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Master in Political Marketing
Academic Year: 2016/2017
Final project by:
GUEDOU Marius Souyogoto
THE POLITICAL BRAND, IT'S BRAND CAPITAL
AND THE VOTER
Rome, June, 12, 2017
The political brand, its brand capital and the
voter
Abstract: The main purpose of this research is to propose
a conceptualization of political brand and political brand equity based on a
perceptual approach (Keller, 1993). Eventually, the development of a measure
method of political brand equity must allow to better understand the
relationship between the political brand and the voter.
Keywords: Brand, political brand, brand equity, political
brand equity, congruence
INTRODUCTION
For decades, many authors have advocated extending the marketing
of commercial enterprises to all types of non-commercial organizations and
adapting marketing theories and concepts, particularly to the field of politics
(eg Kotler and Levy, 1969, Kotler 1975 Shame, 1975, Newman, 1983, Smith and
Saunders, 1990, Wring, 1997, Reeves, de Chernatony and Carrigan, 2006). Kotler
(1975: 761) considers that «The very essence of a candidate's interface
with the voters is a marketing one and always has been ". An argument regularly
invoked to justify this position is that one of the often cited objectives of
marketing is not to sell anything to anyone but to satisfy the needs of
individuals (eg Kotler and Levy, 1969; Reeves, de Chernatony and Carrigan,
2006): " Political marketing is, in general, a force for good within society,
given that political marketing is concerned with the satisfaction of the
electorate "(Reeves, de Chernatony and Carrigan, 2006, p. 419).
Other authors, on the contrary, are opposed to this intrusion and
this marketing vision of politics. Many criticisms are made: a form of
propaganda, even manipulation, the danger that the political parties attach
more to form than to substance, that they follow public opinion more than they
guide it, the idea that politics is not a product, that political parties and
politicians cannot be assimilated to "soaps" put up for sale...
Our purpose in this research is not to judge the use of marketing
in the political sphere. On the contrary, we have chosen to adopt a scientific
approach, by transposing and adapting several concepts - including brand and
brand-name concepts - from the marketing literature to the policy domain. The
originality of our research lies in the perspective adopted: we want to better
understand and analyze the relationship between the voter and the political
brand. The ultimate goal of our research is to test our conceptualization of a
three-dimensional model of the relationship to the political brand based on the
measurement of its brand equity. To test the research model that we have
developed, a method of measuring the brand's brand equity will be developed in
order to better understand the relationship between the political brand and the
voter. But beforehand, it is necessary to define precisely what we designate as
political brand and political brand capital.
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
The research presented here is placed on a conceptual level. Its
main objective is to propose a conceptualization of the political brand and its
brand capital according to a perceptual approach (Keller, 1993). To do this, we
rely on the literature in marketing and political marketing.
The conceptual contributions and theoretical contributions of
this study are at several levels:
- in relation to the research carried out to date, it is
necessary to justify and demonstrate that the
concept of a brand applies to the political field (and in our
opinion to the candidate as to the
political party), in other words That the political brand is
conceptually valid,
- show the interest of this conceptualization,
- identify the specific features of the political brand, which
make it specific,
- better understand the concept of a political brand as it exists
in the elector's memory: what does
he perceive as a brand?
- through a literature review of the main authors who have
assimilated the politician and / or the
party to a brand, propose a definition of what a political brand
is in a perceptual approach,
- justify the choice of the concept of brand capital (and not
that of other close concepts),
- propose a definition of the political brand capital based on a
perceptual approach.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK / LITERATURE REVIEW
The theoretical framework of our research is structured around
two concepts: the political brand and the branding capital of the political
brand.
Applied to the political domain, the marketing literature on the
concepts of "brand" and "Brand capital" helps us to define the concept of
political brand and that of political brand capital. The operationalization of
the concept of political brand through political brand capital must enable us
to determine the value of the political brand for the voter.
This study is composed of three parts, each aimed at answering a
specific research question. First, why is it appropriate to apply the brand
concept to the policy area? In witch way ? To answer this question, it is
necessary to show that the concept of a brand can be applied to the political
field, the interest of this conceptualization while identifying the
specificities of the political brand.
Second, what does the concept of a political brand mean to the
voter? What does it perceive as a brand? To what extent does the candidate as a
person merge with the political brand? To answer these questions, it is
necessary to study the political brand as it really is perceived by the voter.
Finally, a third part seeks to answer the following question: what is the value
of the political brand?
1. The political brand: justification, contributions and
specificities of the concept
It is necessary to consider:
- the relevance of the brand concept applied to the policy area:
in other words, how can the candidate and the party be considered as brands?
- the interest of transferring the concept of brand to the
political domain: what does this assimilation bring? What interest can it
represent for candidates and parties?
- the specificities of the political brand, which make the
management of this particular brand.
1.1 Why talk about a political brand?
First of all, it is necessary to show that the political brand is
conceptually valid.
The question of whether or not to consider the candidate and / or
the party as a trademark is a regular feature of the political marketing
literature. If some people reject this idea (eg Luck, 1969), it is clear that
more and more authors assimilate politicians and / or parties to brands.
However, if this assimilation has already been made by a number of authors (eg
Nakanishi, Cooper and Kassarjian, 1974, Shama, 1975 and 1976, Lock and Harris
1996, Harris and Lock 2001, 2006, Reeves, Chernatony and Carrigan, 2006,
O'Shaughnessy and Henneberg 2007, Smith and French 2009, Guzman and Sierra
2009, Lambert-Pandraud, Laurent and Dubois, 2009, French and Smith 2010,
Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons, 2010), relatively little research justifies and
formally demonstrates the validity of assimilation.
A twofold justification allows us to demonstrate that a candidate
as a party can be likened to a brand:
- by placing oneself on the side of the brand, in other words by
adopting the definition of what a brand is, it is a question of showing that
this assimilation makes sense,
- by placing himself on the side of the voter, as whether the
concept of a political brand can be applied to the political realm raises the
question of whether the voter perceives the candidate and / or the party as a
brand.
1.1.1. The brand concept
In order to demonstrate that the concept of a brand can be
applied to the policy area, it is therefore necessary first to take up the
definition of the brand concept and to study its transposition into the
political domain.
Two definitions related to the brand concept illustrate the two
major dimensions of the brand: the
brand as signifier and the brand as signified (Lai, 2009).
According to the American marketing Association (AMA) definition
adopted by Kotler (1991), the brand is defined as "a name, term, sign, symbol,
design or a combination of these elements used to identify goods and services
of a seller or group of sellers and differentiate them from those of
competitors ". This definition highlights two major roles of the brand as a
signifier (Lai, 2009): the roles of identification and differentiation. Many
authors (e.g. Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993; Kapferer, 2007) have emphasized the
importance of the brand as an element of differentiation and its influence on
consumer decision-making.
Transposed to the policy area, this definition applies perfectly
to candidates. On the one hand, a candidate can be defined as a combination of
elements: a name (his), emblems such as a logo, a signature (François
Mitterrand's "Quiet Strength" in 1981, Nicolas Sarkozy's "Everything is
Possible" in 2007 ...), a dedicated website, a graphic charter in order to
guarantee the consistency of the brand's visual identity ... On the other hand,
we find these two notions Identification and differentiation. Indeed, if one
considers the objectives pursued by a candidate in the field, these are
essentially of two types:
- make themselves known by developing their reputation and by
giving voters a strong and positive image so that voters are able to identify
it,
- to distinguish himself from the other candidates by trying to
convince voters to vote for him on the grounds that only his candidacy could
bring them something that the other candidates cannot bring to them.
The stronger the candidate reputation is, the more his name is
present and therefore easily accessible to the voters. This name (combined with
other elements) allows it to be quickly identified and also to stand out from
other candidates.
A political party also meets this definition of the brand. On the
one hand, it can be defined by the combination of different elements: a name
(that of the party like the UMP, PS, PC, MoDem ...), emblems like a logo (the
official graphic representation of the name Of the party composed in general of
an alphanumeric logo often associated with a visual symbol: an oak for the UMP,
a hand holding a red rose for the PS, a flame with the colors of the French
flag for the FN ...), a Dedicated website, a graphic charter ... On the other
hand, we also find this double idea of identification and differentiation in
the case of a party. Through its identification system, a political party seeks
to be easily identified by voters and to distinguish itself from other parties.
The definition of WADA therefore also applies perfectly to political parties
(Smith and French, 2009).
Thus, in the same way that the brand as a signifier differs from
a product, the political brand as a signifier allows:
- tell the elector "who" is this political brand (that is, in our
opinion the candidate and the party he represents) so that the voter can
identify him,
- to give meaning to this political brand by its distinctive
function.
However, the brand is not merely a signifier but also a
signified: "In addition to being a sign enabling the brands to be distinguished
between them, the brand is associated in the minds of consumers with content,
Evocations, to a signified. (...) This signified refers both to functional and
symbolic dimensions "(Lai, 2009, p.18). Keller's brand-product dialectic (2008)
emphasizes both the two notions of identification and differentiation set out
above - the brand as meaning - but also the importance of the brand as
signified by Fact of the existence of mental structures associated with a brand
in the mind of the consumer. It thus illuminates this double dimension of the
brand. Keller (2008) considers that brand management can be applied to a wide
range of fields: tangible goods, services, places, ideas ... but also people
(like politicians) or all types of organizations.
If one is interested in this second dimension of the brand-the
brand as signified-in the case of a political brand, one can legitimately think
that the voter has in his memory a network of associations linked to the name
Of a candidate with a certain notoriety in the same way as a consumer has in
his memory a network of associations linked to a particular brand. Similarly, a
voter has in his or her memory a knowledge of the most known political parties,
as he / she has a knowledge of the brands as a consumer (Smith and French,
2009). The mere mention of the name of a party (at least for the best known)
evokes for the voter a specific content.
As for the functional and symbolic dimensions, in the case of a
brand, the first are based on product attributes and the latter are related to
what the brand evokes (e.g. Keller, 2008; Lay, 2009). Transposed to the
political domain, we find the same relation to the signified: the functional
dimensions refer to the offer of service and the symbolic dimensions to what
the candidate and the party represent for the elector (in particular the values
they defend). An example illustrates the meaning given to the political brand
both from the point of view of the signifier (a sign of recognition) and the
signified (a sign evocative of meaning). In the 2008 US Presidential campaign,
Barack Obama associated with his name: a logo (created for his 2008
presidential campaign and retaken for his re-election campaign in 2012), a
signature (Change we can Believe in "and the famous" Yes, we can "),
communication supports dedicated to the forefront of which its website
BARACKOBAMA.COM ... Thanks to this
identification system, it has succeeded in building a brand in the sense of
signifier. But beyond that, the simple evocation of his name arouses in the
minds of the electors a set of associations. This content refers to both its
service offer and what the candidate represents in the voters' memory. Thus,
the political brand "Barack Obama" also has a dimension as signified. The
campaign led by Barack Obama has allowed him to build up as a political
brand.
From a conceptual point of view, the assimilation of a candidate
but also of a party to a brand is therefore relevant. A candidate, like a
party, seeks, like any brand, to develop its notoriety and to create in the
minds of voters a positive brand image, that is, positive, strong and unique
associations (Keller, 1993). Whatever the brand, the objective remains the
same: "Creating brands essentially means creating differences" (Keller, Fleck
and Fontaine, 2009: 31). In other words, it is about putting forward
competitive advantages.
1.1.2. The importance of the (political) brand for the
consumer (the voter)
In order to demonstrate the relevance of the assimilation of a
candidate as a party to a brand, it is also necessary to study how the
political brand plays an important role for the voter, just as the brand plays
an important role in the consumer.
The brand fulfills several important roles for the consumer
(Keller, 2008):
- identify the provenance of a product,
- reduce risks,
- reduce research costs both internally (reflection efforts) and
externally (in terms of
prospecting),
- develop a relationship as a kind of promise, contract or pact
with the brand,
- projecting an image of oneself through the symbolic dimension
of the brand ...
If we transfer these roles to the political brand, we find these
functions of the brand:
- the brand of the candidate or that of the party makes it
possible to identify its origin, that is to
say in our case belonging to a political "family"
- to choose a known political brand constitutes for the voter a
risk reducer,
- a policy brand reduces research costs, whether it is the
reflection efforts that the voter should
have made to know in detail the "political offer" or the
prospecting efforts that the voter should
have Interest in all
"Offers" proposed in an election,
- a political brand makes it possible to create a relationship
with the elector, in particular the
promise or the contract that he proposes to him,
- the choice of a political brand may, for some voters, take on a
symbolic dimension, enabling it
to convey an image of oneself through the values or traits that
the political brand represents ...
Among the researchers who emphasized the relevance of the brand
concept applied to the policy domain, Needham (2006) takes up a number of
trademark research and lists several trademark features that make it a useful
concept in explaining the choice of voters . There are some of the functions of
the brand that we have just mentioned, although it is important to note that
Needham draws a parallel between the brand and the political party (not between
the brand and the candidate).
First, the brand simplifies consumer choice and makes it less
necessary to learn more about the product. Similarly, the etiquette of the
party prevents the voter from having to know in detail all the positions taken
by the party. The role played by the brand as a reducer of research costs
evoked by Keller (2008), which corresponds to the function of "practicality"
(Kapferer and Laurent, 1983) and simplification of the task (Lai, 2009) . Then,
the brand reassures, which is a source of confidence for the consumer. In the
same way, the unity and coherence put forward by the party the reader.
Referring to the idea of a contract, a pact between the consumer and the brand
(Keller, 2008), this guarantee function (Michel, 2004) or perceived risk
reduction (Lai,
2009) corresponds to the " (Kapferer and Laurent, 1983). The
brand's distinctive function (Kapferer and Laurent, 1983) also serves as an
anchor for the consumer to differentiate between the products.
Finally, both the brand and the party are promising. This idea
partially refers to the symbolic dimension of the brand (Keller, 2008) and the
role it can play as a symbol of identification (Michel, 2004). This
personalization function (Lai, 2009) corresponds to the "personalization"
function identified by Kapferer and Laurent (1983).
Thus, a candidate as a political party can be considered a brand
insofar as it is perceived as such by the voter. This is what Smith and French
point out about political parties (2009: 211): "Political parties are brands
because they act as brands for consumers" 3.
1.2 The Interest of the Political Brand Concept
Secondly, it is necessary to show the interest of this
conceptualization: what interest can represent this transposition of the
concept of brand to the political domain?
We believe that this conceptualization of both the candidate and
the political party as a brand can enable them to effectively manage their
political brand vis-à-vis voters. The concept of a political brand can
help them develop their reputation, build, manage, measure and control their
political brand capital (in particular through a specific measurement tool),
convey a strong and positive image, determine their strengths and Their weak
points ... It is also a question of knowing the perception that the voters have
of the political brand. The ultimate goal is to put in place a real branding
strategy.
1.3 The specific features of the political brand
In a third phase, it is necessary to identify and highlight the
specific features of the political brand that make its management unique.
Indeed, the political brand has specific characteristics in relation to a
trademark, which must be taken into account in its management.
These similarities / differences exist between the trademark and
the political trademark as such. They also exist between buying behavior and
political choice. With regard to political choice, it should be made clear
that, if there are different political systems and different voting systems,
the particularities identified here are specific to the political choice made
by a voter in a first-past-the-post system. That is, when the elector chooses a
single candidate, which is the case in France for presidential, legislative or
cantonal elections). Given our research area - the 2012 French presidential
elections - we do not mention other forms of political choice such as
proportional list voting (which is the case in France in regional elections for
example).
The specificities of the political brand are first of all linked
to the political product itself, in particular the fact that most voters choose
on the basis of the "packaged global concept or message" because the offer of
service proposed by the brand Policy is a "complex intangible product" (Lock
and Harris, 1996). In addition, the service offer chosen by the voter on voting
day is more likely to evolve over time than other types of services (eg O'Cass,
2003, Butler and Collins, 1994): Candidates and parties can in fact reverse
their promises once in power (which is true for any service but even more so in
the case of the service proposed by the political brand) 4. Another difference
is that, unlike a voting is not tied to a price concept (Lock and Harris,
1996). The specificities of the political brand are also linked to the
political choice in relation to the act of purchase. How is the political
choice specific to buying behavior, consumption of a product or service?
Compared to many goods and services that are often bought, "purchase" is done
here at times separated by time (all five years, for example in the case of a
presidential election). Moreover, political choice is a more forced choice than
the act of purchasing a product or service. Moreover, the elector can only make
a political choice when he can make several choices of consumption (for example
to buy several goods in the same category of products). Finally, there is no
"buy-back" in an election because all voters must choose on the same day (Lock
and Harris, 1996) and on a fixed date. Procrastination does not exist in the
case of a political brand. The only alternative is not to "buy", that is, to
abstain from voting.
The specificities of the political brand are also linked to
"consumer-voters". On the one hand, if a product is marketed with precise
positioning to be sold to specific targets, the political brand is addressed to
different and relatively heterogeneous audiences. While respecting a necessary
position, a political brand aims to attract as many voters as possible. On the
other hand, the different targets to which the policy brand is addressed are
not all of the same level of interest and certain targets are given
priority.
The political brand is also distinguished from a classic brand by
its brand architecture. On the other hand, if 1it is possible to
change the orientation of a party, it is very difficult to launch a new party
(a new brand)
(Lock and Harris, 1996). On the other hand, there is really no
international brand in the field of political marketing (except, perhaps, as
Communism was) (Lock and Harris, 1996).
Finally, the specificities of the political brand are linked to
communication. Although voters may have direct contact with candidates and
parties, communication is mostly indirect through the media (O'Shaughnessy and
Henneberg, 2007). The perception of the candidate and the party by the voter is
thus most often mediated.
The political brand thus presents a number of specificities, and
more generally political marketing (eg Lock and Harris, 1996, Butler and
Collins, 1994, O'Shaughnessy, 2001, Henneberg and O'Shaughnessy, 2009, Dean and
Croft, 2009 ). Beyond the impact of these
1 Two remarks can be made to complete this idea. On
the one hand, before the exercise of power, in relation to the choice made by
the elector in the first round, agreements are possible between the various
political offers between the first and second ballots, which can lead to
Revision "of the promises made to the voter in the first round. On the other
hand, there is a difference between a classical service that will try to
satisfy every consumer best, and the reality of the exercise of power.
In the work of Keller (1993), research based on the perceptual
approach is based on work on the
particularities that we have just studied on the management of
the political brand itself, these differences have two major consequences for
political marketing as a discipline: it is wise to transfer concepts and
Methods of "classic" marketing to the political domain, while adapting them to
the specificities of the political brand to develop theoretical frameworks and
models specific to political marketing (Lock and Harris, 1996).
To conclude this first part, it can therefore be considered that
the concept of a brand is effectively applicable to both candidates and
political parties. However, if this assimilation is conceptually valid, it is
now necessary to consider what constitutes the political brand in the voter's
memory.
2. The political brand in the memory of the elector:
concretely, what is it?
What is the concept of political brand for the voter? What does
it perceive as a brand? To what extent is the candidate confused with the
political brand?
Faced with a lack of clarification of the concept in research and
a lack of consensus, a literature review of the various meanings of the
political brand makes it possible to develop a better theoretical knowledge of
this concept by determining what In our opinion, the political brand as it
exists in the memory of the elector.
First of all, we must clarify the approach we have chosen to
adopt.
2.1 Approach adopted in our research
2.1.1 A voter-oriented approach
Adapted to the field of politics, we chose to adopt a
consumer-oriented approach to the brand and not a managerial approach centered
on brand management (e.g. Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000). By placing ourselves
on the side of the elector, our goal is to understand his perception of the
political brand (the way his image is formed in the memory of the voter), the
influence of political brand capital on the relationship between the elector
and the political brand and ultimately his possible influence on the behavior
of the voter. It is important to note, however, that our research is centered
on the voter - political brand relationship and not on electoral behavior
(voting intention and actual voting).
On the side of the elector, this conceptualization of the
political brand thus enables us both to define the concept of a political brand
as existing in the memory of voters and to study the differences in perception
according to the type of voters. This approach also helps to better understand
the voter's role vis-à-vis the political brand.
2.1.2 A Perceptual Approach
structure of memory (Changeur, 2002). These models, such as the
associative network memory model (Anderson, 1983), have been developed in the
field of cognitive psychology (eg Collins and Loftus, 1975, Anderson, 1983,
Wyer and Srull, 1989) Long-term memory (also called semantic memory or
knowledge) as a network of nodes and links (Keller, 1993):
The nodes represent the information (or concepts) stored in the
long-term memory,
- these nodes are linked together by more or less strong links,
the strength or intensity of the links reflecting the strength of the
association between two nodes.
A process of diffusion of activation or "spreading activation"
(Collins and Loftus, 1975) allows the recall in memory of these associations:
this activation process occurs when recalling stored information or, A new
information is stored in memory (Keller, 1993).
Starting from this model, the brand is assimilated to an
information node to which a variety of other nodes is linked by links whose
strength varies. The set formed by these nodes (the branded node and the other
nodes to which it is associated) and these links constitute the consumer's
knowledge with respect to the brand under consideration. Knowledge of the brand
therefore corresponds to a semantic network of associations stored in the
consumer's long-term memory and structured around the "brand" node: this
network represents all the information that the consumer associates with the
brand and how This information is organized in his memory (eg Aaker, 1991,
Keller, 1993, Krishnan, 1996, Changer and Dano, 1996 and 1998, Changeur,
1999).
Our research therefore fits into a voter-oriented perspective and
a psycho-cognitive approach to the political brand. This approach we have
adopted is new in the field of political marketing: there is very little
research in political marketing that adopts this perspective and is interested
in the influence of voters on the political brand and the development Of its
brand equity (Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons, 2010). To our knowledge, only a
few recent studies have adopted this perspective (e.g. Smith and French, 2009,
French and Smith, 2010, Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons, 2010).
2.2 The political brand and its different
meanings
2.2.1 General definition of the political
brand
At this stage of our research, we chose to retain the following
general definition of the political brand: "The political brand is defined as a
network of associations composed of interconnected political information, held
in memory and accessible when stimulated In the memory of an elector "(French
and Smith, 2010, p.6).
As noted in particular by French and Smith (2010), no research in
political marketing has sought to study associations with the political brand
and their characteristics (strength, valence, dominance / uniqueness, number,
etc.) The memory of the voters: nevertheless, according to the
conceptualization of Keller (1993), it is indeed the associations with the
brand as existing in the
memory of the consumer and more generally the knowledge of the
brand that generates the differential effect on the response Of the consumer
(and here of the voter).
Our research aims precisely to determine and measure the
associations with the political brand. Beyond a better knowledge of the
political brand, the objective is also to evaluate the value of the political
brand: it is all the utility of a measure of the capital-brand policy based on
the measurement of associations To the political brand.
2.2.2 The political brand: the party, the
candidate...?
We have tried to justify in the first part of this work the
application of the brand concept to the political domain. It is now necessary
to consider what constitutes a political brand. To date, the issue has not been
clearly resolved.
When one studies the work of the various researchers who have
transposed the concept of brand to the political sphere, one observes that the
concept of political brand does not cover the same reality:
- some assimilate the party to a brand (e.g. Shama, 1975 and
1976, Reeves, Chernatony and Carrigan, 2006, Lambert-Pandraud, Laurent and
Dubois, 2009)
- others consider that the political brand is a whole composed of
three components: the party as a brand, the politician as representing its
tangible characteristics and the "policy" as the center of its service offer
(Eg O'Shaugnessy and Henneberg, 2007, Smith and French, 2009, French and Smith,
2010),
- others still assimilate the candidate and not the party to a
brand (e.g. Nakanishi, Cooper and Kassarjian, 1974, Guzman and Sierra,
2009),
- very recently, researchers proposed a new dual
conceptualization of the political brand with the political party as a
corporate brand and the candidate as an individual / personal brand (Phipps,
Brace-Govan and Jevons, 2010).
Among all these conceptualizations of the political brand, that
of Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons (2010) seems to us the most relevant. As the
authors themselves point out, the qualitative study conducted in Australia is
the first to conceptualize the existence of a personal brand of the politician
in relation to the corporate brand of the political party: their research shows
Dual character of the political brand and its brand-name capital, the political
brand being the result of these two distinct brands.
As we have shown in the first part, we believe that a candidate
can be equated with a brand as a party. In the case of an election such as a
presidential election, the elector votes in fine for a candidate and a party.
In this respect, we adopt a dual view of the political brand and, in line with
the work of Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons (2010), consider a duality of the
political brand and its brand-capital.
However, it is necessary to question the place of other
components of the political brand (and in the first place the program) in this
conceptualization. We see that voters associate this or that campaign theme
more to a party and / or a candidate. Thus, in the opinion polls on the 2012
presidential elections, voters associate the security theme more closely with
the UMP and the social justice issue with the PS. The first results of the
current qualitative study tend to confirm this fact.
If, at this stage of our research, this position is based mainly
on theoretical arguments, the results of the empirical work should hopefully
confirm this: we believe that there is a political brand, which is the result
Of two brands (the candidate and the party). As for the other components such
as the program, the voter associates them with one or both of the two brands.
On this point, the question of congruence between the party and the candidate
can, in our view, constitute a key to understanding.
We would like to emphasize here an essential aspect that we
consider to be an understanding of this dual conception of the political brand,
a point which is not mentioned in the research by Phipps, Brace-Govan and
Jevons (2010). According to the results of their study, "the individual brand
of a politician can compete or strengthen the corporate brand of the political
party" (p.496). According to the candidates considered (and according to the
voters), the personal brand of the candidate can thus reinforce and nourish or
on the contrary
Enter into competition - or even confrontation - with the
corporate brand of the political party. But how can we explain this phenomenon
of competition between the two brands, or on the contrary, that one reinforces
the other? And in general terms, how to explain how the political brand is
structured between the candidate's personal brand and the brand "Corporate"
party? To answer this question, we believe that the concept of congruence can
shed light on this different relationship between candidate and party. In
marketing, the concept of congruence reflects the fact that two (or more)
entities are perceived to be doing well together (Fleck and Maille, 2010,
Fleck, Maille and Raghubir, 2011, Maille and Fleck, 2011). Adapted to the
political brand, we believe that the structure of the political brand envisaged
in a dual way and more particularly the relationship between the two brands may
in some cases be explained by the fact that the brand of the candidate and that
of the party are perceived as going well (or badly) together. When the brand of
the candidate and the brand of the party are perceived as going well together,
the first strengthens the second. Otherwise, the candidate's brand enters more
into competition with that of the party. But this congruence is not always
necessary: we will return to this point in detail in the next section when
studying the concept of political brand-capital and its duality.
Several concrete applications illustrate this duality and the
importance of congruence in relation to the relationship between the
candidate's and the party's brand.
An example is the existence within the major political parties
of different currents (for example, "Popular Right", "Right Social" and "Human
Right" within the UMP, Some referred to as "Soft Left" - and "The strong Left"
- also called "hard left" - within the PS ...). The existence of these currents
undergone by the major parties makes the congruence between the candidate and
the
party all the more important (in any case, when the brand capital
of one party is not much greater than that of the other As we shall see later)
in order to gather as many voters as possible. Conversely, less broad and
homogeneous parties (FN, MoDem ...) do not suffer the existence of these
currents: the congruence between the candidate and the party is naturally
strong.
Once the political brand has been defined, the value of the
political brand must now be considered from the point of view of the voter.
3. The value of the political brand: the political
brand-capital
Applying the concept of brand capital to the policy area has
three major interests.
First, it is necessary to evaluate the value of the political
brand (thanks in particular to the development of a scale for measuring the
brand-specific capital of the political brand). The next step is to verify
empirically that the brand concept applies to the political domain and the
operationality of the concept of political brand capital. Finally, the
identification of associations with the political brand must enable us to
determine what the concept of a political brand covers in the voters'
memory.
Why did we choose to focus our research on the concept of brand
capital? On the one hand, it is necessary to justify the choice of this concept
(and not that of other close concepts) and on the other hand to propose a
definition of the capital-political brand based on a perceptual approach.
3.1 Brand capital, a global and operational concept
for studying the political brand
When you look at the brand, several concepts immediately come to
mind: brand personality, brand identity, brand image ... A brief reminder of
what each of these concepts cover will justify our choice of concept Of brand
equity.
The brand's personality concept can be defined as "the set of
human characteristics associated with a brand" (Aaker, 1997: 347). This concept
may seem at first sight relevant to studying the political brand, given that we
are studying a political brand of which one constituent is a candidate (ie a
person).
Several reasons have led us, however, not to favor this concept.
First of all, we try to determine all the associations to the political brand
held in the memory of the voters. The brand personality is only one component
of the image brand. Secondly, we seek to validate the dual hypothesis of the
political brand: it is therefore necessary not to limit oneself to its related
human
characteristics in order to determine its other components.
Finally, our study aims to measure the value of the political brand.
The concept of brand identity is defined by Aaker (1996: 68) as
"a unique set of mental associations that the brand strategist wishes to create
or maintain". This notion of strategy, a voluntarist approach on the part of
the company, distinguishes brand identity and brand image: identity is a
concept of emission, while image is a concept of reception (eg Kapferer, 1988).
In other words, "identity is the way the brand wants to be perceived, as
opposed to the image, which is the way the brand is actually perceived by
consumers" (Michel, 2004, 42) .
In our research, we are interested in the political brand as
perceived by the voter and not in the
way in which the political brand wants to be perceived: we thus
situate on the side of the receiver and not the transmitter, the brand identity
does not appear relevant as a key concept.
Brand image is defined as "perceptions of a brand as reflected by
brand associations held in the consumer's memory" (Keller, 1993). Or, as
Korchia (2001: 4) summarizes: "Brand image is all that a consumer can associate
with a given brand." The brand image together with the
"Brand awareness" the two components of brand awareness (Keller,
1993).
If we did not retain the identity of the brand as a concept of
emission, the brand image is fully in our research since we are on the receiver
side. However, we have chosen to study the image of the political brand as a
component of brand capital as defined by Keller (1993) for two main reasons. On
the one hand, our research aims to evaluate the added value of the brand: if
our research is naturally concerned with branding, it is necessary to
distinguish among all associations constituting the brand's network those which
represent the Branded by their contribution to the development of a specific
additional performance provided by the brand. On the other hand, besides brand
image, the other component of brand awareness as defined by Keller (1993) -
"brand awareness" - is an essential element in the study of the brand its brand
equity.
If branding is an integral part of our research, we have chosen
to work on brand-based capital, which is a more global concept and relevant to
the purpose of our study.
3.2 Brand capital from the point of view of the
consumer
Among the evaluation tools and management of the political brand,
our research is therefore centered on the concept of brand capital. While most
research in politics focuses on the behavior of voters, our work focuses on the
voter's relationship to the political brand based on the idea that "the
emotional and behavioral dimensions Of the concept of brand-capital would be
the manifestation in the preference and choice of the existence, in the memory
of consumers, of associations possessing certain characteristics conferring
value on them "(Changeur and Dano, 1998, p.1 ). The objective is to evaluate
the power of the political brand on the voter.
Branded capital from the point of view of the consumer - or CBBE
- is defined as "the
differential effect of brand knowledge on the consumer's response
to brand marketing" (Keller, 1993: 1). "Consumer response" refers to consumer
perceptions, preferences and behavior with respect to the branded product (or
service) (Keller, 1993: 8). In other words, "according to the CBBE model,
knowledge of the brand directly influences the creation of brand capital,
insofar as it generates the differential effect that governs its development"
(Keller, Fleck and Fontaine, 2009).
Transposed to the political domain, for example, a voter may
react more or less positively to a program on a political party according to
the perception - positive or negative
- that he had previously this party (French and Smith, 2010,
p.6). This is one of the objectives of
The voting deferral mechanism makes it possible to clarify
this notion of positive accumulation, whether between politicians (in the case
of a primary, for example) or between parties (as in the
our research on political brand capital: to evaluate the
differential effect of knowledge of the political brand on the response of the
voter.
As mentioned earlier, our research is part of the perceptual
approach initiated by Keller (1993). In this approach, brand capital
corresponds to a set of perceptions (e.g. Aaker 1991, Keller 1993, Krishnan
1996).
The literature on brand capital based on a perceptual approach
adopts the conceptualization of Keller (1993 and 1998) and recognizes two main
sources of brand value: brand awareness and the existence of specific
associations in memory Long-term consumer. Indeed, not all associations with
the brand have the same interest (Aaker, 1991). Of all the associations that
make up the brand's network, only some generate the differential effect of the
brand in the perceptions, preferences and choice of consumers with regard to a
branded product (Keller, 1993). These associations
Have three main characteristics: they are strong, positive /
favorable and dominant (unique) (e.g. Keller, 19937 and 1998, Krishnan, 1996,
Changer and Dano, 1996 and 1998, Changer, 1999 and 2002, Korchia, 2001 and
2010).
Thus, according to Keller (1993), a brand has a positive brand
capital for a consumer when he is familiar with the brand (that is, he knows
it) and has strong associations in memory, Favorable and dominant (unique)
vis-à-vis this brand.
High brand equity brings many advantages (eg Aaker, 1991; Keller,
1993; Aaker, 1994): it helps consumers interpret, process and store the
enormous amount of information they receive about brands and Products; It is
likely to influence the existence of a positive consumer attitude towards the
brand (which is reflected, in particular, in an increased preference for the
brand's products); It increases the likelihood that the consumer will choose
the brand; It increases the fidelity of the consumer ...
3.3 Political Brand Capital from the Point of View of the
Elector
By adopting Keller's definition of brand capital (1993) and
adapting it to the political brand, we propose the following definition of
political brand capital: "the differential effect from the knowledge of the
political brand on the response of the voter to the marketing of the political
brand ".
In the case of the political brand, a high political brand
capital helps voters deal with the enormous amount of political information
they receive, is likely to influence the existence of a positive attitude of
the voter and In fine its choice, increases its fidelity ...
case of an alliance of parties ).
When Ségolène Royal called for a vote in favor of
François Hollande in the second round of 2012 Presidential elections,
the latter holds a political brand capital that it transfers to another
candidate in order to influence the electoral choice. Even if not all voters
are going to follow the voting instructions, it is a question of transferring
their own personal political capital to another candidate. Conversely, when
Arnaud Montebourg declares voting in the second round for François
Hollande but in personal capacity while refusing to give a vote consignee there
is no real postponement of the capital-political brand of the first on the
second. Similarly, in the case of an alliance between parties such as the Left
Front, 8 the Communist Party, for example, transfers the political capital it
holds to a candidate who is not a member of its ranks, To influence the choice
of communist voters.
As mentioned above, we adopt a dual conception of the political
brand and its brand capital in our research. According to Phipps, Brace-Govan
and Jevons (2010), the brand's overall brand-name is influenced by two brand
capitalists (which interact with one another and can also compete): corporate
brand capital Of the party and the individual brand / personal capital of the
candidate.
It is therefore necessary to study and compare the way in which
political brands are structured between the candidate's personal brand and the
"corporate" brand of the party. For each brand we propose a series of
assumptions concerning the brand equity of the political brand (and more
specifically the corporate brand capital of the party and the individual brand
/ personal capital of the candidate) The cases according to the links between
the personal brand of the candidate, the corporate brand of the party and the
congruence between the two. Three scenarios can thus be distinguished:
- if the brand equity of the candidate is much higher than the
brand equity of the party,
? then there is a strong relationship between the candidate and
the voter and a weak relationship between the party and the voter, which does
not require a congruence between the personal brand of the candidate and the
corporate brand of the party,
- if the brand equity of the candidate is much lower than the
brand equity of the party,
? then there is a weak relation between the candidate and the
voter and a strong relationship between the party and the voter, which does not
require a congruence between the personal brand of the candidate and the
corporate brand of the party,
- if the brand equity of the candidate and the party of the party
are both high,
? then there is a strong relationship between the candidate and
the voter and a strong relationship between the party and the voter, which
necessitates a congruence between the candidate's personal brand and the
"corporate" brand of the party.
These different scenarios must make it possible to create a
typology of political brands according to how they are structured between the
candidate's trademark and the party's trademark. The interest is to be able to
propose a management of the political brand according to its structure.
CONCLUSION: CONTRIBUTIONS (INCLUDING MANAGERIAL
IMPLICATIONS)
AND LIMITS OF RESEARCH
The conceptualization of political brand and political brand
capital from a voter's point of view based on a perceptual approach (Keller,
1993). As far as political brand-capital is concerned, this is to our knowledge
the first formal definition that has been proposed. Finally, our research must
present two other conceptual contributions: on the one hand, on the relation
between the political brand and the voter, and on the other, by its
contribution to the conceptualization of Keller (1993).
After having sought to demonstrate the relevance of the brand
concept applied to the political domain, we have justified in this work a dual
conception of the political brand (Phipps, Brace-Govan and Jevons, 2010). We
believe that there are two distinct brands: the personal / personal brand of
the candidate and the corporate brand of the political party. These two brands
are, in our view, the political brand that the elector chooses on the day of
voting, other elements (such as the program) that relate to one or both of
these brands. Another important element must also be taken into account: the
level of congruence between the two brands. In our view, this concept can help
clarify the way in which the political brand is structured between these two
components. Concerning the managerial implications of this research, we believe
that the concept of political brand can help politicians and parties to develop
their reputation, build, manage, measure and control their brand capital ... To
do this, the construction of a method Measurement of the brand's brand equity
and each of its components will constitute a certain managerial contribution.
The development of a measure of political brand capital will offer the
possibility for a candidate, a politician, a political party, to measure its
political brand capital and thus allow a real management of the political
brand. At the conceptual and methodological level (calculation of the political
brand capital and its two components, the congruence between the candidate's
personal brand and the brand
The party's "assimilation" to the brand makes sense and can
contribute much to the
understanding of the relationship between the political brand and
the voter (trust, attachment and identification with The political brand).
At this stage of our research, two main limitations can be
emphasized.
On the one hand, our work is based at present on a theoretical
framework. The empirical studies currently conducted should allow us to quickly
compare our conceptualization of the political brand and its brand capital with
the reality on the ground.
On the other hand, the choice of a research field - the
presidential elections of 2012 - will allow us to study and compare several
political brands but in a given context. As noted by Phipps, Brace-Govan and
Jevons (2010), the perception of voters of the political brand and its two
components is influenced by politicians and by the parties themselves
(Including their structure and mode of Functioning), but also by the type of
election considered (eg a national election versus a local election), the
country, the electoral system, whether in an election or on the contrary An
election ... It will therefore be necessary in the future to carry out studies
on various fields of research in order to study the influence of these factor
Contextual "on the brand equity of the political brand (and more precisely on
the relative importance of the individual brand capital of the candidate and
the corporate brand capital of the party).
FUTURE RESEARCH
What type (s) of relationship does the voter and the political
brand maintain?
In order to better understand the relationship between the
political brand and the voter, a three-dimensional model of the terms of the
elector-political brand relationship according to the brand-brand of the
political brand has been conceptualized. This model is based on a dual
justification, based on the marketing literature and more specifically on the
functions of the brand for the consumer and on the literature on political
science and economics, precisely on the great explanatory paradigms of
political behavior. Beyond the attitudinal variables, other elements were also
considered in this model in order to better understand the decision-making
process of the voter.
A quantitative study must enable us to test the model of the
relationship to the political brand that we have developed based on the
measurement of its brand equity. The aim is to show that the capital-political
brand has a significant influence on the variables of the relationship to the
political brand retained in the model and ultimately on the intention to
vote.
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