Marketing politics to voters: late deciders in the 1992 British election

The proportion of British voters who delay making their voting choice until the general election campaign is under way now make up nearly one quarter of the electorate. This large and electorally volatile group have the potential to determine the election result. However, because late deciders are less politically aware and less committed than other voters, they are notoriously difficult to influence. Using the 1992 British Election Study survey, shows that the Liberal‐Democrats made a slight net gain in votes from late deciders, but that for all three of the major parties the proportions of conversions were cancelled out by defections. Overall, the results suggest that political marketing strategies would be more cost effective if they targeted voters who made up their minds in the one or two years prior to the election, using precampaign marketing techniques.