Political marketing ‐ vive la différence!

Suggests that insufficient attention has been given to the significant differences between political and product or service marketing. The rise in awareness of political marketing has coincided with a decline of party membership in Britain and an increased distance between party and voter. Considers the relationships between party leader, brand image, exposure and awareness. Notes the current absence of predictive and prescriptive theories of political marketing action, and the relative significance of exogeneous factors in electoral success. Crossovers between conventional marketing, political science and political marketing are identified for future study.