The political brand, it's brand capital and the voter

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.