Marketing and Politics

This paper is a comparative study of two contrasting marketing approaches with the same goal: to get one particular individual elected as president of the United States in 1996. This study focuses on the ways in which Bob Dole and Bill Clinton's respective campaign planners have decided to position their candidates to appeal to the average, middleoftheroad voter, especially the voter who is likely to be able to be influenced to vote for a particular candidate or issue, regardless of party affiliation. The campaign represents a rare opportunity to see marketing designs at work in a situation in which preconceived notions of "Democrat" and "Republican" are not as strongly at work as they usually are in American politics. It also demonstrates marketing responses to a situation in which most experts already agree that Clinton will win, regardless of the strategies employed.

In a recent Time magazine cover story, Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy contend that a primary focus of both campaigns is their perception of the crucial swing voter as "a suburban, conservative, Midwestern working mother, 35 years old, [who] earns her age, [has] finished high school, [and] maybe some college" (1996, October 14, 45). Each campaign views this profile as fitting an important segment of the target market that will be crucial to winning the election. Dole's campaign in particular need of influencing this market segment since he trails so far behind Clinton in the polls. As Gibbs and Duff

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candidates, marketers would seem to have more of a level playing field. Interestingly, however, neither campaign is eager to exploit the similarities and contrasts between Elizabeth Dole and Hilary Clinton. Democratic marketers may see the First Lady as something of a liability; although she shares many common features with the profile of the swing voter, strategists appear to believe that her perceived power and control over her life and career may make swing group members resentful rather than supportive. The reluctance of Republican marketers to place Elizabeth Dole in the forefront of the campaign, however, is less understandable, especially in light of the possible use of her age as a way of counteracting voters? perception of Dole as too old for the job. In many respects a good match for Hilary in terms of accomplishments, attractiveness, and general appeal, Elizabeth is generally perceived as playing more of a traditional spousal role. As Gibbs and Duffy observe, the swing voter tends to think "the country is on the wrong track because the family unit has broken down" (1996, October 14, 46). Elizabeth's willingness to sublimate her own career to that of her husband could be used to convince such voters of Dole's com

Category: Psychology - M