there:
It can be over powering the amount of ads you are subjected to especially seeing as the majority have made up their minds.
And, we are all usually in our own bubbles when it comes to news, you watch one news program, get you news from the same few sites and follow the type of publishers on social media that you already have an affinity for.
So, it often turns out that you may not know what others know and vice versa.
I have been inundated with advertising over the past few weeks not least of which from Clive Palmer’s Party – I don’t know why, perhaps I fit a certain demographic or the fact that I searched Clive Palmer Party banana for this pic (you might remember from last month that still makes me laugh:
The political parties fight wars on many different fronts. They see each other at work every day, they duke it out in the press and at debates and they PR and Market the hell out of themselves. So, what can we learn from the politicians campaigns – not about their policies but about marketing. We have identified three areas that they do well:
GO BIG OR GO HOME – MARKETING BUDGETS
Clive Palmer reportedly budgeted 80 million dollars in advertising. When deciding on your marketing budget it is important to be realistic about what you will need to spend you might know that you will never have a spare 80 million lying around like the mining billionaire but figuring out a % of revenue versus your budget is extremely important. It is crucial to follow up after a campaign and make sure your ROI matched your expectations and adjust accordingly.
Listen to our podcast episode on budgeting here
DON’T PUT YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET – MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING
Nowadays, omni-channel marketing is everywhere (figuratively and literally), another essential ingredient is of the budgeting process is where you distribute your marketing funds. You will notice that the political parties are across multiple touchpoints from the traditional media of TV, Radio, Press and Billboards to the text messages and digital streams of social, display ads and emails. Let’s not forget the rallying of your base – be it social shares or volunteers doing phone calls, receiving multiple letterbox drops or the tradition of putting a politician’s face in your front yard. We will probably never achieve that level of multi-channel advertising but nether-the-less it’s important to have the touchpoints that fit your strategy and budget. Plus, it will help you get into someone’s digital bubble that may have previously been out of reach.
WHAT MAKES YOU – YOU! USP
Not only do candidates have to differentiate themselves from each other but they need to humanise themselves from the ambivalent and downright anti-political punters – the oft-quoted derisive view of pollies “their all a pack of bastards” comes to mind. Politicians spend countless resources on extolling their differences. Be it focussing on policies of their own or going the ever-tenuous negative route.
Abbott denies it. Turnbull got dumped over it. Morrison ignores it. Whilst the Liberals’ indecisiveness continues, Australia is dealing with the real chaos of climate change. This election, end the chaos, vote for real action on climate change – vote Labor. pic.twitter.com/0gShtFc4Lb — Australian Labor (@AustralianLabor) May 13, 2019
It’s important to find your unique selling proposition.
Even though the campaign will be over in a few days’ time it’s worth noting that the outcome may have ramifications for years to come just like any marketing campaign so it’s worth the effort. If you want to discuss your next campaign political or otherwise drop us a line.
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