Marketing and Political Campaigning in the US and the UK: What Can the UK Political Parties Learn for the Development of a Campaign Management Process Model? Paul R Baines February 2001 A Thesis submitted to the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Manchester School of Management

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CONTENTS Page Number Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Dedication Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract

2 6 7 8 9 10 11

Introduction

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Chapter One – UK and US Political Campaigning 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The UK and US Campaign Processes 1.2.1 Types of Electoral System 1.2.2 The Implications of the Electoral System 1.3 Election Campaigning 1.3.1 Marginality and Its Significance 1.3.2 The Floating Voter 1.4 Political Communication: The Political Science Perspective 1.5 Political Finance and Electoral Law 1.6 The “Americanisation” Debate 1.7 Conclusion

15 15 16 17 18 21 25 26 28 31 36 39

Chapter Two - Political Campaigning and Marketing Management 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Illustrating the Link Between Marketing and Politics 2.3 The Emergence of Political Marketing Planning 2.3.1 Campaign Strategy and Objective Setting 2.3.2 Organisational Development in Political Campaigning 2.3.3 Financing the Political Campaign 2.3.4 The Volunteer Programme 2.3.5 Co-ordinated Constituency Campaigning 2.3.6 Political Communication: The Marketing Perspective 2.3.7 Research and Polling 2.3.8 Post-election Analysis 2.3.9 Electoral Law, Culture and Political System 2.4 The Political Marketing Process: A Deductive Contribution 2.5 The Ethics of Political Marketing 2.6 Conclusion

41 41 41 47 50 54 55 57 57 59 61 63 64 65 67 68

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CONTENTS Page Number Chapter Three - Research Methodology: Using Qualitative Research To Investigate Political Marketing Contexts 3.1 Introduction 3.1.1 Research Objectives 3.2 Research Design and Theoretical Considerations 3.3 Understanding the Political Marketing Process (Phase I) 3.3.1 Research Objectives (Phase I) 3.3.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase I) 3.4 The Americanisation of UK Political Marketing (Phase II) 3.4.1 Research Objectives (Phase II) 3.4.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase II) 3.5 The UK Political Marketing Context (Phase III) 3.5.1 Research Objectives (Phase III) 3.5.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase III) 3.6 Data Analysis: Theoretical Considerations 3.6.1 Data Input and Analysis: Techniques Adopted 3.7 Limitations of the Research 3.8 Conclusion Chapter Four - Results - Phase I: Defining the US Political Marketing Process and Factors Associated with its Internationalisation 4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Data Analysis 4.2 A Model of US Political Campaigning 4.2.1 The US Political Marketing Concept, Industry and Related Issues 4.2.1.1 The Political Marketing Concept 4.2.1.2 Commercial/Political Marketing Differences 4.2.1.3 Technology 4.2.1.4 Infrastructure 4.2.1.5 Industry Issues: Incumbency and Voter Apathy 4.2.2 Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations 4.2.2.1 Ethics 4.2.2.2 Regulation 4.2.2.3 Negative Advertising 4.2.2.4 Independent Expenditures 4.2.3 Campaign Strategy 4.2.3.1 The Strategy Implementation Process 4.2.3.2 Development of the Campaign Message 4.2.3.3 Area Targeting 4.2.3.4 Voter Targeting 4.2.3.5 Campaign Co-ordination 4.2.3.6 Election Analysis 4.2.4 Campaign Organisation

70 70 70 71 74 76 76 79 80 80 82 84 85 87 89 91 92 94 94 94 96 97 98 99 100 100 101 102 102 104 105 106 107 107 108 110 111 112 113 113

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CONTENTS Page Number Chapter Four (Continued) 4.2.4.1 Campaign Organisation Structure 4.2.4.2 The Role of the Candidate 4.2.4.3 The Role of the Campaign Manager 4.2.5 Campaign Financing 4.2.5.1 Donor Psychology 4.2.5.2 Lobbying 4.2.5.3 The Fund-raising Process 4.2.5.4 Finance Effects 4.2.6 Research 4.2.6.1 Polling 4.2.6.2 Focus Groups 4.2.6.3 Testing the Effectiveness of Advertising 4.2.7 Competitive Analysis 4.2.7.1 Opposition Research 4.2.7.2 Competitive Intelligence 4.2.7.3 Rebuttal 4.2.8 Communication 4.2.8.1 Voter-Candidate Connection 4.2.8.2 Media Usage in Political Advertising 4.2.8.3 Media Planning 4.3 Cross-cultural Implications for Political Marketing 4.3.1 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests Within the US 4.3.2 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests Outside the US 4.4 Conclusion Chapter Five - Results - Phase II: Determining the Transference of US Political Marketing Techniques to UK Political Campaigns 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Data Analysis 5.3 Factors Determining Differences in Campaigning Style 5.3.1 Financing the Campaign 5.3.2 Campaign Organisation, Experience and Professionalism 5.3.3 Political Advertising, Message Development and Research 5.3.4 Media Management, Opposition Research and Freedom of Information 5.4 The Concept of Transference 5.5 Conclusion

114 115 117 118 118 119 120 121 123 123 124 125 125 126 127 129 130 130 131 134 136 137 138 140 143 143 143 143 144 145 147 149 150 151

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CONTENTS Page N Number umber Chapter Six - Results - Phase III: The Development of a Model of UK Political Campaign Management 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Data Analysis 6.3 Campaign Organisation 6.3.1 Research and Message Development 6.3.2 Political Advertising and Party Election Broadcasting 6.3.3 News Management and Opposition Research 6.3.4 Direct Marketing and Fund-raising 6.4 Implications for UK Political Marketing Campaigns 6.5 A Model of UK Political Campaigning 6.6 Conclusion

152 152 152 153 156 159 163 167 170 172 175

Chapter Seven – Conclusions and Recommendations 178 7.1 Introduction 178 7.2 Campaign Management and the Political Marketing Literature 178 7.3 Research Objectives: A Consideration of US and UK Campaign Processes 179 7.4 Recommendations for UK Party Policy Development 187 7.5 A New Political Marketing Research Agenda? 189 7.6 Conclusion 192 Appendices Appendix 1 - Direct Mail Fund-raising Letter (Text) Appendix 2 - Questions Asked of US Political Consultants (Phase I) Appendix 3 - Example Fax Requesting Interview (Phase I) Appendix 4 - List of US Interviewees (Phase I) Appendix 5 - Example Transcript of Interviews (Phase I) Appendix 6 - List of Interview Topics (Phase II) Appendix 7 - Sample Transcript (Phase II) Appendix 8 - List of UK Interview Topics Appendix 9 - Phase III Interview Request Letter Appendix 10 - Sample Transcript (Phase III) Appendix 11 - Sample Coding Report (Phases I-III)

195 196 197 198 199 218 219 225 227 228 235

Bibliography

258

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List of Tables Page Number Table 1.1 Table 1.2 Table 1.3 Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 2.5 Table 2.6 Table 2.7 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4 Table 3.5 Table 3.6 Table 3.7 Table 3.8 Table 3.9 Table 3.10 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6 Table 4.7 Table 4.8 Table 4.9 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Table 5.5 Table 7.1

Campaigning Effort by Constituency Type Funding in the 1992 Presidential Election ($M) Expenditure in the 1997 British General Election Definitions of Political Marketing The Political Entity’s Marketing Mix A Comparison of Political Marketing Process Models Area Segmentation Example Positioning Strategy in Political Markets Policy Evaluation Model Cross-cultural Factors Affecting Political Marketing Activity A Comparison of Qualitative Techniques Political Consultants by Type and City (1997/8) Number and Type of Political Consultants Interviewed The Major Components of the Phase I Research Design Phase II Respondents The Major Components of the Phase II Research Design Campaign Organisation in the USA and UK (August 1999) Phase III Respondents Number of UK Interviewees by Marketing Function The Major Components of the Phase III Research Design Average Text Unit Retrieval by Occupation Type Text Unit Retrieval by Consultant and Occupation Type Political Marketing Concept Comments Commercial / Political Marketing Differences Comments Concerning the Campaign Message Roles and Campaign Organisations (by Political Consultant) Consultant U’s Message Development Process Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests within US Cross-cultural Political Campaigning (US and UK) Differences in Campaigning between the US and UK Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Campaign Finance Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Campaign Organisation Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Political Advertising Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Media Management The Services Marketing Mix for UK Politics

22 34 35 45 46 49 51 52 53 65 72 78 78 79 81 82 83 85 86 87 95 95 98 99 109 114 128 138 139 144 145 145 147 149 191

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List of Figures Page Number Figure 1.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 2.3 Figure 2.4 Figure 2.5 Figure 2.6 Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 4.1 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 7.1 Figure 7.2 Figure 7.3 Figure 7.4

Partisanship Strength and Time of Voting Decision The Communication Cycle Stages of Loyalty to a Political Party or Candidate Political Marketing Publics Newman’s 4 P’s of Political Marketing Strategy Political Planning Model for Co-ordinated Local Campaigning The Generic Campaign Management Process (UK/USA) Venn Diagram Illustrating Overlapping Nodes Venn Diagram Illustrating Subsuming Nodes Model Depicting US Political Campaign Management Process Policy Development Process and Dissemination Model Depicting UK Political Campaign Management Process The Generic Campaign Management Process (UK/USA) Model Depicting US Political Campaign Management Process Model Depicting UK Political Campaign Management Process Improving the Policy Function

27 42 43 43 50 58 66 90 91 97 171 173 179 181 186 189

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Dedication This work is dedicated to my mother, Carole, for her unstinting and self-less support throughout my life, and for teaching me to question at a very early age even when I was frightened. “Mum, can y’ask t’ man ‘ow much that ice-cream is?” “Ask yerself, Paul, y’ave gorra tongue in yer ‘ed!”

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Declaaration No portion of this work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning.

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Acknowledgements My greatest debt of gratitude is owed to Professor Barbara Lewis who agreed to supervise me in April 1997 and who has continually offered me excellent advice on the content and structure of this work. I only hope that I took her advice as she intended me to and that I lived up to her expectations. I would also like to thank Dr Phil Harris, at Manchester Metropolitan University, who agreed to act as an advisor and who provided much useful advice at a number of critical stages throughout this work. I would like to thank Patrick Butler, at Trinity College Dublin, for suggesting the Lewis/Harris supervisory dream team when I telephoned him in April 1997 to ask his advice. I would like to thank Professor Bruce Newman from DePaul University, who acted as the perfect host when I was conducting interviews in January 1998 in Chicago and who later offered his advice on the direction that this work was undergoing. I would like to thank the School Research Team at Middlesex University for making available the funds to conduct the first phase of the research in the form of a seedcorn research grant in November 1997. I would also like to thank my sister-in-law, Samantha Baines, for her efforts during the arduous first phase, and some of the second phase, of interview transcription in the summer of 1998. I would like to thank my mother, Carole Baines, for her efforts during this stage and then her later efforts in the transcription of the second and third phase interviews in the summer of 1999. As if this was not enough, she also made a number of typographical changes to the manuscript based on Barbara’s corrections in April 2000 and proof-read the final draft later in the summer of 2000. I owe a debt of gratitude to the 59 respondents who took part in the three phases of the research. They each gave up at least an hour of their time, despite the lack of obvious gain on their behalf, to share with me their thoughts on a fascinating industry. I truly believe that industry will become increasingly important as new democracies emerge in Africa and Latin America, and as world markets globalise and media markets increasingly fragment. Finally, I would like to thank the internal examiner at UMIST, David Yorke, and the external examiner, Professor Nicolas O’Shaughessy at Keele University, for their helpful post-viva comments on the corrections necessary prior to re-submission.

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Marketing and Political Campaigning in the US and the UK: What Can the UK Political Parties Learn for the Development of a Campaign Management Process Model? Abstract The recent research literature in the area of political marketing stems from that written in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s. Bruce Newman who looked, initially, at political campaigning from a consumer behaviour perspective pioneered much of this research, from a marketing standpoint. More recent work, in the UK, has been brought together by Phil Harris who edited a special edition of the European Journal of Marketing (1996) that included a number of articles on how marketing relates to political campaigning and lobbying. There is also a rich source of American campaign management literature and a considerable amount of American and British political science literature, which are both relevant for this research. Until now, however, the strategic management of marketing resources by a political party has not been considered in detail in the published literature. The current literature (e.g. Newman, 1994) is essentially a consideration of the strategic process from an American perspective using hypothetical models that have been produced from transposing a marketing framework onto political campaigns. The political communication components of political campaign management have been explored but the organisational perspective has been neglected. Thus, the thesis attempts to provide a model of how political marketing campaigns can be further professionalised and managed in the UK. US campaigning is widely regarded as the source of best practice world-wide and US political consultants have been operating on campaigns throughout Europe, Africa and South America. Further, professional political consultancy services have become part of a large political marketing industry in the US. The research aim is to determine those areas of US political campaign practice that can be transposed into UK political campaign practice to further improve its efficiency and effectiveness. The research herein employs a three-phase qualitative methodology. The first phase comprise thirty-four, semi-structured in-depth, interviews with US political consultants from Washington DC, Austin and Chicago from six different occupational categories that relate to marketing functions. The second phase of the research comprise six semi-structured in-depth interviews with British and American experts, consultants and academics, on the Americanisation of UK political marketing. The third phase of the research involved the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews with eighteen respondents including executives from all three major UK political parties and subcontracted research and advertising agency staff. The sample also included a number of executives from media organisations who were either involved in disseminating political party communication output or were involved in its regulation. Qualitative approaches have been used previously by political scientists to describe campaign management phenomena (see Kavanagh, 1995), but this thesis purports to offer the first insight into US political marketing practice and the way in which it can inform and professionalise UK political marketing from the practitioners’ perspective. Suggestions are made for the professionalisation of policy development and for further investigation into the application of the services marketing mix to political campaigning.

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Introduction This section explains how the researcher became interested in this area of marketing and provides an overview of each of the chapters that comprise the thesis and their contribution to the topic of investigation. The thesis comprises seven chapters which cover: an introduction to the UK and American campaign processes from a political science perspective, a discussion of the relevance of the application of marketing to political campaigning, the design of the study, three chapters outlining the results of each phase of the research, and the conclusions and recommendations of the research. I first became interested in politics when I decided to study Roman Civilisation at school. I enjoyed the political machinations of the Roman Empire so much that I went on to study Ancient History and Literature, largely based on political writings, at ‘A’ Level and became immersed in this fascinating political period. I then studied management and chemistry at degree level, unsure of whether or not I enjoyed sciences or social sciences the most. It wasn’t until my third year of undergraduate studies that my interest in politics was resurrected when my tutor for Services Marketing gave a lecture on marketing for political parties. This aspect of the course secured the link between my interest in politics and commerce and provided the impetus for my subsequent application to study for a Master of Philosophy degree. The research for which was based largely on the concept of co-ordinated campaigning and the application of a strategic marketing framework for UK political party campaigning. The research herein is a progression of that work in that it seeks to identify how campaigns can be managed more effectively, but also seeks inspiration from US political campaigns, which have been traditionally regarded as the best in the world. However, this research considers the national perspective of British campaigning whilst the MPhil thesis emphasised constituency campaigning. Chapter One – UK and US Political Campaigning This chapter is written from a political science perspective, as much has been contributed to the political campaign management discipline from this field. The chapter explains the UK and US campaign processes and indicates the types of electoral system that are in use in the UK and the US1. This is an important component to be included in this work since previous authors (notably Scammell, 1997) have identified that this has a large impact upon the style of campaigning. The chapter goes on to illustrate the concepts of marginality and the floating voter, which are important with regard to market segmentation and the strategic use of resources. The chapter also considers political communication and electoral financing and law. The intention of this chapter is to introduce the reader to the context of political campaigning from a political science perspective and to highlight how campaigns have been organised. Chapter Two - Political Campaigning and Marketing Management This chapter is written from a marketing perspective and explores the current literature in the area of political marketing. The chapter also discusses the concept of political marketing from a strategic perspective, and attempts to illustrate the gaps in the political marketing literature related to this area of the discipline. The chapter illustrates the relevance of political marketing (incorporating the current literature on how marketing and political campaigning are interlinked), but also explores key themes of campaign 1

Mainly considering Westminster parliamentary elections in the UK and the US presidential election.

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strategy, organisational development, running volunteer programmes, fund-raising, research and polling, political communication and constituency campaigning. The chapter ends with presentation of a model of political campaigning that has been deduced from the literature and which serves as a model to be further investigated - which is the reason for the US interviews. The chapter also includes reference to a number of articles on cross-cultural political marketing in order to illustrate how political marketing techniques can be transferred across cultures. Chapter Three - Research Methodology: Using Qualitative Research To Investigate Political Marketing Contexts This chapter describes the procedures used to obtain the data from the in-depth interviews. It commences with the objectives of the different phases of the research and justifies the research design adopted in this work. A justification of the use of in-depth interviews, and a phenomenological approach, is provided and the limitations associated with this type of research are detailed. There also follows details of the data analysis method used. Since this incorporated relatively new qualitative analysis software, the procedures of coding are explained. All three phases of the research are described with justifications provided for the type of interview adopted (semi-structured, unstructured, highly structured). There follows an expose/ of the limitations of the research and the way in which future research might contribute to the development of this academic area. Chapter Four - Results - Phase I: Defining the US Political Marketing Process and Factors Associated with its Internationalisation The chapter begins with a discussion of the way in which the thirty-four interviews were coded and which particular interviews were used most and why. The chapter continues with a structure which emerges from the data and includes moral, ethical and regulatory considerations, campaign organisation, competitive analysis, campaign finance, research, communication, campaign strategy and the associated political marketing industry infrastructure. The chapter describes how political marketing operates in the US. This serves as a point of reference; particularly the model of the US political campaign management process that emerges from the qualitative data and which is later compared with the generic marketing planning process (illustrated in Chapter Two) in Chapter Six. The chapter ends with a consideration of the factors associated with the internationalisation of the campaign techniques used in the US. Although many of the consultants had not worked in the UK, a number had considered the problems associated with using such techniques in other countries. Chapter Five - Results - Phase II: Determining the Transference of US Political Marketing Techniques to UK Political Campaigns This chapter provides the reader with an insight into the problems of the transference of US campaign techniques to the UK context. These six interviews were conducted from the UK, using a combination of personal and telephone in-depth interviews, to provide the researcher with an indication of the way in which American techniques are being used in the UK. This was a necessary component of the study due to the fact that the researcher had a finite amount of time and resources and could not, therefore, explore all US campaign techniques in their entirety. Thus, those campaign techniques that were most capable of being transferred, determined from the Phase II interviews and reported in this chapter, were explored further in Phase III of the study and reported in Chapter Six. 13

Chapter Six - Results - Phase III: The Development of a Model of UK Political Campaign Management The results of the eighteen interviews conducted during the third phase of the research describe the potential for the Americanisation of UK political campaigning from the perspective of UK political party campaign executives, sub-contracted consultants and external media executives. In the chapter, the process of political marketing in the UK is outlined and insights into how American political marketing practice can inform UK political marketing practice are provided. The chapter provides the reader with a model of the UK political campaign management process which is derived from the Phase III interviews, the generic model of political marketing planning in Chapter Two, and the US political campaign management model presented in Chapter Four. Chapter Seven – Conclusions and Recommendations The chapter summarises the major differences between US and UK political marketing practice. Limitations in the application of marketing management by UK political parties today are outlined. Recommendations are made for the further professionalisation of the UK political campaign function. These recommendations focus specifically on improvement in the testing and formulation of policy amongst the electorate, and six processes for doing this are outlined. The limitations of the present research are also outlined with an exposition of what concepts need to be tested further. An agenda for the future of political marketing research is suggested, focusing principally on the applicability of the product development process, individual services marketing mix components, and the link between communication and distribution in political campaigning.

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Chapter One UK and US Political Campaigning 1.1 Introduction The literature review starts with a consideration of what constitutes British and American political science. The style is comparative and attempts to show the areas that are mutually compatible and those areas that are not. Political marketing, strategic marketing and non-profit marketing theory are considered in detail in Chapter Two and an attempt is made to show where the linkages are between these areas of the marketing discipline and political science. This study follows the premise that marketing techniques can be used in political campaigning2. However, it is the extent to which marketing, and US political marketing, techniques can be applied in this area that underlies the basic theme of the thesis. The intention within this chapter is to provide the reader with a background to the process of campaigning. This background is best provided from the political science literature, which seeks more to explain and describe political phenomena rather than prescribe political phenomena. The chapter seeks to explain some pertinent characteristics associated with UK and US campaigns, and compare and contrast structural characteristics that lead to the use of certain campaigning techniques. As a result, the chapter is written from the perspective of political campaign phenomena rather than a separate, detailed, consideration of each of the US-UK perspectives. The reason for this perspective is that one of main objectives of the thesis is to determine the limits of Americanisation for UK political campaigning. Thus, it was felt to be more appropriate to compare and contrast structural characteristics that were pertinent to transferring US political marketing techniques to the UK, rather than elucidate campaign practice in each country per se. Because American campaigning practice has professionalised, it is wise to seek to determine which of the new techniques employed (such as direct mail, on-line campaigning, satellite conferencing, focus groups, surveys etc.) could be used to a greater extent than they currently are in the British political campaigning environment. In this work, the United States was used as a model. Maarek (1995: 7) states that ‘there can be no doubt that the genesis of modern political marketing is entirely rooted in the history of political communication in the United States.’ He later points out that direct mail was first used to determine which issues should be used to persuade voters in the Eisenhower US presidential campaign in 1952. American campaigning professionalisation is further exemplified by Kavanagh’s words, ‘it is certainly true that British campaigners closely follow developments in the United States and seek to learn lessons’ (1995: 218). Scammell (1997) mentions that political campaigning in the US ‘is more professional than elsewhere although it continues to be dominated by folk wisdom and remains more art than science.’ Techniques pioneered in Britain have also been exported to the USA. Negrine and Papathanassopoulos (1996) mention that the Clinton US presidential campaign made use of advisers from the British Labour Party and suggest that although it may be true that certain practices have, in recent years, been imported from powerful nations, such as the United States or Britain, 2

For a consideration of how strategic marketing planning is applied in UK politics, see Baines (1996).

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or from powerful neighbouring states, this “transfer” has in fact taken place in a world that has become increasingly internationalised. The fact that the Americans have a huge political consultancy industry is probably testimony to the fact that their political marketing as a pragmatic concept is in a more mature state than that of the British concept of political marketing3. The objective of this thesis is to determine which techniques, when used in the American political campaigning process, can also be used in the British campaigning process; bearing in mind the differences in electoral systems, campaigning methods, electoral law and finance, and culture. 1.2 The UK and US Campaign Processes Grant (1982: 213) defines the American presidential election process as encompassing nomination and then the election campaign. The nomination process begins as candidates declare their interest and prepare their organisations prior to the election year. In January of election year, campaigning begins in those states that have early primaries. State primaries (from New Hampshire to California) and state conventions continue from February to June. During July and August national conventions formally nominate party candidates. However, Ladd (1993) points out that ‘the national nominating conventions ... no longer really choose nominees; instead they ratify choices made in a long, drawnout string of primaries and candidates no longer can count on the party organisation for much assistance; the fabled machines of yesteryear have long since disappeared. Instead, candidates must put together their entire campaign apparatus themselves [which] means candidacies must begin early.’ This explains the near permanent state of campaigning that exists in America. From September to early November, the election campaign is in process and the first week in November culminates in the day of the Presidential Election. The state primaries select delegates for the Party conventions in order to determine their candidates for the presidential nomination. Because the candidate is vying for popular support among his/her party members, (and other party members in some states where “open” primaries are held, thereby, allowing other party members to vote), it becomes necessary to differentiate one’s views from other candidates from the same party in the primaries. This requires a different approach from fighting a UK general election campaign where candidates are only competing against candidates from other parties. Grant (1982: 225) points out that ‘a presidential candidate has to recognise that the winning of the party’s nomination, often achieved by fractional support within the party, and achieving success in the actual election when all the nation’s voters are entitled to participate, are two different propositions. [The candidate] will therefore try to modify his positions on the issues or change his image so that he can broaden his appeal to the mass electorate.’ The British political system has no equivalent to the American primary system. Candidates for the position of leader of the party are selected by differing methods for each of the UK parties. For instance, the Conservative Party leader is currently selected by Conservative MP’s (although this may change), whilst the Liberal Democrat leader is selected by all members of the Liberal Democrat party (including Members of 3

See Chapter Two – Political Campaigning and Marketing Management.

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Parliament, activists, constituency officers and non-active members). The Labour Party selects its leader through the members of the National Executive Committee. Thus, there is no consistency in approach among the three main UK parties. The objective of the (American) Presidential Campaign is to win an absolute majority of the nation’s Electoral College votes of which there are 538. The winning candidate, therefore, requires 270 electoral votes. Each state is allocated a number of votes equivalent to its number of congressmen (that is housemembers plus two senators), and the candidate who wins the majority of the popular vote in each state takes all of the Electoral College votes for that state (Grant, 1982: 226). The Electoral College, therefore, consists of separate elections in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This system is similar to the British system where the country is divided into 659 constituencies. The winner of the popular vote in each constituency takes a seat in Parliament. The party with the most seats in Parliament wins the election and forms government. 1.2.1 Types of Electoral System The political process demands that the citizens of a country pick their governing representatives through the process of voting. Individual citizen’s opinions appear to have little bearing on who eventually gets into power. Guillermo and Grofman (1984) state that ‘in a general election, in which many citizens vote, the probability that a single voter can affect the outcome is so small that, in general, citizens have no rational reason for voting. However, if all citizens accept this reasoning, then none will vote and so each vote will have a large probability of affecting the outcome. Hence, all should vote after all.’ This demonstrates that the value of voting in a particular election is, to some extent, dependant on turnout and the nature of the election. For instance, in a British local election, mobilisation of a very small number of supporters (since the turnout rate can typically be around 30% of the electorate) can decide the outcome of an election. Alternatively, the turnout for a US general election is typically around 50% whereas, in Britain, the turnout for general elections is typically around 75%. Therefore, the extent to which a voter can be persuaded to place his or her vote is more important in some cases than others. The type of electoral system has implications for the approach that is used by the political marketers. Interestingly, as an area of empirical research, this subject has tended to be neglected. Baines, Harris and Newman (1999) cite a recent major study of electoral systems that has been carried out by the Jenkins Commission (The Independent Commission on the Voting System) for the UK in Australia, Eire, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, and North America. The two volume report illustrates the cultural nuances of electoral systems, highlighting for example the distinctness of Quebec in the Canadian system and the locus classicus of the Italian proportional system. The three most popular types of electoral system typically operating in countries around the world are plural, preferential and proportional. •

Plural - this includes the single member first-past-the-post system currently in operation in the UK and USA. It ensures that one party has a parliamentary majority, thereby allowing a quicker and more effective legislative process. At the same time, minority parties tend to be severely handicapped except where they have highly 17





significant support in small areas of the country. Pluralistic systems tend to favour two-party systems. Preferential - in this system, the voter is given the chance to express a second choice in addition to their first choice. In France, the election goes to a second ballot with the main winning candidates from the first ballot. In Australia, the system known as Alternative Vote prevails, whereby, voters express an opinion for a preferred and secondary candidate. At the same time, voters are required by law to cast their vote which provides difficulties for political strategists who must try to persuade those who might abstain in other systems to vote for their party. The French system has substantial practical problems in that the parties need to persuade voters to go to polls not once, but twice and the Australian parties have to persuade those who would not normally vote in a different system to vote. Since the non-voter usually represents a significant proportion of the disenfranchised element of the electorate, the Australian parties’ task is to stop voters from registering their vote with a minority candidate or deliberately spoiling their ballot paper. The minority parties still lose to the larger parties who have more widespread appeal. Proportional (PR) - this system allocates seats to parties on the basis of their share of the vote. The constituencies usually comprise multi-member seats where several candidates would represent a particular party. This system favours coalition government and tends not to produce a majority government as in the other systems. The proportional system is used by most member countries of the European Union to elect Members of the European Parliament.

1.2.2 The Implications of the Electoral System As stated earlier4, how an election is organised has ramifications for how political parties and candidates try to manipulate the result in their favour. Kavanagh (1970) illustrates this point when he states that ‘the type of electoral system in use ... undoubtedly affects the style of electioneering. Forms of proportional representation encourage parties of broadly similar policies to concentrate on the differences between them, the second ballot in a two ballot system encourages candidates to be moderate in their appeals and to try and attract support from parties that are sympathetic in general policy positions: forms of preferential voting encourage candidates to build up a personal vote.’ Thus, in the recent elections in Scotland for the first Scottish Parliament, which was held under the proportional representation system, the Labour Party were trying to appeal to voters supporting the Liberal Democrats (and even supporting the Tories in some cases), in areas where the Scottish National Party were popular.5 Proportionally representative electoral systems often lead to power-sharing executives, and so political parties often need to moderate their policies in order to appeal to voters of potential partner political parties. The PR system operates in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. Plural voting is typified by the first-past-the-post method that operates in Britain and the US. In these cases, the voter selects a candidate within a specified geographic area of the country (an electoral unit usually referred to as a constituency). Each candidate then,

4 5

See Section 1.2.1 Types of Electoral System. The Scottish National Party is committed to an independent Scotland.

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essentially, conducts his or her own election campaign to win sufficient votes for that particular constituency. The party with the most constituencies forms government. Farrell (1996) states that ‘campaigns vary across different political systems .... presidentialism promotes candidate-centred campaigning. In turn, federalism contributes to a high degree of decentralisation of party organisations and campaigns.’ Both the American and British electoral systems are based on first-past-the-post ballot systems and yet the US is more candidate-centred whilst the UK is more party-centred. Interestingly, with the recent devolution exercises in Britain (including the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Irish Assembly and the Scottish Parliament), election campaigns in the UK are more likely to be devolved to the regional organisations with, perhaps, financial assistance and expertise contributed by the national parties. Duverger (1954) stated that non-proportional electoral systems favour two-party systems whereas proportional systems favour multi-party systems. Evidence of this effect is provided by Lijphart (1994: 67) who measures the levels of disproportionality under differing electoral systems. This allows the measurement of the actual competition between parties. Results from this work confirm Duverger’s work since the effective number of parties calculated in the UK is 2.51 (competition mainly between Labour and Conservative parties with some competition from the Liberal Democrats - and the Liberal Party and the SDP in the seventies and eighties) whereas the effective number of parties in the US is 1.926 (competition mainly between Republicans and Democrats). Presumably, where there is no party competition (e.g. a dictatorship), the effective number of parties would be one. Where anarchy (self-governance as opposed to the commonly-held misunderstanding of no governance) persisted, there would be no electoral system and so the effective number of parties would be zero. A source of imbalance in the British and American electoral systems under first-past-thepost is the extent of the partisan support. Where a party is highly popular, the electoral system works to their advantage. Where a party has a low percentage of the vote, however, the system works to the party’s disadvantage, since there are no prizes for either second or third place. This is why marginal constituencies in Britain and marginal states in America are important targets for political strategists when determining where to target their limited resources7. The result of the construction of electoral areas could be argued to have produced partisan support that has developed as a result of socio-graphical deviations. Alternatively, it can also be argued that electoral areas are determined from such sociographical cleavages in order to allow regions to retain their identity. Nevertheless, the level of support for a party depends on the part of the country in which the constituency lies as well as whether the constituency is mixed, urban or rural. Curtice and Steed (1986) explain the resulting trend in Britain in detail: ‘we ourselves put forward three possible explanations in 1982 as to why the North/South, urban/rural, variation might have occurred and could be expected to continue - change in the geographical distribution of the social classes due to the pattern of migration (particularly from cities 6

The fact that this figure is less than two reflects the lack of effective opposition provided by either the Republicans or Democrats in some constituencies. 7 See Section 1.3.1 Marginality and Its Significance.

19

to rural areas), an increase in the importance of the class composition of the neighbourhood as an influence on voting behaviour, and the development of a territorial cleavage’. This suggests that some areas are more conducive to supporting a particular party than others since particular areas have become more partisan. Archer (1985) shows how this also occurs in the US when he states that during the 1984 presidential election, ‘in regional terms, Mondale did best in Northeastern urbanindustrial states, and received delegate support from the South. Hart gained early support in New England, but did best in the primaries and caucuses that were held later in Western states. Jackson’s strength was in the Southern and Northeastern states with higher proportions of black voters.’ Such regional imbalances affect the candidates’ targeting strategy. Archer (1982) indicates that a geographic strategy was pursued in the 1980 American Presidential campaign by both Carter and Reagan who spent around 60% of their time in Northeastern states. Curtice and Steed (1986) argue that ‘both this regional imbalance and the general unresponsiveness of the electoral system to swings of electoral fortune now actually discourages rather than encourages the development of aggregative policies designed to appeal to a wide range of groups.’ There is, herein, an argument for market segmentation since the market is not homogeneous and separate groups can be communicated with in different ways. The result is that in countries with constituency-based electoral systems, geographic market segmentation is conducted explicitly since parties need to direct their resources to the regions that have the most impact upon the final result. Shelley and Archer (1994) point out that Clinton’s strategy in the 1992 Presidential Election campaign was to concentrate on gaining the 270 Electoral College seats that is necessary to become president. ‘In order to reach this goal, the Clinton campaign focused on several areas of the country. These areas included the Far West, especially California which had been narrowly Republican in 1988 and which was hit hard by the recession. In the South, the Democrats targeted Clinton’s home state of Arkansas and Gore’s home state of Tennessee, as well as neighbouring Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.’ The Labour Party at the 1997 British General Election, were said to have targeted around a hundred seats. It can be seen, therefore, that political parties can not use one single strategy to appeal to everyone. In the words of the former US House speaker, Tip O’Neill, ‘all politics is local’. The nature of the political system upon voting behaviour is also considerable. Granberg and Holmberg (1995) found that, when comparing the differences in voting behaviour between the electorate in Sweden and the United States, in Sweden the prevalence of a strong party system based upon clear ideological (left-right) dimensions often means that the voters tend to select a party based on specific issues. Whereas, in the US, the ideological dimension is much less comparable in terms of left and right and, therefore, voters tend to show less issue-voting and ideological restraint. Granberg and Holmberg also found that those voters who intended to vote for one party but who actually voted for another party (they refer to them as intention-behaviour changers) in the United States ‘tend disproportionately to be those who are apathetic and who are poorly informed’ whereas, in Sweden, it is not necessarily the apathetic and ignorant citizens who change their vote. 20

The literature comparing electoral systems and their political effects is not abundant. The differences that exist between electoral systems and their consequences for voting behaviour have considerable implications for the type of approach that party strategists take when devising and organising their campaigns and must be considered throughout the reading of this thesis. 1.3 Election Campaigning During election campaigns in both the US and the UK, politicians need to communicate with the electorate in both a local and a national context. This is due to the nature of the first-past-the-post electoral system, which requires parties to win in each constituency (local) and to obtain a majority of such constituencies overall (national). This leads to political parties having to concentrate their resources into both local and national campaigns. Thus, senior politicians tend to spend time campaigning in the marginal constituencies8 in order to raise the profile of their respective parties. Generally, however, the local politician has to rely on their local party and donations in order to run their campaign. During American presidential elections, the contenders (usually the nominees of their respective parties for vice-president and president) make journeys all over the country in order to promote themselves. This usually requires their attendance at the state primaries, the most important of which is said to be the New Hampshire Primary since it kicks off the start of the campaign proper and receives the most publicity. During the 1992 American Presidential Election, Arterton (1993) points out how important it was to be seen in the process of campaigning: ‘throughout the campaign year, both Clinton and Bush often used closed-circuit video-conferencing to appear simultaneously in scattered locations for events such as fund-raisers and rallies.’ Denver and Hands (1992), when talking about British campaigning, also indicate that it is important to put as much effort as possible into the local campaign. ‘We can tentatively suggest that the change in the share of the vote obtained by Labour in constituencies where they campaigned most intensively was about two percentage points better than in constituencies where they only made an average effort: the corresponding figure for the Liberal Democrats was about four percentage points.’ While they may appear small, figures of this size can often make the difference between winning and losing a seat. Some of the parties are better at this concentration of local effort than others. This can be seen in work conducted by Denver and Hands (1992) in Table 1.1 showing that the percentage of the electorate that was canvassed in 1992 was 57% (in Labour marginals) and as low as 10% in weak Liberal Democrat seats. The parties do tend to concentrate their resources on marginal seats, although the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party appear to be better at it than the Conservatives9. Research conducted by Denver and Hands (1998) on constituency campaigning in the 1997 British General Election, found that this pattern of campaigning continued; with the Labour and Liberal Democrat Parties continuing to allocate resources to marginal seats and the Conservatives allocating resources to their safest seats. Denver and Hands 8 9

See Section 1.3.1 Marginality and Its Significance. See Section 2.3.3 Financing the Political Campaign.

21

comment that ‘again, as in 1992, the strength of campaigning in all parties varied with the electoral status of the seat, and while the pattern of variation was “rational” in the case of Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the fact that the strongest Conservative campaigns were in their safest seats must remain a matter of some concern to their strategists.’ Table 1.1 Campaigning Effort by Constituency Type Party/Canvassing

Safe

Marginal

Weak

% of seats that undertook canvassing activity (Conservative) % of electorate canvassed (Conservative)

95

100

91

53

47

25

% of seats that undertook a lot of telephone canvassing (Conservative)

8

30

22

% of seats that undertook canvassing (Labour) % of electorate canvassed (Labour) % of seats that undertook a lot of telephone canvassing (Labour) % of seats that undertook canvassing (Liberal Democrat) % of electorate canvassed (Liberal Democrat)

78 31 -

97 57 8

79 23 6

100

88

73

31

30

10

% of seats that undertook a lot of telephone canvassing (Liberal Democrat)

-

-

1

Source: Denver and Hands (1992) Kavanagh (1995: 219) argues that American campaigning is marked by the following features: • The rise of single issue and more-candidate centred campaigning - mainly due to party fragmentation and the growth of political action committees (PACs) which usually provide funding on specific areas of policy. • The importance of money - although the state provides funding for the election campaigns, this is only after the presidential candidates have been nominated. Many candidates need to spend large sums of money prior to this to raise awareness of their candidacy. • The growing importance of professional communicators - this includes a sizeable number of people who work in areas such as fund-raising, strategy, petition management, advertising, direct mail, and polling. • The role of the mass media in giving name recognition to presidential candidates in the primaries. • The weakness of political parties. This is in marked contrast to the UK system, where single issue campaigning has tended to be much less prevalent. However, the 1997 British General Election was, perhaps, an election that marked a turning point in British politics. A new party emerged and began campaigning on the issue of a referendum for further integration into the European

22

Union. This was set-up by the billionaire financier, Sir James Goldsmith, and was called the Referendum Party. The role of money in British political campaigning is much less important. The political parties in the UK tend to obtain the majority of their promotional activity through newspapers and broadcasters in the form of free press. Mandelson (1988) - who was Director of Campaigns and Communications for the Labour Party in the late eighties states that one of his marketing objectives after the 1987 British General Election was that ‘our press and broadcasting contacts must be dramatically extended beyond the parliamentary press lobby.’ For American politicians, the vast majority of their political promotion is achieved through paid advertising. In Britain, professional communicators are much less prevalent than in the US. Although British political parties employ pollsters and advertising agencies, they have their own separate departments within the national party for fund-raising and the mobilisation of volunteers tends to be conducted at the constituency or regional party level. The name recognition among the electorate that is so important for political candidates in the US, is less important in the UK, as the vast majority of people vote along party lines rather than for a particular candidate. ‘Over 90 per cent of people regularly vote at (UK) general elections in line with their party identification, in contrast to the United States where only two-thirds admit identifying with a party and split-ticket voting10 is but one indication of the fragile partisanship’ (Kavanagh, 1995: 221). However, it could be argued that people were not persuaded to vote for New Labour but for Tony Blair and, so, British general elections are becoming more presidential. Conversely, it could also be argued that American voters do vote along party lines more than they are given credit for. The difficulty for political strategists lies with determining where to target resources. Should these go into the local or the national campaign? Maarek (1995: 213) states that the local campaign can only disregard the national campaign in two instances: 1. When the candidate is a strong, charismatic, personality with significant roots in the constituency. 2. When the constituency is so isolated that external considerations are not influential. Jacobson (1996) outlines the importance of local campaigning in the 1994 US House elections. ‘Although House elections were ... nationalised to a greater extent than they have been in decades, local variation remained as pronounced as ever, and for the usual reasons: incumbency, the quality of the challengers, campaign spending, and the interaction of national issues with local issues.’ Farrell (1996) argues that the efforts of the local campaigners have limited affect. ‘The efforts of local party organisations affect voter turnout, but not voter persuasion. Therefore, local party organisations should focus their efforts only on those areas where their natural support levels are strong: on no account should any efforts be made in 10

In the US, because voters can choose a number of candidates for a number of different offices on the same ballot paper, this often leads to the selection of candidates for opposing parties. This is referred to as split-ticket voting and is a phenomenon associated with the US rather than the UK where more than one set of elections on the same day is rare. This last occurred in May 1997 in the UK with the General and Local elections.

23

hostile areas.’ Such advice would seem to run counter to the general consensus that candidates should target marginal areas. The important point is that candidates should not ignore their natural support since this represents their support base and erosions of this will have long-term negative ramifications. Maarek (1995: 214) goes on to state, however, that ‘when successful, co-ordination between local and national campaigns can generate positive results.’ The difficulty here for political strategists is that they cannot possibly campaign in all local constituencies and districts. It is necessary for the national party to target resources, manpower and time into those areas that are most likely to bring the most rewards. These areas tend to be marginal constituencies in the UK and marginal states in the US. Jacobson (1985) states that ‘the party would prefer to deploy resources in a way that promises to maximise the number of seats it wins. It would redirect resources from campaigns of its stronger candidates to the campaigns of its weaker candidates up to the point where the expected marginal gains in seats among the latter began to be matched by the expected marginal losses among the former.’ It is of paramount importance that the each of the national parties determine where their limited resources should go since a co-ordinated policy can then redirect money from safe seats into seats where the chances of an opposition candidate losing are significant. Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1998) have outlined a process by which national parties can support local parties by co-ordinating the constituency campaigns from the centre11. Jacobson (1985) highlights this system of co-ordinated policy in discussing the state of the two major American parties in 1982: ‘Republican Party committees have recently achieved a more centralised and strategically efficient resource system. The Democrats, in contrast, remain wedded to a thoroughly decentralised system.’ Johnston (1985) emphasises this by suggesting that ‘parties should spend more in some constituencies than in others, given the constraints on funds and fund-raising, and should win more votes in some places as a consequence’. This requires significant organisation and cooperation between the local and national parties, which in turn depends on the party’s level of centralisation. Interestingly, this organisation has been much less possible for the British Conservative Party. Denver and Hands (1996) suggest that ‘the Conservatives are less able to direct local campaigning strategy from the centre - because local associations have greater autonomy - and they have less need to do so, since their local organisation is generally stronger.’ Whether or not this is still the accepted wisdom after the landslide defeat at the 1997 British General Election is arguable and, certainly, it is likely that radical reform is necessary in this area if the Conservatives are to be in with a chance at the next general election12. Johnston (1985), when discussing which British constituencies political parties should target for general election spending, argues that ‘it was suggested that parties would raise and spend more where they held the seat (or notionally during boundary changes) and where the seat was marginal and extra spending might make a difference to the result.’

11 12

See Section 2.3.5 Constituency Campaigning. See Section 2.3.3 Financing the Political Campaign.

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1.3.1 Marginality and Its Significance The geographical unit of importance to the UK and US political strategist is the marginal constituency and marginal state. Marginality is defined in Britain as a seat where a firstplaced party has an electoral majority over the second placed party (as a proportion of the votes cast within the constituency at the last election) of 10% and below. The importance of the marginal constituency is depicted by the following quote regarding the 1992 British General Election: ‘all votes are equal but some are more equal than others. When the government goes to the polls next month, the shape of the next government will in effect be decided by one in six of the votes - those cast in constituencies won by the Tories in 1987 with small majorities’ (The Economist, 1992). Certainly the Guardian newspaper placed great weight on Labour concentrating on sixty seats with a swing of 4.52 and less for the 1997 British General Election (McKie, 1995). Whilst referring to the 1992 British General Election, Harrop (1990) states that ‘crucial marginals are the sixty or so seats Labour needs to win from the Conservatives to prevent another Conservative victory’. Kavanagh (1995: 20) further illustrates this crucial point by stating that one ‘approach is to define the targets in terms of marginals, the results of which decide most general elections.’ Post-election academic analysis reported in Butler and Kavanagh (1997: 210) illustrates this concept of targeting more clearly, “the 1997 contest was remarkable for a greater degree of targeting than ever before. Conservative and Labour headquarters focused their efforts on almost identical lists of the 90-100 seats where the election would be decided. The Conservatives focused on 130 seats, 30 of them held by the opposition; however their concentration was defensive – the 100 seats most vulnerable to Labour’. Mandelson (1988) has stated that one of the key objectives for the Labour Party after the 1987 British General Election, was that ‘(the Labour Party) must target priority seats and mobilise the whole party to secure national impact.’ The importance of the marginal constituency lies in the fact that the construct defines the level of competition between the two main parties within the constituency at the previous election. Because opinion polls tend to be less reliable, the political parties have to rely on previous indications of the share of the vote. This method of targeting swing seats is similar in America. This is probably an aspect of the first-past-the-post electoral system. Grant (1982) points out that under the Electoral College system13 ‘it is inevitable that the largest states with the biggest number of college votes .. are the most valuable prizes as even a narrow victory in the popular votes in these states will give the winning candidate a sizeable block of votes’. This has important implications since it determines where political strategists should allocate their limited resources. Grant argues that ‘under the “winner takes-all” Electoral College system, there is little point in campaigning extensively in areas that are either safe or hopeless for a particular candidate or party; it is in the marginal states that the election will be won or lost.’ Archer (1985) illustrates this point with an example from the 1984 American Presidential Election. ‘(One) purpose for which Reagan-Bush Re-election Committee monies were 13

See Section 1.2 The American and British Campaign Processes.

25

used prior to the general campaign was to expand voter registration lists in key “target” areas. A particular focus was placed on the South where Jackson’s candidacy drew unprecedented numbers of new minority and likely Democratic voters to registration booths during the primary season. To counter this, the Reagan-Bush campaign joined forces with the Republican National Committee to allocate $8 million for a Southern voter registration drive intended to add 2 million prospective Republican voters to registration lists in the region.’ Niffenegger (1989) also states that it is important to target seats that are more vulnerable to partisan change. ‘Nixon was ..... the first to target and track the crucial swing voter segment in swing states. Fourteen “swing” areas were identified, where the race was close and the strategic leverage of electoral votes high.’ Jacobson (1996) makes the point, when discussing the 1994 US House of Representatives Elections, that ‘most of the seats that Republicans took from Democrats were in districts that leaned Republican in presidential elections.... Republicans won all sixteen open Democrat seats in districts where George Bush’s share of the two-party vote, averaged together for 1988 and 1992, exceeded 50 per cent; they only won six of the fifteen where the Democrat’s presidential average exceeded 50 per cent.’ Identification of these marginal constituencies and states is one of the most important aspects of the political marketing process and when used in conjunction with communication techniques becomes a very powerful tool in winning campaigns. Arterton (1993) describes the 1992 American Presidential Campaign: ‘The Clinton campaign used a sophisticated data-mapping operation to systematise its scheduling, media-buying, and get-out-the-vote operations. It began by superimposing media markets on the map of the United States. Week by week, each media market was ranked in terms of the number of persuadable voters in the market weighted by the Electoral College votes and the perceived strategic importance of the states reached in that market. The resulting map in which the media markets were arrayed on an eight-point colour-coded scale, quickly revealed where the campaign needed to place its emphasis in travel, field organisation and media buys.’ Since all political parties and candidates have limited funds, or are constrained in their spending, (e.g. through electoral law), the national parties should only concentrate on those seats that offer the most benefit in terms of maximisation of vote-revenue. 1.3.2 The Floating Voter The most important voter in elections is the floating voter. This term includes those who voted for a party in the past and who have suggested that they would vote for a different party in the future as well as those generally undecided about who to vote for. Hayes and McAllister (1996) point out that ‘from a marketing perspective, floating voters may be considered individuals with no brand loyalty.’ Floating voters act differently from their partisan colleagues in that they are willing to change their vote. According to Heath et al (1985: 134), ‘for the floating voter there is a less close fit between their own values and their perceptions of where the parties stand. The floating Conservative voter was more likely to report that they lay to the left of their party while the floating Labour voter tended to lie to the right of the Labour position.’ Floating voters, therefore, have a different viewpoint than the parties they vote for. 26

Himmelweit et al (1981) found the same situation in their study for the each of the UK general elections in 1970 and February 1974. ‘We compared Conservative converts drawn from Labour ranks and Labour converts drawn from Conservative ranks, with those voters who had remained loyal to each of the parties .... the views of Labour converts were significantly more extreme than those of stable voters .... Labour converts held more extreme views on strikes, immigration and nationalisation, and British membership of the European Economic Community. Conservative converts, compared with stable voters for the party, were significantly more extreme on two key issues: nationalisation and immigration.’ This would indicate that converts have a stronger stance on their new party’s ideological position. Floating voters seem to shift to other parties on the basis of their extreme position on a particular issue or issues. Kellner (1995) talks of the existence of what he calls the ‘progressive’ floater, observed during the local elections in the UK in 1994. Kellner feels that this type of voter will vote either Liberal Democrat or Labour depending on which has the best chance of winning. This sounds remarkably like the tactical voter, yet Kellner suggests that there is more to it than that. He feels that these voters, far from voting for their second choice candidate (as tactical voters do), actually vote for either the Liberal Democrats or Labour because they are happy with either party getting the ward (local elections in this case). In much the same way as the Americans dispute the number of ticket-splitters, so British political scientists and observers dispute the actual number of floating voters. Atkins (1992) stated that the number of floating voters was around 33% at the beginning of April 1992. Polls by the national press usually portray different figures. Hayes and McAllister (1996) dispute the importance of the floating voter (or what they term the late decider): ‘would a reorientation towards an alternative segment of the electorate - the middle group of voters, or those who decided in the previous year - reap greater electoral rewards for the parties? …This group remains substantial - accounting for 16 per cent of the electorate in 1992 - and is both better politically informed and more cognitively skilled than late deciders.’ They go on to state that late deciders have a tendency to be female and aged between 25 and 34 years of age. Figure 1.1 indicates the strength of partisanship by the time of the voting decision for voters during the 1992 British General Election. Figure 1.1 Partisanship Strength and Time of Voting Decision

27

Further dissatisfaction with the concept of the floating voter is displayed by an anonymous author in an article in The Economist which states that the influence of The Sun readers is far more important. ‘A truism among political scientists is that people like this (and not the mythical well-informed floating voter) decide the outcome of elections’ (The Economist, 1995). Hayes and McAllister (1996) state that late deciders (floating voters) are not well-informed. This shows the lack of congruence between reporters and academics on the subject of floating voters. 1.4 Political Communication: The Political Science Perspective Political communication through the use of mass media has been the subject of much research in the area of political science. Other methods of political communication including direct mail, the Internet, polling, fund-raising and canvassing are also considered in more detail, and from a marketing perspective, in Chapter Two. As an introduction to political advertising, it is wise to discuss the difference between commercial advertising and its political counterpart due to the differing nature of the way in which it is used for election campaigning. Bryant (1995) states that political advertising is different in the following ways: • • • • • •

• •

There is little difference usually between two commercial brands. The difference between political “brands” is much greater. The voter is “buying” his party all at the same time, whereas their commercial counterparts are not stuck with the same choice for years. Consumers generally get what they ask for, although a voter can receive a very different “product” from what was originally promised. Political advertisements become news. Commercial ones do not. Political advertisements are usually attacked by the opposition. Product advertisements tend not to be. In politics, market share does not count (this could be contended by arguing that absolute market share is more important than relative market share in political markets where market share is defined as share of the Electoral College vote in America - and share of parliamentary seats in Britain). Political commercials are much cheaper to make than product commercials. Political time-buying (on television networks) does not allow easy segmentation due to the fact that the rating services do not measure categories that are as important in political market segmentation (for instance, partisanship of viewers).

To some extent, the above differences are exhibited. However, some of them are due to the intangibility of the political “product” compared with a commercial good and, therefore, a comparison with advertising for service “products” (e.g. insurance) may have been more revealing. All parties try to attain maximum time on television. In Britain, broadcast advertising is illegal, although parties do receive free slots of airtime (from 2 ½ to 10 minutes) in proportion to their national share of the vote at the last election for party election broadcasts. Kavanagh (1995: 41) states, however, that ‘British parties have some control over broadcasting coverage, through their party election broadcasts. But these lack credibility and quickly lose viewers.’ The result is that, in Britain, parties tend to spend 28

most of their budgets on billboard campaigns and advertisements in the regional and national press. ‘Uncertainty among party managers about the legality of press advertising during a campaign meant that it was not used on a large scale until 1979. Now most of the press advertising is concentrated in the campaign period and more money is spent on it than on any other item’ Kavanagh (1995: 194). This situation is in direct contrast to America where broadcast advertising is the main source of expenditure for political advertising. For instance, ‘expenditure on television advertising .... (can) quite often (be) up to 90% of a candidate’s advertising budget’ (O’Shaughnessy, 1990). Most political strategists attempt to manipulate the media through “photo-opportunities” and “soundbites”. This is generally in order to gain what the Americans refer to as earned media. Controversy has surrounded Peter Mandelson, the Labour Party’s chief strategist at the 1997 British General Election, since he has been said to hound the major news editors in order to put his “spin” on the story. Jones (1996: 160) quotes the Labour MP, Austin Mitchell, as saying that Mandelson exercised power over broadcasters as he was able to ‘deliver the candidate, the photo-opportunities and the interviews.’ Other examples of earned media are televised debates and talk shows. Maarek (1995: 124) states that ‘the televised debate can be one of the key events by which the outcome of the campaign is determined and played out, with the drawback of reducing the politician to something of a poker player: He could lose all out on a single deal.....’. In Britain, a televised debate between the leaders did not occur at the 1997 British General Election nor has it during a previous election. Televised debates have long been the general practice in America. ‘As far back as 1976, the Gerald Ford campaign tried to escape the filter of the press by staging a series of its own television talk shows in major cities across the country in the final week of the campaign’ (Deardourff, 1996). Ford appeared in the “Joe and Jerry” show that Deardourff states was a forerunner to candidate appearances on Larry King Live and Donahue. This talk show trend finally appears to have found its way across the Atlantic. Tony Blair made an appearance on Desert Island Discs prior to the 1997 British General Election. Political advertising is extremely important in America and Witherspoon (1989) states that it falls into three categories. These are: • • •

Name/Face Identification - Because American elections are much more candidate centred, it is important for politicians to make themselves known to the electorate. Positioning/Issue Spots - This is conducted to position the candidate in the eyes and minds of the electorate. 11th Hour Blitz - Since many voters make up their minds at the last minute, candidates often attempt to persuade this sizeable section of the electorate or put forward issues that one’s opponents cannot retaliate against because they do not have the time.

West (1995) argues that ‘most critiques of political advertising as well as recent legislative bans on certain types of commercial advertising are based on the assumption that television advertisements are influential in a wide variety of ways.’ Maarek (1995: 133) disputes this point to some extent. ‘It should be said that political marketing specialists have made the empirical observation that commercials appear to be much 29

more effective in reinforcing already established viewpoints favourable to politicians than for provoking a change of opinion among unsympathetic recipients.’ O’Shaughnessy (1987) states that it is possible to change opinions using political advertising: ‘the low-involvement, high viewing, recipient is most susceptible to attitude change.’ Interestingly, other research suggests that ‘heavy television viewers were found to be least likely to vote’ (Rust et al, 1984). It would seem that a consensus has yet to be reached about what effect political television advertising does have. Further evidence of this dichotomy is shown in later work conducted by O’Shaughnessy (1990): ‘surveys claimed that less than two per cent of all voters in 1987 believed they were influenced by press advertising or posters. The head of political research at MORI pointed out that party political broadcasts had a 50 per cent desertion rate’. In America, an extremely efficient medium for political advertising is the use of cable television. Sohinki (1996) states that ‘since 1990, many political candidates have gravitated toward cable television as an important part of their advertising plans, with great success.’ This is because ‘cable advertising treats each TV market in bite-sized pieces ... it is possible to build tremendous frequency of these messages against these target geographies for a fraction of the cost of a broadcast.’ Mentzer (1996) suggests that cable is also useful for running “infomercials”. These are 15, 30 or 60 second advertising slots to inform the audience about the candidate. Cable is also advantageous to the political strategist because it is much cheaper than other forms of broadcasting. Since the use of the radio, for purposes of party political and election broadcasts, is controlled (and advertising is illegal) in Britain, its use is limited compared with the US. Nevertheless, as Carpel (1981) points out, radio airtime is free if it is used as a news medium. She states that political campaigners can feed the radio news in terms of current political events and views in the form of ‘actualities’, which are 20 to 40 second tapes of the candidate or issue spokesperson speaking. Local candidates could use this method to air their views on particular issues14. Much of the modern advertising that is undertaken by political parties and candidates is negative. Newhagen and Reeves (1991) define three types of negative advertising. The first is the attack advertisement, where the aim is to diminish the image of the opponent. The second is the comparative advertisement where the aim is to put forward a positive image of the candidate whilst portraying a negative image of the opponent. The third type is a hope advertisement where the candidate is portrayed as the person who can provide a solution to a particular problem, thereby implicitly inferring that the opponent has been ineffective. This last type of advertisement is usually used against an incumbent candidate or party. Kavanagh (1995: 157), in work conducted on the 1983, 1987 and 1992 British General Election campaigns at the Communications Research Centre at Loughborough University, suggests that media coverage devoted to attack other parties ranged from 43 per cent for the Liberal Democrats to 37 per cent for Labour. The Conservative percentage was in the middle at 40 per cent.

14

See Section 6.3.3 News Management and Opposition Research for a consideration of whether or not it is possible to send in press releases in this way in the UK.

30

The efficacy of negative advertising is often disputed. Kavanagh (1995: 161) stated that in his interviews ‘what was not recognised was the possibility that political advertising, by accentuating the negative, was contributing to a general disillusionment with politics.’ Merritt (1984) suggests that ‘negative political advertising evokes negative affect toward both the targeted opponent and the sponsor’. Advertisers must be careful in using this type of advertising, since Merritt goes on to point out that ‘the findings suggests that exposure to negative political advertisements causes negative evaluations of the sponsor and positive evaluations of the opponent among constituents who identify with the opponent’s party.’ Thus, in effect, someone using this tactic would be reinforcing their opponents’ voters’ partisanship! Several writers suggest the best way to plan media strategy. Ansolabehere and Iyengar (1995) state that ‘it is assumed that advertising and the news are two separate means of influencing voters .... however, the key to successful media campaigning is the orchestration of the paid and free channels into a coherent theme. When advertising and the news reinforce each other, the former generates added value.’ Deardourff (1996) encourages candidates to ‘get into the contest early and spend whatever they can afford’ and to ‘look around for vehicles other than the mainstream press if they want to connect in any meaningful way with the voters’. He also suggests that sending out emotional messages works better than using rational discussion. Atkin and Heald (1976) suggest that a well-designed and well-financed political advertising campaign in the broadcast media can serve to: • • • • •

increase the electorate’s level of knowledge about the candidate and his featured issue positions, elevate emphasised issues and attributes higher on the voters’ agenda of decisional criteria, stimulate the electorate’s interest in the campaign, produce more positive affect toward the candidate as a person and, intensify polarisation of evaluations of the candidate.

There are fundamental differences between US and UK political communication practice. In the States, broadcast political advertising is pervasive and continual, whilst in the UK there is more attempt to gain coverage through earned media. This gives the US political marketers a source of major advantage (and expenditure) in that they can direct their messages, unfiltered, at their voters on a mass-scale, unlike in the UK where messages are received principally from news broadcasts. 1.5 Political Finance and Electoral Law Regulation of political finance is strong in Britain and breaches of the law can force a reelection. British electoral law is principally covered in Part II of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (Rawlings, 1988: 133). Pinto-Duschinsky (1981) puts forward seven types of legislation covering elections, parties and political financing: •

Local limits on spending after the declaration of poll and the nomination of candidates. The ceiling set depends on whether the constituency is rural or urban and on the constituency population. 31

• • • • • •

Restrictions on stated types of expenditure, even if they are within permitted spending limits. This includes bribery, and radio and television advertising. All candidates are required to disclose their election expenses. If this goes over the ceiling, an election can be declared null and void. There are regulations concerning the procurement of monies from certain sources such as companies, unions and banks. Unlike in some countries, the state does not currently provide funding for campaigns. There is tax relief for political donors. There is, however, free mail, free publicity and free broadcasting time to compensate for the high degree of regulation of political advertising in the broadcasting sector. This is because television advertising is not allowed, except in 5 or 10 minute slots of time allotted to political parties based on their percentage share of the vote at the last election.

Rawlings (1988:133) states that campaigning law centres on breaches at the constituency level rather than at the national level since this was where most activity occurred in Victorian times, when the act was originally proposed. Spending limit regulations do not commence until the candidate or agent in respect of the conduct or management of an election first conducts spending. However, for the next general election, a new proposed Act of Parliament (the Elections, Parties and Referendums Act 2000) has set national expenditure limits in addition to those at constituency level. Another important point in the electoral law governing constituency campaigning is that provided by the Tronoh Mines15 case. In this case, the Tronoh Mines company placed an advertisement in The Times that was beneficial to the Conservatives in that the advertisement had negative connotations for the Labour Party. A writ was issued against company officials and the Times stating that they had incurred expenditure without the authorisation of the candidate or election agent. The judge ruled against the point and set the precedent that any third party can incur an unrestricted amount of expenses. Therefore, it would appear to be possible for spending to be undertaken which would be exempt from the constituency expenditure ceiling. This might be possible if, for instance, a constituency chairman conducted expenditure prior to the appointment of both the candidate and the agent and so long as that expenditure related to the party rather than a specific candidate. Interestingly, this has not seen the rise of significant third-party interest groups such as the political action committees in America. The Tronoh Mines case has prompted advertising in marginal constituencies. For example, ‘in 1978 and early 1979, the Conservative Party, knowing that a general election was necessarily soon to be held, engaged in an extensive pre-campaign exercise, as did the Labour Party in 1987 in selected marginal constituencies’ (Rawlings, 1988: 167). Political parties are reluctant to risk infringing electoral law since this could mean the declaration of a void election. Rawlings (1988: 175) makes the point that ‘interest group activity is already well-established in campaign advertising, and it is possible to envisage an expansion of interest group activity into direct mail in the future. If that were to happen, our present framework of electoral law would not be in any way adequate to regulate it.’ The proposed Elections, Parties and Referendums Act 2000 requires all third 15

[1952] 1 ALL E.R. 697.

32

parties to be registered before any spending can occur, and sets limits on this expenditure, and so it is unlikely that Britain will follow the US in this regard. So-called independent expenditures is not unheard of in the UK, however, where wealthy party supporters conduct advertising campaigns in their own names on behalf of a party (without mentioning the name of the candidate). An example of this was Paul Sykes, the Yorkshire carpet millionaire who advertised on behalf of the Conservative Party. Nevertheless, independent expenditures are relatively limited in the UK, in direct comparison to the US, where they increased substantially due to a ruling issued in June 1996 in the case of Colorado Republican Federation Campaign Committee v. Federation Election Commission16. The ruling in this case dictated that party organisations, and any other third-party organisations, could spend money in elections and that this did not constitute expenditure by any candidate who benefited from the expenditure. In America, the legal framework surrounding campaign financing is complex. ‘Each state is charged with the creation and administration of its own electoral laws, processes and procedures. If there is a conflict with law related to federal offices, federal law takes precedent’ (Jones, 1993). The Federation Election Commission (FEC) is the body that deals with the finance side of federal elections, and collects details regarding candidate expenditure in order to ascertain whether or not any candidates have circumvented contribution limits. This is important since ‘it is increasingly common for wealthy individuals who have given the maximum under the state’s contribution limits to make sizeable expenditures “independent” of the party or campaign organisation to assist a candidate’s electoral prospects’ (Jones, 1993). Unlike in Britain, in the US, some campaign financing is provided by public funding. Jones (1993) outlines three mechanisms for this depending on the particular state. ‘One is a tax add-on programme in which the only government involvement is the use of state agencies to collect voluntary contributions from taxpayers. Second, states have set limits on campaign spending for candidates who voluntarily participate in the public funding programmes. Third, states have variously specified how funds will be allocated (flat grant or matching) and how they may or may not be spent (for media expenses but not for personal salaries).’ The subject of much controversy in America is “soft” money. Arterton (1993) states that money donated by party committees (local and state) to candidates was the largest source of funds to the Bush and Clinton 1992 presidential campaigns, and involve unlimited expenditure on activities such as voter registration, grass-roots campaigning and get-outthe-vote activities. The major areas of fund-raising are set out in Table 1.2. Research conducted in America has suggested that the more a challenger at an election spends the more likely s/he is to increase their vote share. Green and Krasno (1988) state that challenger ‘spending retains a direct impact on the vote’ because, they feel, it reduces the importance of the party’s previous performance. Glantz et al (1976) state that ‘(the) campaign is the only opportunity the challenger has to make an impression on the electorate. An incumbent enters the campaign with a well-established reputation that he probably can do little to change during the short campaign’.

16

U.S. Supreme Court, No. 95-489, 26 June 1996.

33

Table 1.2 Funding in the 1992 Presidential Election ($M) Bush Clinton Perot ______________________________________________________________________ Campaign committees Public Funding 55.2 55.2 Legal and accounting 3.0 4.4 Privately raised, unrestricted 69.0 Party committees Spent on “behalf of” the 10.3 10.3 Presidential candidates “Soft money” 111.0 86.0 _____________________________________________________________________ Totals 179.5 155.9 69.0 _______________________________________________________________________

Source: Arterton (1993: 82) Levitt (1974), however, disagrees stating that ‘campaign spending has an extremely small impact on election outcomes regardless of incumbency status’. Levitt maintains that for an extra 0.33 per cent of the vote, candidates need to spend $100,000 and that challenger spending is only marginally more productive than incumbent spending. Where the money is directed is also of major importance since it is this that has the effect rather than the money itself. Jacobson (1996) states that ‘Democratic loyalists in Republican-leaning districts were the principal targets of the most lavishly funded Republican challenges’ in the 1994 US House elections. Sorauf (1995) also makes the point that parties direct money to those areas that are perceived to be of greatest electoral importance when he states that ‘the open-seat races will remain as the main source of competition in congressional campaigns. They have always been, collectively, among the best funded campaigns.’ The importance of targeting specific seats and areas is further reinforced by Hernson (1993) who states that ‘most party contributions are distributed by the Democratic and Republican congressional and senatorial campaign committees. The major goal of these organisations is to maximise the number of seats they control in the House or Senate.’ The finance process is intricately interwoven with the political campaigning process. Money must be raised as efficiently as possible in that the costs of collecting outweigh the revenue received. It should then be distributed as efficiently as possible to areas that can attain the maximum impact in terms of achieving the most significant increase in share of the vote in those areas that are strategically important in securing enough seats to form government. Financing election campaigns in the US has changed substantially since the Colorado Republican Federation Campaign Committee. Corrado (1997) states that the 1996 election represented a marked departure in patterns of political finance that have characterised recent elections. Many of the patterns – early fund-raising by presidential candidates, the incumbent advantage in congressional races, the party emphasis on vulnerable incumbents and open seats – were similar to those of previous elections. In the UK, the Neill Committee (Committee on Standards in Public Life: The Funding of Political Parties in The United Kingdom), investigated the funding of political parties in 34

the UK and gave the first formally published figures on UK party political expenditure in the 1997 general election campaign. This is illustrated in Table 1.3. Table 1.3 Expenditure in the 1997 British General Election Political Party Expenditure During campaign Labour Party £25, 700,000 Conservative Party £28, 300,000 Liberal Democrat Party £ 2, 300,000 Source: Neill of Bladen (1998) Baines, Newman and Harris (1999) describe in some detail the destination of this expenditure. Interestingly, because of legal restrictions on purchases of media in the UK, parties spent £17 million on billboard advertisements of the £56.3 million expenditure total. The Conservative Party spent slightly over half their campaign expenditure (£14.3 million) on outdoor advertising (billboards) and newspaper advertising alone, as this was the only regular marketing communication medium open for them to purchase. They go on to state that the Referendum Party spent £7,208,000 on newspaper advertising and did not even win a seat, although they did introduce the targeted political video which was mailed to potential supporters (a practice originating in the US some years ago). The production of UK party election (and political) broadcasts and election news output is, like political financing, also regulated (regulation which the American media consultants are not subject to). Such regulation is outlined by the Independent Television Commission (ITC, 1999) and states a number of guidelines which include the following: • • • • • • •

All broadcasts must observe the law - for example, on copyright, libel, contempt, obscenity, and incitement to racial hatred or violence. Accuracy is the responsibility of the parties making the broadcasts. The Party responsible for the broadcast will indemnify the broadcaster for all legal or regulatory actions resulting from the contents of the election broadcast. Impartiality is achieved over the series of PEB’s (party election broadcasts) as a whole. There is, of course, no obligation on the parties to achieve impartiality within each broadcast. Candidates taking part in a party election broadcast must not make any references to their own constituencies. No revenue-generating telephone numbers are to be used in a broadcast. Appeals for members of the audience to contact the party at the end of the broadcast by telephone, email etc. are allowed but direct appeals for funds are not. Party election broadcasts that closely mimic the format of established programmes on any channel, particularly news programmes, run the risk of misleading the audience and therefore they must be clearly labelled throughout.

Nevertheless, the ITC’s role is as ‘licensor and regulator’ (Perkins, 1997: 230) and so rulings only affect the production of future broadcasts. Similarly, the rulings do not cover content and so parties, to a large extent, govern themselves, in terms of what material goes into them. This programme code has been drawn up as a result of a recent court case at the 1997 British General Election. In Scottish National Party v. Scottish Television plc 35

and Grampian Television plc17, the party sought an interim interdict to halt the transmission of a programme, which was still to be made, containing debates between the Labour and Conservative Parties in Scotland without the inclusion of Alex Salmond, their leader. The court ruled that in all circumstances, the petitioner’s case was ‘largely, if not entirely, hypothetical’ and observed that the courts were not there to decide matters which were merely hypothetical (Munro, 1997: 240). A further case, R. v. BBC and ITC, ex parte the Referendum Party18 determined that the broadcasters were the decision-makers in determining how to allocate the number of broadcasts given to parties (Munro, 1997: 242). Thus, UK political parties are supposed to be able to determine the content of their broadcasts but do not determine how many they will get. However, in a recent case, R. v. BBC ex parte the Pro-life Alliance Party19, the Pro-life Alliance (an anti-abortion pressure group) sought judicial review after the major networks removed certain sequences, featuring an abortion operation, after considering that they would offend the public taste, in line with their programme codes. The presiding judge ruled in favour of the broadcasters although the Pro-life Alliance released the uncut video footage on the Internet instead, which is not yet covered by ITC regulatory activity. Munro (1997:247) argues that due to the fact that British law has been subsumed under European law, particularly the European Human Rights Act which comes into place in November 2000, some legal constraints on political communication will be susceptible to challenge. 1.6. The “Americanisation” Debate Political marketing practice in the USA is regarded as at ‘the cutting edge’ (Blumler et al, 1996: 59) and ‘a source of innovation in campaign techniques’ (Kavanagh, 1995: 227). Scammell (1997) regards the USA as a ‘world role-model’ whilst Farrell (1998) recognises that increasing professionalisation in the US has brought about demand for its services overseas. The general argument surrounds the extent to which American campaign techniques can be transferred to foreign countries and whether or not campaigning in those foreign countries is developing and professionalising in its own right. Semetko et al (1991) state that observers of the political communication scene in Britain have, in recent years, noted trends that point towards an evolution of British election campaigns in an ‘American direction’. Thus, the British media seem to become gradually more competitive; election campaigns are clearly affected by tendencies toward greater professionalisation; and the political culture is becoming more ‘pragmatic’. Semetko et al are suggesting that British campaigning is starting to follow American practice (in 1991). O’Shaughnessy (1990: 207) hints that American political marketing techniques cannot be transferred to the UK without adaptation. He states that, in Britain, ‘there are prohibitions of the law, perhaps the principal factor, for the individual candidate is limited to a low budget and television is forced into strict neutrality under equal-time rulings, and the consequences are far-reaching, since the candidate cannot simply bypass the party as he can in the United States.’ There seem to be major differences between the two countries which have an impact upon how campaigning develops. Scammell (1997) has argued 17

[1997] Outer House Cases, 15 April. [1997] E.M.L.R 605. 19 [1997] C.O.D 457, QBD. 18

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that the use of campaign techniques may have originated in the US but campaigns outside the US are generally professionalising in their own right. Others also argue that the extent to which US techniques can be transferred is limited, as is implied by the following comment from Nicholas Jones, a veteran reporter who worked on the 1997 British General Election campaign: ‘In my conversations with Tory spin-doctors, I got the distinct impression that they believed that Labour had gone overboard in copying the American Democrat’s techniques and had overlooked the fact that newspaper and broadcasting organisations were more varied in Britain and in many cases more sophisticated than their US counterparts’ ( Jones 1997: 125). In the above quote, the technique referred to is rapid rebuttal, where claims made by political opponents in the mass media are answered immediately in an effort to stop the voter from retaining the original message in his or her memory. Butler and Kavanagh (1997), in their text on the 1997 British General Election, argued that, for both parties, a much noticed import from the Clinton campaign in 1992 was the philosophy and practice of rapid rebuttal or response.’ The reality is that many techniques have been borrowed from the US since there is traffic amongst campaign staff between the major parties of both countries. Rapid rebuttal was not the only technique borrowed from the US. An internal Labour Party document, written by Braggins, McDonagh and Barnard (1993) after exchange visits with their sister party in the US20, illustrates that the Labour Party was also interested in: • • • • • •

Changing their party election broadcast design into thirty-second spots. Obtaining publicity for the Prime Minister and other senior politicians using talk shows. Conducting polling across clusters of seats. More use of direct mail fund-raising. Raising money from lobbyists. Increasing the use of the telephone for canvassing purposes and organising the getout-the-vote effort.

The use of American techniques in campaigns in other European countries is outlined by Plasser et al (1998) who have stated that US consultants have been involved in a number of campaigns, including France, Germany, Austria, UK, Italy, Sweden and Finland. However, the authors argue that there may be problems associated with the adoption of certain US-pioneered techniques due to the budget restrictions faced by European parties, database management, track polling, and telephone marketing are cited as examples). Plasser et al go on to state that European political parties will implement selected techniques and practices, thereby professionalising political campaigning in Europe rather than transforming it. Swanson and Mancini (1996: 268) argue that modern campaigning methods approximate more closely to a US archetype than a US model. Therefore, ‘we would expect to find significant variation between electoral practices in different countries and ample possibilities for local adaptation’. 20

All three authors, employed in varying capacities for the Labour Party, worked on Democrat campaigns in various US states during the 1992 Presidential Election campaign.

37

Despite the similarities in electoral systems, America has a candidate-centred political campaigning process and Britain has a party-centred one. However, the electoral system has led to parties in both countries targeting specific marginal geographic areas in order to achieve the largest share of seats in the national legislative chamber21. Scammell (1997) states that ‘American style methods are likely to be incorporated into foreign electioneering in those countries where electoral conditions are most similar.’ Scammell argues that the factors that dictate whether campaign techniques can be used in other countries are: the electoral system and structure of party competition; whether the campaign is candidate or party-centred; the nature and structure of regulation; restrictions on media and paid advertising; the structure of the media; and the strengths and distinctiveness of national cultures. The US does not have the constituency spending limits that Britain has, although they do have limits on the size of donations by both individuals and companies. Thus, the greater availability of finance leads to more use of professional campaign staff compared to the UK, which generally has to rely more on volunteers. Kavanagh (1995: 227) states that ‘America is widely seen as a source of innovation in campaign techniques. But a comparison of the United States with Britain shows that the results of these trends are shaped by distinctive national political cultures and institutions. The British parties, specifically their leading politicians and officials, are still more significant actors in deciding campaign strategy.’ The greatest challenge for the political marketer, especially the market research consultant, or the advertising agent, in the UK, lies in convincing politicians that their services are necessary in order for the party to win the election. Semetko et al (1991:18) suggest that the British and American political communication systems are inherently different arguing that, differences include the length of the election campaign, with a much more compact British campaign; the presidential versus the parliamentary system; the commercial versus the public service broadcasting system; and the predominantly local or regional press versus the national and more strongly partisan press. Nevertheless, the traffic between campaign staffers in the US, the UK and other Western democracies, has also encouraged the use of British campaign techniques abroad as the following quote indicates: ‘the Americanisation hypothesis fails to take into account the fact that the direction of cross-national influence is not simply a one-way US-Britain street. Sir Tim Bell, Gallup, and Saatchi personnel active in the Conservative campaign in 1992, have been employed by parties fighting elections in Russia and South Africa in 1993 and 1994. Conservative Party officials helped in the Bush campaign in Autumn 1992, while Labour’s Philip Gould worked on the Clinton campaign and has advised many West European socialist parties.’ (Blumler et al, 1996: 57). The literature on the transference of UK political campaigning techniques to other countries is relatively scarce, probably because the phenomenon is only just starting to occur and it takes time for such activities to be documented and reports to be disseminated by researchers. Nevertheless, perhaps, the cross-border use of US 21

See Section 1.3.1 Marginality and Its Significance.

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campaigning techniques should be considered strongly before wholesale transference to the UK. Nimmo (1996: 45) illustrates a highly negative picture of the American campaigning culture when he states that ‘there is the paradoxical confluence in contemporary campaigns of an information overload and missing information brought about by symbolic inflation [which] yields campaigns of play, of fanciful engineering, akin to Machiavelli’s fantasia. Voters sedated by the spirits of campaigning are involved in the play of information ... they are as small children fascinated by a kaleidoscope, seduced by the shifting transitory play and passage of images in a phantom electronic world’. Nimmo’s voice of disquiet regarding the state of US political campaigning is, of course, not the only one. Mark McKinnon (1996), a Texan political consultant who worked on the campaigns of Corazon Aquino in the Philippines, Shimon Peres in Israel, President Vargilio Barco Vargas in Colombia as well as Democrat campaigns across the US, also sees difficulties in the American approach to campaigning. He states ‘the bitter partisanship of today’s politics has become increasingly frustrating to me. I have seen too many good people driven out of and away from politics because they didn’t want to go through the public radiation treatment that occurs in a highly charged partisan campaign.’ For McKinnon, who continued to work in US political consulting22 despite declaring his desire to quit, the negativity associated with US campaigns was too much at the time of writing. Caspi (1996) discusses the issue of whether or not it is necessary to adopt US political campaign practices to modernise the campaigning function: ‘Americanisation could be considered a sufficient, but not a necessary or required, condition for political modernisation’. The factors associated with the feasibility of adopting US political campaign practices, within the scope and context of this study (i.e. the UK), are outlined in Chapter Five explicitly and, again, in the UK context in Chapter Six. 1.7 Conclusion Political campaigning is undoubtedly affected by the type of electoral system in operation in the country concerned. Despite this similarity, there are a number of differences that affect the methods used for campaigning in the US and the UK. Political parties in the UK tend to have a stronger, local presence than in the US and, therefore, campaign volunteers are important in running grassroots campaigns in the UK. This is less necessary in the US due to the greater use of direct mail, and the mass media for political advertising, which is illegal in the UK. As a result, the UK political parties tend to try to obtain more news coverage from the mainstream broadcast news organisations, in a way that the Americans do not because they can reach their audiences directly through political advertising. In the UK, parties’ views are represented through the use of five and ten-minute broadcasts, and more recently two-and-a-half minute broadcasts, which are regulated by the ITC and provided by the broadcasters free-of-charge. Political parties and campaign teams in both countries target marginal constituencies in the hope of maximising the use of their resources - which are less regulated and more abundant in the US - as a precursor to securing the votes of marginal voters within those marginal areas. 22

Taking on Ann Richard’s campaign for Texas governor against George Bush Jnr.

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The debate regarding the extent to which American political campaign techniques can be used elsewhere continues but centres on whether campaigns in Western democracies are professionalising in their own right or are borrowing techniques from the US and using them without significant modification. It would appear that there are a variety of differences between the cultures and infrastructures of the two political campaigning systems. Thus, modification of US campaigning techniques will need to occur to some extent in the UK. This chapter has explained political campaigning from a political science perspective. The chapter explains the UK and US campaign processes and indicates the types of electoral system that are in use in the UK and the US, since this has a significant impact upon the style of campaigning. Political communication, and electoral financing and law are also considered since they are neglected in the marketing, and political marketing, literature. Nevertheless, they are of clear importance in the development of campaign management process models for both the US and the UK. Furthermore, the reader has been introduced to the topic of “Americanisation”, which impacts upon the development of an UK model of campaign management, informed by best American campaign practice.

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Chapter Two Political Campaigning and Marketing Management 2.1 Introduction This chapter attempts to explain how marketing can be utilised by political parties, candidates and political consultants. Those aspects of marketing that are particularly relevant to the marketing of political parties and candidates include: non-profit marketing, relationship marketing, marketing planning, segmentation, positioning and targeting. The two subject areas of marketing and politics are not necessarily incongruent since both are concerned with understanding what people need and want (though the end “product” is very different). The discipline of marketing encourages businesses to understand their customers in order to provide them with the necessary product or service. In politics, political parties are representatives of the people and, therefore, should understand, or at least find out, what the public want in terms of policies and civic leadership. This chapter provides an overview of the political marketing literature, illustrating the link between political campaigning and marketing theory. Current political marketing models are compared and contrasted. Those areas of these models that were deemed by the researcher to be conducive to the production of a generic model were further examined. The scant literature on international political marketing was also heeded to provide an insight into the ‘Americanisation’ of political marketing from a marketing perspective23 since this would affect the development of a cross-cultural (UK/USA) model of political marketing. The chapter ends by providing a generic model of political marketing planning for the USA and the UK based on the literature (see Figure 2.6). 2.2 Illustrating the Link Between Marketing and Politics Where political parties (and candidates) seek to represent voters’ views and opinions, marketing-oriented organisations seek to understand their consumers or customers and provide them with what they want if the consumer or customer actually knows what they want. Where they do not, marketing-oriented companies try to formulate something that is acceptable. The latter situation approximates most closely to the political marketing scenario, although this does not rule out the use of marketing techniques and its philosophy. ‘Marketing consists of individual and organisational activities that facilitate and expedite satisfying exchange relationships in a dynamic environment through the creation, distribution, promotion, and pricing of goods, services and ideas’ (Dibb et al, 1991). This definition of marketing illustrates the focus on satisfying exchange relationships. Kotler (1982) showed that such exchanges occur in political campaigning when he outlined the following exchange process in Figure 2.1. The underlying process is the exchange of promises for votes and this process occurs through the communication of programmes, policies and ideas in return for information relating to these policies, ideas and programmes from the electorate. Although the exchange relationship in politics does not neatly fit into marketing theory (since there are difficulties in defining pricing and the product), marketing techniques can be applied if they are modified accordingly.

23

For the political science perspective, see Section 1.6 The “Americanisation” Debate.

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Figure 2.1 The Communication Cycle Communications

Promises and favours Candidate

Voters Votes Information

Source: Kotler (1982) From this point of view, Brandenburg (1998) argues that the consumer orientation in marketing is paradoxical in political marketing because in politics the party is selfinterested and the voters could be regarded as enivonmental components. This argument may be true of parties that do not regularly conduct opinion polls and feel that they understand the voter implicitly. Dann and Dann (1998) exemplify the One-Nation party in Australia, which has recently risen to prominence in Victoria. They argue that this is not because of the party’s own clever marketing, but because the mainstream parties failed to use marketing techniques properly and the One-Nation party hit an electoral chord. Many political parties and candidates’ campaign committees realise that their resources are limited and that they need to attract the votes of a small proportion of wavering voters who are most likely to change their allegiance during an election. Figure 2.2 indicates the different stages of loyalty through which a voter may progress. The targeting of voters using each of these separate stages as segments has often occurred in political campaigning. For instance, in an interview with a Liberal Democrat agent who was speaking about the 1992 British General Election (see Baines, 1996), the point was made that voters were segmented into nine categories. These were “soft” and “hard” Labour, Liberal Democrat and Tory voters along with undecideds, anti-voters (both Labour and Tory - likely to be tactical voters) and non-voters. Thus, the campaign will target those segments that are considered most important within the campaign. Such segmentation, effectively by loyalty to the political party or candidate, could facilitate the use of relationship marketing in political campaigning. Dean and Croft (1996) have stated that ‘the benefits of relationship marketing are unlikely to increase the participation of the voter but can increase the interactivity between the voter and internal and external markets. This could, if conducted on a long-term basis rather than short term election campaigning, increase voter loyalty.’ Interestingly, Egan (1999) disagrees, suggesting that paying too close attention to consumers may actually heighten the disappointments they feel about past performance either as voters or as consumers. In some ways, this comment reflects the concerns of inundating the consumer with messages and appeals that they have neither asked for, nor want, and is a legitimate concern for campaign committees (e.g. especially with direct marketing activity).

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Figure 2.2 Stages of Loyalty to a Political Party or Candidate Strong Opposition Voter Weak Opposition Voter Floating Voter Weak Supporter Strong Supporter Activist Source: Author’s adaptation, based on interview data (see Baines, 1996) Political parties and candidates also need to transact with other publics. Kotler and Kotler (1981) have stated that the political strategist has six markets to communicate with. These are the voters, the party, the candidate, interest groups, contributors and the media. The role of the media is central to communicating with the other five markets and certain of the markets are interlinked. Figure 2.3 illustrates this point. Figure 2.3 Political Marketing Publics

Source: Kotler and Kotler (1981)

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Sweeney (1995) also states that political candidates have a number of audiences, referring to primary and secondary audiences where the primary audience is the voter and the secondary audiences are campaign staff and volunteers, organisations, opinion leaders, political party, contributors, allies and friends, and the media. The political strategists’ publics are diverse and complex. It is increasingly important, particularly in the UK where political advertising is illegal, to target messages and policies at the appropriate journalists in the broadcast media and press. This aspect of the political campaigning process is often referred to as “spin-doctoring”, although a more precise and descriptive term is news management. There are currently a number of definitions of political marketing. These are illustrated in Table 2.1. All the definitions fail to emphasise the importance of the political organisation backing the candidate and party in an election campaign. The current definitions do not consider the differences in campaigning methods used in different political systems24. This distinction is important since the techniques used in Namibia, a developing country in Southern Africa with low television and personal computer penetration, are likely to be very different from those used in Sweden - a country with the highest level of Internet campaigning activity (see Baines, Harris and Newman, 1999). Baines, Harris and Newman have also suggested that activities such as governmental campaigning, promotion of public sector programmes, lobbying, propaganda, industrial espionage and intelligence-gathering could also be subsumed within the political marketing concept and that the current definition neglects to take this into account. The political marketing literature has yet to distinguish between the use of marketing in political campaigning and the use of marketing in other political situations. An example includes the US and UK government’s alleged use of espionage techniques to attempt to gather German trade secrets after the Second World War (see Smith, 1996: 251). Lobbying is also a fundamental political activity associated with both the strategic marketing planning function of multi-national corporations (in trying to manage and influence their macro-environment25) and political parties who require the finance to fund their electoral campaigning activity. A more inclusive definition (from both an international and organisational perspective) might be: Political marketing is the process by which political organisations communicate their message, policies and/or objectives to other political organisations, or the electorate, in order to solicit their support within the constraints of the electoral and political system(s), laws and regulations and the general political environment in which they are operating, in order to further their organisation’s interests, or the interests of a client.

24

See Sections 1.2.2 The Implications of the Electoral System for a political science perspective and 2.3.9 Electoral Law, Culture and Political System for a marketing perspective. 25 For a more detailed consideration of how lobbying is linked to strategic marketing, see Harris and Lock (1995).

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Table 2.1 Definitions of Political Marketing Name of Author(s) Shama (1975)

Lock and Harris (1996) Henneberg (1997)

Wring (1997)

Political Marketing Definition ‘the process by which political candidates and their ideas are directed at voters in order to satisfy their potential needs and thus gain their support for the candidate and ideas in question’ ‘the study of the processes of exchanges between political entities and their environment and among themselves, with particular reference to the positioning of both those entities and their communications’ ‘seeking to establish, maintain and enhance long-term voter relationships at a profit for society and political parties, so that the objectives of the individual political actors and organisations involved are met. This is done by mutual exchange of promises.’ ‘the party or candidate’s use of opinion research and environmental analysis to produce and promote a competitive offering which will help realise organisational aims and satisfy groups of electors in exchange for their votes.’

O’Leary and Iredale (1976) have indicated the relevance of marketing to politics by applying the marketing mix. This is summarised in Table 2.2. However, since this was written a number of changes have taken place within the political environment, which may invalidate aspects of its original relevance. For instance, the political product, is unlikely to be party membership since the number of members of political parties has dropped dramatically in the last two decades. Butler and Collins (1994) talk of the product being loyalty to a party but this is not consumed by voters, although they later refer to party ideology, the candidate and the party itself as components of the “product” (Butler and Collins, 1999). O’Shaughnessy (1999) cites the personality and principle of the party as the core “product”. Therefore, the product is more likely to be the policies and message of the party or candidate and the promises that they make to the electorate. The price is unlikely to be subscription to party funds for the same reason. It is, probably, either the opportunity cost of voting for another party or the cost in terms of time and effort to get to the polling station in order to vote. Egan (1999) argues that price could be the implications of the policies, for example, paying higher taxes, or having a lower quality public service. Similarly, the distribution of political messages is mostly achieved through television, billboards and leaflets (in the UK) rather than through branches and committee rooms as O’Leary and Iredale claim. Baines and Egan (2001) define political marketing as a consumer service but, as yet, there is little elaboration in the literature on this theme. A stronger understanding of how marketing can be applied to politics could be achieved by applying the extended marketing mix for services propounded by Booms and Bitner (1981), which includes physical evidence, process and people. The extended mix’s application to politics is outlined: Physical Evidence - due to the nature of the intangibility of the political “product”, it is necessary to provide physical evidence of the work of a political party or candidate. This is due to the uncertainty surrounding the political “product” and has taken the form of information leaflets and manifestos. A good example of the effective use of this is in the US, where parties and campaign committees provide donors with certificates of membership (with different clubs and events for different sizes of donations).

45

Table 2.2 The Political Entity’s Marketing Mix Marketing Aspect

Political Party

Basic Customer need

Voice in government

Target market

Electorate

Product

Party membership

Price

Subscription to party fund, attendance at meetings

Principal Promotional Tools

Publicity, advertising, personal selling

Distribution

Branches, committee rooms

Source: O’Leary and Iredale (1976) Bauer et al (1996) state that physical evidence of the party and its policy platform can be provided in three basic ways: 1. Information Policy - the provision of direct individual information to potential members. 2. Certificates - the attainment of quality certification relating to services provided to the voter. 3. Credible Commitments - this is important in achieving a good reputation among the publics served and has implications for brand loyalty since the electorate is unlikely to vote for a candidate who cannot keep his or her promises. This has been taken a stage further by the British Labour Party who have released documentation to voters outlining their pledges to the British people and whether or not they have yet been honoured since they were elected at the 1997 British General Election. •

People - this aspect of the services marketing mix emphasises the personal involvement and interaction involved in the distribution of the product to the voter. Issues such as training of staff (employed and volunteer) in techniques of canvassing, telephone interviewing, direct mail and copy-writing become increasingly important. Because of the role of the employee, and the voluntary nature of some of these campaign workers, it is important for a party or campaign committee to internally market to itself. This is the role of the annual party conferences in UK politics, and the party conventions in the US, which often serve to improve morale and restore authority in addition to providing publicity through the news networks.



Process - this represents the flow of activities and the level of customer involvement. The customer involvement aspect is limited and declining in the political process due to the limited voter turnout at elections and the consistently declining membership of 46

political parties in the UK (Ware, 1995). This has major ramifications for the introduction of relationship marketing techniques since the levels of membership and activism have an effect on election results (Seyd and Whiteley, 1992)26. The implication is that the voter needs to be made to feel more involved in the political process and with its associated “actors”. Thus, there is a need for parties and committees to be seen to be listening to the people who they exist to represent. O’Cass (1996) states that the development of a marketing orientation is hindered by four barriers: an incomplete or misinterpretation of the marketing concept; internal conflict between political objectives and voter needs; the management’s own values and perception of the importance of voter needs and their input in the development of the political product; and the short-term focus of politics and the percentage of the vote obtained in elections as the ultimate measure of success. This is a persuasive argument as to why it is so difficult for political organisations to retain marketing as a philosophy. Interestingly, a recent study by Plasser et al (1999) has suggested that American political consultants believe political marketing to be concerned with strategic planning activity and the definition of target groups. By contrast, their Western European counterparts, party executives and managers, believe that political marketing is concerned with building up long-term trust among the electorate. There are, thus, considerable implications for the use of marketing techniques by political organisations. Essentially, political marketing could be viewed as an apology for populism since politicians could be in danger of tapping public opinion at the superficial level27. Wring (1999) has argued that the marketing discipline has colonised political campaigning as analysts have become increasingly interested in applying rational choice theory to electoral behaviour, as the services sector becomes increasingly dominant within the major Western economies and as marketing has increasingly been applied to not-for-profit and public sector organisations where politics plays an important role. 2.3 The Emergence of Political Marketing Planning Although political marketing has always existed, its uptake has rapidly increased in recent decades. Smith and Saunders (1990: 296) introduce four different eras of British politics: the unsophisticated selling era (where candidates were promoting themselves to different social classes in the nineteenth century); the selling era (in the early part of the twentieth century when politicians were using the mass media to get their messages across but not researching views and voting intentions); the sophisticated selling/nascent marketing era (when the private poll was developed which allowed feedback into the political process); and the final stage identified (which they state has not yet emerged) is the development of the strategic marketing era. Wring (1996) suggests that these eras (which he subsumes into three - propaganda, media and political marketing) have each developed as a result of significant electoral setbacks at the polls for one of the major parties. Smith and Saunders (1990) point out that the ‘integrated marketing era, if it ever develops, will take a stage further the identification of target markets’ wants and needs 26 27

See earlier in this section. This is considered briefly in Section 2.5 The Ethics of Political Marketing.

47

and the concomitant policy decision making to satisfy these wants more effectively than any other competing political party.’ Much of this marketing activity has been provided by specialised marketing agencies on an ad-hoc basis. These agencies take the form of pollsters and advertising agencies in Britain. In America, however, political consultants have a much wider remit, taking in roles such as polling, petition management, fundraising, strategy, media buying, advertising, law, donor list maintenance, and campaign software consulting. Sackman (1996) states that the UK Labour Party developed political marketing techniques to a high degree during the period from 1983 to 1992. ‘A particular feature of this period was a development of campaign expertise unknown in the Labour Party. Extensive use had been made of market research, collected and analysed by experienced marketing professionals, who sought to identify the concerns of target voters ... market research became a powerful weapon in the armoury of the modernisers in their campaign of internal persuasion within the party.’ Thus, marketing should be incorporated into the organisation’s ethos if it is to work effectively. This is because it is unlikely that politicians, party workers and activists will change their stances on policy platforms unless there is a strong internal marketing programme based on clear and concise research provided on voters’ needs and wants. The extent to which marketing becomes integrated into the political organisation depends on its culture. ‘The literature on both services marketing and organisational culture suggests that an appropriate culture or climate is one of the most important ingredients for successfully marketing services’ (Pascale, 1984). O’Cass (1997) makes the suggestion that ‘there appears to be a high level of support for the marketing concept when it is expressed in terms that suits its application to politics.’ This is also reiterated by Dunn et al (1985), who point out that the relationship between corporate culture and marketing effectiveness is very important: ‘it .. follows that if implementation is a pivotal aspect in solving the problems associated with the marketing concept, successful implementation of the philosophy should lead to more effective marketing practices, and a subsequently increased likelihood of marketing success.’ The authors go on to state that ‘a tremendous challenge lies ahead for those companies possessing cultural characteristics [that] inhibit the implementation of marketing oriented strategies.’ This is likely to be the case for political parties that traditionally want to retain power in the hands of the party bosses. In America, however, much of this power has now transferred to the political consultants who have fewer such inhibitions regarding the development of a marketing orientation. Newman (1994) states that the political campaign management process concerns two campaigns: a marketing campaign and a political campaign. They are both affected by environmental considerations. They are also both affected by whether or not the campaign focuses on: the party; the policies; the candidate; or the process of promoting the party or candidate. Maarek (1995) suggests that the political marketing process is essentially a communication campaign with feedback on policies and the campaign platform from the voters via polling. Later research by Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999) discusses the marketing planning process for the co-ordination of local constituency campaigns by the national parties in the UK28. The focus of this model is the concept that 28

See Section 2.3.5 Co-ordinated Constituency Campaigning.

48

national parties determine which constituencies require the most resources (since they are most likely to change their political allegiance) and then conduct segmentation, targeting and positioning exercises using inputs from constituency research, canvassing data, historical voting data and census statistics. All the planning processes described recognise the need for defining policies or appeals to encourage voter involvement which has led to continuous surveys and polling; an integral aspect of modern political marketing. Nevertheless, these three models focus on different aspects of the political marketing process (Maarek’s process describes political communication; Baines, Lewis and Yorke describe co-ordinated local campaigning; and Newman describes the whole political marketing process but within a context that can only currently relate to US elections). Nevertheless, the models are by no means incongruent. They all indicate the importance of focused research in determining the competition, and voters’ wants and needs, segmentation of the electorate, positioning of the party or candidate and the need for planning and evaluation of the campaign. Table 2.3 illustrates some of the main differences between these political marketing process models and the areas that require further consideration to better describe political campaigning from a cross-cultural perspective. Table 2.3 A Comparison of Political Marketing Process Models Aspects of the Political marketing process considered Campaign focus* Environmental focus Fund-raising strategy Competitive analysis

Baines, Lewis & Yorke (1999) No No No Yes

Maarek (1995) No No No Yes

Newman (1994) Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes No No Segmentation of voting districts Segmentation of voters Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Co-ordinated campaigning Candidate/party positioning Yes Yes Yes No Yes Supporting industry infrastructure No No No Yes Race differences Yes No No Post-election analysis No No Yes Budgetary Differences (Regulation) No No No Impact of Length of Campaign (Time) * Those aspects of the process that are emboldened will be considered further in Section 2.4

Source: Baines, Harris and Newman (1999) The Baines, Lewis and Yorke model specifically relates to situations in which parties (or campaign committees) influence the campaigning process by co-ordinating the campaigns in each of the registration districts. Some modification of the model is necessary to represent the fact that different information would be available to political marketers in different countries (for example, census statistics and electronic registers). Different electoral races (such as local, national, primary, general) also require particular strategies since there are different circumstances affecting such elections. A consideration of the supporting political marketing industry also needs to be taken into account since this has a significant impact upon how the political party or candidate goes 49

about campaigning. None of these models consider explicitly the importance of the fundraising strategy that is used to finance the campaign plan. This is a fundamental component of the whole process, since it may impact upon the communication plan in terms of negative media by opposition parties and candidates if the funds were raised from controversial sources. Those parties and candidates that can positively dominate the dialogue in the media have a greater chance of electoral success. Unfortunately, in the US, the level of funds available has often determined electoral success. These models do not fully consider the considerable differences in the regulations impacting upon all aspects of the political marketing process in different countries, although Newman’s model takes into account the fact that regulations in US elections are often different from state to state. Despite these differences, in the US, state regulation never interferes with the candidates’ right to freedom of speech as is the case in some countries. Similarly, none of the models consider the differences in the length of the campaign period, which has substantial impact upon the communication plan adopted and the effectiveness of the positioning strategy. Newman’s model also accounts for the difference in the type of “product” or message that is conveyed to the electorate since this model specifically considers the focus of the campaign. 2.3.1 Campaign Strategy and Objective Setting Baer (1995) suggests that ‘candidates must form a strategy that has an overall theme (broadcast message) and maintains momentum but also effectively targets specialised groups (narrowcast message).’ The implication is that strategy is concerned with message development and its dissemination amongst target groups. Newman (1994: 106), however, argues that campaign strategy is developed from a number of factors, including the political ‘product’, pull marketing, polling and push marketing (see Figure 2.4). Newman refers to the product as the campaign platform and the particular “bundle” of policies, and/or messages, that the candidate puts forward. It can, he argues, also relate to the image of the candidate and the “personality” that is put across. Figure 2.4 Newman’s 4 P’s of Political Marketing Strategy Product (campaign platform) Push Marketing (grass-roots efforts)

Strategy

Pull Marketing (mass media)

Polling (research) Source: Newman (1994) Push marketing relates to efforts to “get-out-the-vote”, the volunteer programmes to aid in the dissemination of the candidate’s messages; whereas, pull marketing relates to attempts to persuade voters via the mass media e.g. satellite, cable, terrestrial and radio 50

networks. By polling, Newman is referring to the use of survey research into issues, policies, messages, the opposition and their policy stances and focus group interviews with key voter segments. The first stage of the process determines what the political consultant and candidate or party wish to achieve with the campaign. This stage involves the setting of objectives and the definition of an overall campaign theme. Most political parties’ objectives are shortterm and based upon the premise of gaining more representation in the national parliament. Despite this, there are times when UK political parties have considered building up trust among the electorate on a longer term basis. Objectives set out by the then Director of the British Labour Party, Peter Mandelson (1988), after the 1987 general election defeat, state that the main objectives were five-fold. The first aim was to encapsulate the party’s message in memorable phrases (soundbites). Second, campaign materials and statements needed to be despatched quickly and efficiently. Third, press and broadcasting contacts needed to be extended beyond “lobby” journalism. Fourth, the party had to target “priority” seats for maximum, national impact and, finally, the party leadership needed to be projected as united and able. Similarly, in the US, considerable efforts were made by the Republican Party in the seventies to rebuild their reputation after the Watergate scandal. O’Cass (1997) argues that ‘regardless of the duration of some of the present challenges, there are opportunities for the long-term growth of political marketing’. Similarly, research by Plasser et al (1999) has indicated that Western European parties consider the function of political marketing to be the building of long-term trust among the electorate. Bradshaw (1995) argues that campaign strategy is based on four notions. These are: that the electorate can be divided into three groups, for example, your voters, your opponents’ voters and floating voters; that the use of political opinion research can identify where the voters from these categories are located; that it is not necessary to solicit the votes of the entire electorate; and that once the voters have been targeted, the organisation’s resources should also be targeted to these segments accordingly. This allows the political strategist to determine which voters in which areas need to be targeted. An example of the targeting of voters is shown in Table 2.4. Table 2.4 Area Segmentation Example District

1992 Registered Voters

1992 Est. Turnout

1992 Est. votes

1992 Persuadability (per cent)

1992 Democratic Performance

1990 Smith Vote (per cent)

1992 Expected Smith (per cent)

1992 Expected Smith Votes

1992 Persuadables Required (per cent)

Lealman Pinellas Park St. Petersburg Kenneth City Largo Clearwater Dunedin Total

2,643 27,002

59.6 63.5

1,575 17,158

19.6 20.5

56.1 50.5

57.0 57.0

56.5 51.0

890 8,751

58.0 53.1

1992 Percent of Effort Index (per cent) 5.0 48.0

1,300

67.5

877

21.8

50.2

-

51.0

447

54.0

2.0

5,562

68.3

3,798

20.7

49.8

55.0

54.0

2,051

70.2

11.0

15,253 1,582 1,831 55,173

63.5 53.0 58.7 63.5

9,689 839 1,074 35,010

20.8 16.0 18.7 20.4

50.1 59.2 51.7 50.8

56.0

52.0 58.0 51.5 52.0

5,038 487 553 18,217

59.3 51.5 50.7 56.9

28.0 3.0 3.0 100.0

Source: Bradshaw (1995) In Table 2.4, the district is divided up into sub-units and the estimated number of voters in each sub-unit is calculated by the multiplication of registered voters with estimated 51

turnout. The persuadability percentage relates to the proportion of the estimated voters who are not strong voters for a particular party. The Democratic performance indicates the share of the vote that the Democrats received at the 1992 American Presidential Election. The total figure is around the 50 per cent mark, indicating a swing district. The expected 1992 Smith vote shows the target vote for each district. In the example, the overall objective is to gain 1.8 percent more of the total vote (from 50.8 to 52 percent). The persuadables required indicate how many floating voters must be targeted in each district whilst the percent of effort index suggests the areas in which more or less campaign resources should be allocated. Butler and Collins (1996) argue that political parties should start to think strategically and determine their competitive position, suggesting four positions that the political party can adopt depending on their circumstances. Table 2.5 illustrates this more clearly. Table 2.5 Positioning Strategy in Political Markets Position

Characteristics

Strategic Directions

Examples

Leader

Highest share Acknowledged orientation point Continuous attack Chosen to depose leader ‘May be several challengers

Expand total market Expand share Defend share Attack leader Attack similar competitors Attack smaller competitors Clone Imitate Adapt

National Congress (India) PRI (Mexico) Partido Popular (Spain) Labour (UK) Centre Party (Norway) Progressive Democrats (Ireland)

Create niche Expand niche Defend niche

Les Verts (France) Yisreal Ba-Aliya (Israel)

Challenger

Follower

Nicher

Purposeful concentration on target market Imitative rather than innovative Local/regional strengths Broad line Leader in narrowly defined market or niche Specialist appeal

Source: Butler and Collins (1996) Butler and Collins’ are suggesting that political parties need to think more pragmatically about their electoral prospects. For instance, a nicher (a party with a limited, and narrow, support base) cannot hope to become the leader in a short space of time. The nicher should try to expand the niche before moving into more mainstream politics. An example of such a party was when the Green Party achieved 14% of the European Election vote in 1989. This subsequently dropped dramatically as the major European parties imitated its policies for the 1994 European elections. In this case, the Green Party failed to defend their niche. More recently in the UK, the Green Party have had their first member of a British national parliament elected, a member of the Scottish Parliament, Robin Harper. The National Front has a mass appeal in France and this will not shrink until the Socialist and right-wing parties in France start to address some of the issues that the National Front has made its own (with a larger degree of decorum and diplomacy, one would hope). Similarly, this compares with the One Nation party in Victoria, in Australia, which has managed to defend its nationalist agenda, mainly through the ineptitude of the mainstream parties in their failure to fracture its support base (see Dann and Dann, 1998). Baines, Lewis and Ingham (1999) have devised a model - see Table 2.6 - which illustrates how political parties and candidates could position themselves in countries where policies are used as one of the main criteria in determining voting behaviour. Parties can use the model to evaluate whether or not their policies are popular and if they 52

should hold a position of strength within a party’s manifesto. The extent to which those policies should be communicated depends on the strength of importance that voters attach to them and how central these policies are to the party or candidate’s ethos or mission. The latter is important because political parties cannot credibly re-position themselves using stances that are completely at odds with their previous positions. The need for the policy to be relatively central to the party’s ethos takes into account the fact that parties and candidates tend to be ideologically driven in the UK. Table 2.6 Policy Evaluation Model Electorate’s viewpoint of importance

High

High

Law and Order Decision: - Build agenda -Build communications

Mid

Low

Centrality to party ethos Mid

Low

Environment Decision: - Build agenda -Hold Communications Housing Decision: - Hold agenda - Hold Communications

Europe Decision: - Reduce agenda -Build Communications

Drugs - Reduce or terminate policy

Source: Baines, Lewis and Ingham (1999) In the case where the electorate feels an issue is important but is of low centrality to party ethos (such as the environment29), the party needs to build up the environment agenda and hold communications constant until its agenda sufficiently represents the electorate’s (or target segment’s) considerations. Communications can be increased at a later date, depending upon the changing state of the electorate’s (or target segment’s) feelings - as determined by tracking polls. This is particularly important since issue positions in the policy positioning model will change as agendas and communications are modified. In many countries, however, policies are not the only criteria for determining the voter’s choice on Election Day. As a result, the policy model is useful in illustrating which issues the party or candidate should focus on but this should not be considered as the total positioning strategy. The party or candidate may still need to consider the development and dissemination of the theme of the party or candidate and personality-based, or stylebased, components that may also constitute the way in which the voter makes his or her electoral choice. To a degree, this section of the chapter contains loosely connected elements of marketing strategy related to positioning, targeting and an illustration of the fit between the communication plan, research and the political product. The lack of clear linkage between the different areas of strategy is largely a function of the political marketing literature and its developing nature. Determining and describing the process of political

29

Excluding Liberal Democrats who emphasised this policy in their manifestos in 1996.

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campaign management (in both the UK and US) is one of the stated objectives of the thesis. 2.3.2 Organisational Development in Political Campaigning The organisations that run political campaigns in the UK are derived from members of the party executive and members of the parliamentary party with functions such as polling and advertising sub-contracted to external agencies. In the US, campaign committees are built up of external political consultants, the candidate and a campaign manager. In order to maintain loyalty and morale there is a need for political parties and candidates’ campaign teams to conduct internal marketing exercises. This is an important component of the political marketing process because, as Webster Jr. (1988) states, internal marketing and strategic planning are interlinked. Top management should endeavour to support the customer-oriented focus of an organisation. Kotler (1979) suggests that a non-profit organisation should introduce marketing through the following six steps: • • • • • •

Appointment of a Marketing Committee - to examine the organisation and the potentialities of marketing. Organise task forces to carry out an institutional audit - to discover how the organisation is perceived by its key publics and which programmes are strong or weak. Hire marketing specialist firms as needed - such as market research firms, advertising agencies, direct mail consultants and fund-raising agencies. Hire a marketing consultant - to carry out a comprehensive marketing audit. Hire a Director of Marketing - where the organisation has become convinced of the need for a marketing focus, this job facilitates the provision of marketing services to members of the organisation where needed. Marketing Vice President (or Chief Executive) - this position is appointed where the organisation desires a marketing focus at the strategic level.

It would appear that most Western European political organisations are currently at phase five and further progress will only occur once marketing is incorporated at the strategic level. There is a need to overcome the organisational difficulties that have stopped political entities from achieving a higher level of marketing orientation. The extent to which political organisations decentralise their campaign operations is also an important strategic issue. Farrell (1996) argues that this is a result of the extent to which television has penetrated households within a particular country. Where television penetration is high, political campaigning is capital-intensive. However, in countries where television advertising is not permitted, political campaigning is likely to be somewhat more labourintensive unless other substantial means of mass media are available. The British Labour Party decentralised their campaigning function mid-term after the 1983 British General Election defeat: ‘(The) campaign management team was created and it started planning the 1987 campaign from 1985. It was also decided that the campaign would be presidential and, thus, concentrate on building Neil Kinnock’ (Hughes and Wintour, 1990). Sackman (1996) suggests that the process continued after the 1987 election, ‘as far as the election of 1992 is concerned, it is arguably the case that centralisation developed to the point where local activists were effectively an obedient 54

staff to directives from Walworth Road30 and the senior management team in London.’ However, the Labour Party retained control of this campaigning function by employment of, rather than sub-contracting, the marketing personnel. The sub-contracting of the marketing function, as is the American experience, may lead to the loss of party power. Bowler et al (1996) state that ‘it seems sensible to suggest that the greater the reliance on outside professionals, the weaker the parties become.’ They go on to state that this phenomenon is likely to result in a change in the way European political parties campaign. ‘It is this trend in organisational innovation, rather than the diffusion of what were once termed “Madison Avenue”31 techniques, that is likely to be of longer term consequence in European political markets.’ Baines, Plasser and Scheucher (1999) have argued that the use of American political consultants in Western European campaigns could lead to the erosion of the parties’ centralised campaigning structure. 2.3.3 Financing the Political Campaign In America, since large sums of money are required in order to campaign for office, fundraising has become a major component of the campaign plan. Faucheux (1997a) states that every candidate should develop a fund-raising plan. He suggests that, when there is a need to raise above $250,000, the campaign should consider bringing in a professional fund-raising consultant. If the sum is above a million dollars, there is no choice. McDevitt (1996) also states that candidates should take on professional help in fundraising since they are far more experienced. Political parties in the UK could benefit from the use of professionals from within the charity fund-raising sector. Schlegelmilch (1988) proposes that ‘charity fund-raising in Britain has developed from a predominantly unprofessional voluntary-based exercise to a competitive professionally managed marketing operation. Two forces were at the root of this development. Firstly, increased competitiveness within and without the charity sector. Secondly, growing academic awareness that marketing can and should be extended beyond the tangible product and consumer environment to include non-profit operations such as charities.’ Political fund-raising in Britain is very different from that undertaken in America. Pattie and Johnston (1997) explain the process: ‘Each year, the national party sets a fundraising quota for each local association, giving it a target amount for financial remittances to the centre. Target quotas are assessed according to the size, wealth and electoral strength of the association in each constituency.’ The authors state that the funds raised were actually falling, even in areas where there had been a good electoral showing. This would indicate either that the constituents suddenly decided to become less generous or, more likely, that local associations felt the need to retain the cash to fight their own campaigns. The Conservative Party relies on large cash donations from companies and wealthy individuals. Labour has traditionally relied on funding from trade union political funds although, the 1995 membership drive by Tony Blair improved the party finances considerably. In addition, business donations to the Labour Party increased considerably 30 31

The former headquarters of the British Labour Party in London, now housed at Millbank Tower. This is the location of some of the most renowned advertising agencies in the US.

55

with controversial consequences in some cases (for example, the £1m donations from Matthew Harding, the former Chelsea Football Club chairman and Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One supremo). The Labour Party’s links with lobbyists were also under media scrutiny in late 1998 as the links between commercial companies, the lobbyists and government ministers were uncovered in the so-called “cash for access” scandal. In America, fund-raising tends to occur through the medium of direct mail. The principal reason for this is probably because federal law limits the size of a donor’s contribution. Direct mail allows a candidate to personalise each message as if they were actually asking the voter for the money themselves. Halatyn (1997) states that ‘simple logic, confirmed by the data, has found that a well-written fund-raising letter with personalised features that targets households or individuals can make a significant difference in response.’ Halatyn also argues that fund-raisers should segment population universes and use more creative thinking in attempting to enlarge donor lists. Beaudry and Schaeffer (1986: 159-185), in their guide to winning state and local elections, suggest that the following guidelines should be adhered to, when soliciting donations by direct mail: • • • • •



Tell the donor that the contribution has helped. List briefly what you have accomplished because of the support. Before you get halfway down the first page, say that you need more money. Tie your request to some specific event or opportunity, such as the opening of a campaign office, a major literature drop, or media buys. Ask for a specific contribution or range of contributions. Never suggest they give you less than the last time. Always try to increase the gift. Versions of form letters that state different amounts are an effective way of doing this. Impose a deadline even if you have to invent it. Donors are most receptive when they are first contacted. Don’t let them put the letter aside to consider it later. Say that you must have the money within ten days or you’ll miss an important deadline. Or claim that your are having a strategy meeting and must know what funds are available. Thank the donor and remind him or her than an additional contribution will make a decisive difference.

The use of direct mail for political fund-raising in America has generated a sizeable industry. It is used by all organisations involved in political campaigning, ranging from the individual candidate’s campaign committees, to the local, regional and national party campaign committees and also includes the presidential candidates’ campaign committees, political action committees and trade unions. Many of these fund-raising appeals play on fear and the threat to existing values in order to solicit a donation. An abridged letter, cited in Godwin (1988: 17) and shown in Appendix 1, was sent out to potential donors by a US senator, and provides a first-class example of how direct mail fund-raising is applied in America. This is obviously an area for British political parties to look into more closely32. They should, however, bear in mind the cultural differences between the British and American people and the differing aspects of commercialisation

32

See Sections 4.2.5.3 The Fund-raising Process; 4.2.8.2 Media Usage in Political Campaigning; 5.3.1 Financing the Campaign; and 6.6 Direct Marketing and Fund-raising.

56

and its acceptance within the two societies. There are also obvious important ethical considerations that need to be further addressed. Shea (1996) argues that fund-raising in the US can occur through the following mechanisms: personal solicitation, political action committees and interest group solicitation, direct mail, big and small events, and telemarketing. In the UK, political action committee solicitation would not be possible, although interest group solicitation certainly would be. This has been conducted, particularly by the Labour Party (who received a £1m donation from an anti-hunting organisation that was part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, reported in the television news in June 1999). Lobbying, as a source of fund-raising, makes a significant contribution to the campaign funds of political parties, although the process is highly secretive and little researched. Fund-raising is necessary in order to fund constituency campaigning, political communication (through broadcast and newspaper advertising, direct mail, conferences and outdoor advertising) and to fund investigations into voter behaviour and opinion in the form of polling, focus groups and opposition research. 2.3.4 The Volunteer Programme The maintenance and development of a volunteer network is an important component in the process of grass-roots campaigning. Because of the scale and nature of the get-outthe-vote effort, it is important for a party (or candidate) to mobilise their grass-roots support since this can contribute to the winning of an election. In Britain, it is forbidden to pay for canvassing (although there were suggestions during the 1997 British General Election that the Referendum Party contravened this). As a result, political parties must use volunteers. This has considerable ramifications for the political strategist. Essentially, volunteers will resent reproaches for their failures since they are contributing, not for material gain, but for either their desire for the party to win or for future political gain in terms of selection for local or national office. Beaudry and Schaeffer (1986: 187-205) state that the key to building a successful grassroots organisation is: • • •

A compelling campaign message that encourages people to get involved. Constant efforts to recruit workers integrated into all campaign activities. Good management that ensures volunteers are used effectively.

Niffenegger (1989) describes why a volunteer programme is so important. ‘A volunteer programme is used to extend the candidate in a personal way into local markets, through canvassing, putting up signs, and soliciting funds. A candidate can extend himself in a personal way by using party members as surrogates to speak on his behalf.’ Canvassing is important in the area of local campaigning. Faucheux (1997b) states that ‘Candidate canvassing works. But it works best when you take care of the details, keep in mind your overall strategic needs and organise a precise and swift follow-up system designed to seal commitments of support, reinforce personal contacts and distribute campaign materials.’ 2.3.5 Co-ordinated Constituency Campaigning Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999) have devised a model, for use by British political parties, which focuses on co-ordinating local constituency campaigns (see Figure 2.5). They argue that, before parties decide on whom they should target and what issues they should campaign on, local parties should conduct research within the constituency and 57

use canvassing to consolidate this process. The model outlines that national political parties should co-ordinate their constituency campaigns by determining which constituencies are most in need of aid. Once this has been determined, national parties need to provide local constituency parties with the finance to conduct constituency research so that the local party can determine who their main political opposition is and, from this data, determine which voters they need to target. Research is further needed to determine how to position the party and to select and place advertising in the relevant media. Figure 2.5 Political Planning Model for Co-ordinated Local Campaigning

Historical Data

Census Statistics Constituency Ranking

Stage 1 Constituency Research

Canvass Records

Competition Determination Stage 2 Identification of Relevant Voting Groups

Party Positioning Stage 3

Voter Group Targeting

Stage 4

Post-Election Analysis

Source: Adapted from Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999) The Baines, Lewis and Yorke model suggests those components that comprise the local campaign. Certain tasks, those outlined in bold, can be undertaken by the national political organisation. Thus, the national political organisation ranks the constituencies in terms of those most in need of resources, provides the local party with historical data, polling data and constituency research, and provides software to aid the local party in conducting an effective segmentation exercise. The national organisation should also provide the local party with statements with which they should tie in their own messages. 58

Once the voter has been targeted, the national party should conduct a post-election analysis exercise in order to determine why events unfolded in the way that they did. The model illustrated in Figure 2.5 is not explicitly useful in the US since the idea of the senate candidate tying in his or her message with that of the party would be less well received. Similarly, the extent to which the political parties in the US co-ordinate the campaigns of their candidates for either senate or congress is limited and does not stem much beyond the provision of funding, media training and research data. 2.3.6 Political Communication: The Marketing Perspective Political advertising is the primary means of communication in the US and UK political markets33. In America, advertising tends to be disseminated through the use of advertising spots on television and, in recent years, through cable networks because of their clearly defined markets. ‘American candidates at every level of elective office are free to buy nearly unlimited amounts of advertising time on television’ (Kaid, 1999). Wray (1999) states that ‘no other television system in the world is as single-mindedly devoted to commercial interests. In some systems, advertising is banned; in the rest it is more constricted’. In Britain, party promotion occurs through billboard and press advertising, and publicity generated through news management, because of the regulations placed upon broadcast media advertising. The most traditional method of communicating with the voters, however, is the use of political literature. ‘Direct mail succeeds because, unlike any other media, it can deliver a specialised message to distinctive groups, made personal through the agency of new technology and therefore engendering unique loyalties’ (O’Shaughnessy and Peele, 1985). The appeal of direct mail is further explained by Godwin (1988: 10), who states that ‘direct mail is a powerful political tool because it provides politicians with technical advantages no other political communication can match: market pre-testing, personalisation, concentration and immediacy’. Swaddle (1988) suggests that because constituency advertising counts towards constituency spending in the UK, direct mail can only currently be used for fund-raising during election campaigns. Nevertheless, if direct mail advertises the party and not the candidate, and crosses constituency boundaries, political parties might be able to use this medium during elections in Britain far more than they have in the past. Direct mail relies heavily on the efficacy of the lists of voters that are used. Sabato (1989) describes five types of list. These are : • • • •

33

In-house - For example, lists of members. Outside contributor - This could include donors to particular charities that might share similar political objectives as the political organisation using the list. Compiled - These are persons belonging to group and membership rosters and could include gun-club members, solicitors, doctors and so on. This includes the British electoral roll and voter registration rolls in the US. Commercial - This type of list includes all those who buy or use commercial products. An example of such a list being used was, in 1987, when Norman Tebbit wrote to all those who had purchased British Telecom shares. In his correspondence, See Section 1.4 Political Communication: The Political Science Perspective.

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he stated that if they voted in Labour at the next general election their investments would be threatened, since the British Labour Party was committed to a policy of nationalisation. Universal - Telephone directories and social registries are included in this category.

It is important to select the correct list because ‘knowing to whom to send a letter is as important to the success of a fund-raising effort as the message and the candidate.’ (Sabato, 1989). The use of direct mail to pre-test issues and their salience with the electorate was first proposed by Eisenhower in 1952 when he sent out a range of letters to targeted test areas, each stressing different issues in order to solicit donations. The letter that raised the most money was used throughout the country as a result. Because of the advent of computers, it is also possible to send letters to individuals on a sizeable scale. The direct mail industry in the US was said to be worth over a billion dollars in 1988 (see Godwin, 1988) and is likely to have increased substantially since then as campaigns for lower levels of office (e.g. election for water board commissioner etc.) start to make more use of direct marketing methods. Direct mail allows the political strategist to concentrate on specific targeted audiences rather than mass markets. A great advantage is the ability to send out letters immediately. Direct mail also centralises the campaigning function because contributions are given not only to activists but sent to the national party through appeals to specific areas of the country or segments of the population. Scammell (1994) states that in Britain, and particularly within the Conservative Party, ‘constituency associations are less than convinced that centrally directed mail increases the total funds to the party; rather they think it may divert funds from the constituencies to the centre.’ However as a consequence of the landslide defeat of the Conservatives at the 1997 British General Election by the Labour party, William Hague (the Conservative Party leader) has centralised the membership system in order to consolidate fund-raising activity. O’Shaughnessy (1988) relates the importance of direct mail: ‘mailings have the special merit of introducing a concept of membership: people are made to feel part of a group, the essence of which is a common core of values and an unrestrained vocabulary to express them, and with direct mail the candidate’s private voice and character can be brought alive at a level of intimacy television can rarely achieve: it is almost a case of contrasting private and public media.’ However, since only about 47% of the people receiving official government pamphlets find them very/quite useful (Marsh, 1996), the efficiency of direct mail may be called into question. The telephone can also be a useful medium for contacting local voters not only to get out the vote, but also to gain an insight into their views on particular issues. The telephone allows the campaign team to reach people who might not otherwise have come to the door (e.g. the elderly), as well as people living in remote areas or inaccessible living accommodation. The problem is exacerbated in some American states where it would be impossible to canvass all of the electorate since they are too widespread. In areas like this, the telephone (or in future, perhaps the Internet) is the only means of communication with the electorate. Boim (1989) states that telemarketing ‘allows for two-way conversation so the voter feels a sense of shared ownership in the message. Telemarketing is intimate.’ He suggests that political candidates should set up telemarketing centres in order to solicit donations and disseminate the campaign’s 60

message. Both the British Conservative Party and the Labour Party, in the 1997 British General Election, had teams of central party staffers contacting voters by ‘phone in the marginal seats in an attempt to get their vote in these seats. Duquin (1989) argues that door-to-door campaigning is important as well because, even though candidates can use technology to communicate with the electorate, the public still likes to be asked for their votes. McCoy et al (1989) state that ‘canvassing can still be a means of reaching thousands of voters with the message of your choice; the problems entailed in running a canvass can be overcome by soliciting donations at supporters’ doorways and using those revenues to pay canvassers and hire experienced, professional management. In Britain because paid canvassing is illegal, this practice is not possible and, therefore, volunteers have to be used. Tait (1994) argues that video-cassette campaigning is also a useful method of political communication because it is a highly cost efficient method of advertising. This is only true if the video-cassettes are picked up after a week or so and delivered to another household. The cost would be much higher if every voter received a cassette and, therefore, the political strategist has to target those voters who are most likely to be persuaded. In the future, it may be possible to email advertisements or other political communication to voters. This will allow the immediate targeting of voters but would rely on a substantial increase in the uptake of personal computers and multi-media applications by householders. 2.3.7 Research and Polling The importance of using good pollsters (opinion polling consultants) is illustrated by Moore (1995: 193) who states that the Republican nominees for president have only used two pollsters; these are Robert Teeter, who worked for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George Bush and Richard Wirthlin who worked for Ronald Reagan. The Democrat presidential nominees have employed three pollsters. These were Pat Caddell who worked for Jimmy Carter and George McGovern, Peter Hart who worked for Walter Mondale and Irwin ‘Tubby’ Harrison who worked for Michael Dukakis in 1988. These men had considerable influence over the direction of the presidential nominees’ campaigns. For instance, Caddell, recognising that negative campaigning depresses turnout, advised Cranston (his candidate) to become so negative in his depiction of the opposition that the voters would become disgusted and, therefore, not bother to vote (Moore, 1995: 159). The extent to which the pollster is integrated into the strategy group is important. Kavanagh (1996), when discussing the relationship between polling consultants and politicians in the UK, comments that ‘the pollster is rarely part of the party’s strategy team, although polling, along with other sources of information, is an input to the communication group. Robert Worcester of MORI complained after the 1979 and 1983 elections about his lack of access to Labour’s campaign decision makers and of information about the campaign planning and the limits these placed on his usefulness.’ Clearly, private opinion polling is an important part of the campaign management process since it allows the party strategist to determine the opinions of the voters. Polling organisations provide information for the candidate and party that enables them to make more educated decisions with regards to the strategy team’s deliberations. 61

Kavanagh (1995) states that polling organisations can provide information on the following: •

Election timing - only in countries where the government determines when to have an election. In the UK, political parties in government can use polls to determine when the mood is most favourable for them to commence the general election.



Image building - polls provide parties with a picture of how the voters perceive them and, therefore, provide parties with the necessary ammunition to reposition themselves, as the British Labour Party has done since the 1983 British General Election. In America, pollsters conduct benchmark surveys to determine the candidate’s name recognition levels, and their electoral strength vis-à-vis their opponent’s and citizens’ assessments of an incumbent officeholder’s performance (Asher, 1995: 104).



Policy - Kavanagh (1995) states that opinion polls in Britain are used for the presentation of policy rather than the details of the policies themselves. He states that in America, however, the opinion polls can affect a candidate’s policy stance. Certainly, if the marketing concept is to be truly absorbed by political parties, then parties need to invest more in pollsters and their information at the same time as making them more accountable to the political process in which they operate.



Tracking - parties use polls to determine their potential weaknesses and their strengths and, in order for this to be effective, this process must be performed at regular intervals. Teeter was the first to set up daily interviewing of voters in 1972 as a precursor to ‘Wirthlin’s use of the tracking poll in the 1976 New Hampshire Primary …. When the technique was applied so systematically in an electoral setting’ (Moore, 1995: 198). Blakeman (1995) states that ‘a good tracking programme will tell a campaign if its strategy is working ….. Just as important, a tracking programme will measure the effectiveness of your opponent’s strategy and tactics.’



Targeting voters - as well as asking questions on issues, pollsters usually include questions to determine the demography of voters for particular parties and candidates. This method of segmentation of the voters is known as geopartisan since voters are segmented by area of the country and by political party allegiance. In the 1992 British General election, it was thought that ‘Worcester Woman’ was an important target group because they were under-represented in the previous general election and were thought to be Conservative floating voters.

Candidates and parties also conduct qualitative research into individuals’ thoughts and values using focus groups. This involves the use of discussion groups of between 8 to 12 people, which discuss various aspects of a candidate’s and his opponents’ campaigns. They are refereed by a moderator who attempts to involve everyone in the discussion whilst attempting to determine his candidate’s and his opponent’s weaknesses and strengths. The process need not be too expensive (Walker, 1992). Asher (1995) states that ‘probably the most famous example of the effectiveness of focus groups occurred in the 1988 American Presidential Election, when the Bush campaign team called on a group to identify the “hot button” issues that they later used with devastating effect against Dukakis.’ Perhaps, the greatest problem is that ‘you cannot generalise from a 62

focus group. There are no conclusions that come from focus groups that can be applied to a broader group of people’ (Mitofsky, 1995). Pollsters can and do provide their candidates with the wrong information on occasion. Asher (1995: 125) states that this occurred in the 1989 New York Mayoralty and the 1989 Virginia Gubernatorial because the pollsters greatly over-estimated the winner’s lead. This also occurred during the 1992 British General Election when most pollsters indicated that Labour would win. Worcester (1992) states that ‘the five major pollsters, Gallup, Harris, ICM, MORI, and NOP averaged a 1.3 percent Labour lead, (when) the final result was a 7.6 percent lead for the Conservatives’. In the US, campaign committees commission research into their own candidate and the opposition campaign’s candidate. Bayer and Rodota (1989) define opposition research as ‘the compilation of facts about the opposing candidate’s public record and statements’ whilst Varoga and Rice (1999) define it as ‘a comprehensive analysis of public records relating to both the candidate and his or her opponent.’ Bayer and Rodota (1989) state that after the 1984 American Presidential Election, ‘post-election news reports identified the Opposition Research Group and its computer system as the Republican “secret weapon”’. Shea and Brooks (1995) state that opposition research is vital in order to topple incumbents. In marketing terms, opposition research can be likened to competitive analysis and intelligence (Varoga and Rice, 1999). Shea (1996) suggests that opposition research provides five types of data that can be used against an opponent. These are: public service information, media-derived data, prior campaign details, business and career data and personal information. The extent to which the political parties in the UK use these data is not considered in the literature. The political parties could argue that business and career data are more likely to be covered by the press in the UK, although such details may be leaked anonymously to them. Public service information is also not capable of being accessed since there is currently no freedom of information law, although the Labour government are reconsidering this area of the law. Thus, the parties in the UK may have to content themselves with media-derived data and prior campaign details34. 2.3.8 Post-election Analysis As a concept associated with election campaigning, there has been little written about the post-hoc analysis of elections (see Baines, 1996). Later, in devising their model of coordinated campaigning, Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999) included post-election analysis as a strategic component. Such analysis would allow election strategists to determine why their campaign had progressed in the way that it did. Post-election analysis aims to determine whether or not the correct voter segments were targeted successfully. In addition, the election results are a useful indicator as to whether or not the opinion polling (if any was used) was accurate, of the way that the election was being reported by the mass media, and of how the opposition was responding in the campaign. Postelection analysis can also determine the efficacy of the constituency (ward, state, precinct, etc.) ranking exercise, and voter segmentation and positioning exercises. The post-election research data may also be used to refine the segmentation bases that were

34

See Sections 4.2.7 Competitive Analysis; 5.3.4 Media Management, Opposition Research and Freedom of Information; and 6.5 News Management and Opposition Research.

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used in the previous election campaign, in order that the next election campaign can incorporate any lessons learned. The political science and political marketing literature are remarkably silent on this issue. This could either be because political organisations do not want the media or their opposition to know what lessons they have learnt, or because they are not conducting any post-election analysis work. The former is more likely to be the case. In a study conducted for Harold Wilson and the Labour Party between September and October 1974, Bob Worcester (1974) outlines, in a section on implications for future research, that MORI was conducting a series of fortnightly surveys prior to the February 1974 campaign. They had also; established a panel study in 1973; conducted post-election surveys of candidates and agents after the 1970, February 1974 and October 1974, elections; and had conducted monitoring of party political broadcasts and group discussions in 1973. Nevertheless, Worcester (1996) states ‘after Wilson, never again was I to have a client who used research systematically and objectively, with sufficient budget to do the work in the first place and sufficient nous to understand and value it in the second’, which would indicate that the post-election analysis work carried out for Wilson may not have been repeated for successive Labour leaders. 2.3.9 Electoral Law, Culture and Political System The extent to which specific marketing tools can be used in an individual country depends upon the nature of that country’s political system. For instance, political marketing in Australia would require different techniques in order to make allowances for the compulsory voting system. This could, for instance, take the form of encouraging tactical voting35. Countries generally have different electoral law and regulations operating, thereby, determining which campaign techniques need to be used. Currently, in Britain, political broadcast advertising is illegal whilst in America it forms the backbone of political communication. Culture also has important ramifications for the political consultant. It is highly unlikely that direct mail of the sort shown in Appendix 1, would be tolerated by the British electorate (or any regulatory body, e.g. the Advertising Standards Authority, Electoral Commission). Table 2.7 illustrates the major areas of difference that affect the tone and style of campaigning in countries around the world. The major factors identified by Baines, Harris and Newman (1999) relate to whether the campaign is focused on a national or local level, on the party or the candidate, whether political communication is restricted or unrestricted, whether the campaign is supervised by party officials or external consultants and whether the source of fund-raising is provided by the government, privately or some combination of the two. As can be seen from Table 2.7, all have impacts upon how the campaign progresses.

35

See Section 1.2.1 Types of Electoral System.

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Table 2.7 Cross-cultural Factors Affecting Political Marketing Activity Cross-cultural Factor Campaign Orientation

Component

Examples

Implications

National

UK general election, US Presidential election, German general election. UK local government elections. UK, Germany, France. US, Irish Presidential Election, German Chancellor, etc. USA.

Require tools of mass communication, TV, radio, etc.

Local Campaign Focus

Party Candidate

Communication Infrastructure (inc. regulation)

Unregulated

Regulated

Organisational Structure

Source of Fundraising

Party Campaign Executive Consultant Private

Public Mixed

UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Eire, Spain, Austria, Sweden, India and the majority of elected democracies. UK, Austria, Germany.

US, Argentina, etc. UK, US (some states), Eire, Spain, France, Greece, Israel, India. Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, etc. US (some states), Italy, Holland, Finland, etc.

Require tools of local media and active grass roots organisations. Persuasion more centred on issues and policies Persuasion more centred on ability of candidate to deliver promises. Wider use of communication tools promoting negative and attack campaigning leading to greater use of rapid rebuttal and crisis management.

Less ability to persuade electorate with emotion leading to more sober communication with voters.

More likely to adopt communication that has a stronger party orientation. More likely to adopt communication that has a stronger voter orientation. Ability to plan media scheduling and strategy more difficult with tendency to be risk averse in terms of spending. Media planning much easier since finite budget exists. Minimum level of media planning possible and ability to top up the communication with extra revenues raised.

Source: Baines, Harris and Newman (1999) 2.4 The Political Marketing Process: A Deductive Contribution A more inclusive political marketing planning model needs to consider both the local and national campaigns and the way in which they interact. The model should account for this and other missing factors - outlined by Baines, Harris and Newman (1999)36 - in previous political marketing process models. Those aspects that were considered in one of the three political marketing models encompass the following areas (those in bold are considered for explicit inclusion in a comprehensive model explained later in this section): • Campaign Focus - only outlined in Newman (1994). • Environmental influences - only outlined in Newman (ibid.). • Fund-raising strategy - only considered implicitly by Newman (ibid.) through direct mail, which is not the only source of campaign finance. • Segmentation of voting districts - only considered by Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999). • Co-ordination of campaigning - only considered by Baines, Lewis and Yorke (ibid.). • Supporting industry infrastructure - only considered by Newman (1994). • Race differences - the fact that different elections have different rules and regulations operating, is only considered by Newman (ibid.). 36

See Table 2.3 in Section 2.3 The Emergence of Political Marketing Planning.

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• Post-election analysis - only considered by Baines, Lewis and Yorke (1999). • Regulation - only considered by Newman (1994). • Impact of the length of campaign - not considered in any previous political planning model. A more inclusive model needs to consider all of these factors explicitly, since they have considerable impact upon electoral campaigning and the political marketing process in particular. Other categories not considered explicitly in a new, inclusive model can be subsumed within other categories. For instance, whether the campaign should be focused on the candidate or the party can be subsumed under campaign strategy and agenda setting. Similarly, the fact that different electoral competitions have different regulations does not require its own separate category since it can be considered under regulation. The impact of the length of the campaign would compress the political communication plan but can be considered under a more generic area such as political system. The model shown in Figure 2.6 is an attempt to derive a marketing planning model applicable to both the US and the UK, from the literature, and includes all the emboldened components (missing from previous planning models) outlined earlier in this section, explicitly. Figure 2.6 The Generic Campaign Management Process (UK/USA) Electoral Law, Culture and Political System Campaign Strategy and Agenda Setting Organisational Development

Volunteer Programme

Research and Polling

Political Communication

Fund-raising

Constituency Campaigning

Post-election analysis Electoral Law, Culture and Political System Source: Derived from the political marketing literature by the author.

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The model covers both countries because the political marketing literature often describes the process generically without, necessarily, describing the specific country context. Thus, the different phases of the process will differ in their importance in their specific country contexts and it is the stated aim of this study to determine where those differences lie. The generic campaign management process model (Figure 2.6), the Phase III interview data and the campaign management process model in Chapter Four (see Figures 4.1) are combined to provide a model of best-practice UK political campaign management (see Figure 6.2). The discussion of the UK model, and the Phase III interview data, is further outlined in Chapter Six. If the reader examines the organisation of this chapter it will become clear that each of the sections from Section 2.3 onwards describes one of the components of the model. This is no coincidence. The model was derived after this section had originally been drafted, although later re-organised with the content of the sections with the only inclusion being the section on post-election analysis. The reader is referred to individual sections in order for a fuller understanding of each of the components of the model but the linkages between components will be further considered here. Campaign strategy and agenda setting should be the initial consideration of the political party or candidate since it will affect the formation of the development of the campaign organisation. If the campaign is to have a focus on communicating the party’s policies (Newman’s product concept - see Newman, 1994) then the campaign organisation will need to include policy-makers. If the campaign is to be voter-oriented, the campaign organisation will have to take on external consultants who will either be seconded to the campaign organisation or who will remain external to it. The campaign strategy and agenda is also affected by the fund-raising plan and, is limited by the amount that can be raised and the intensity or time by which it can be raised. Post-election analysis also feeds into the campaign strategy and agenda setting process as the political organisation learns what strategies are capable of being operationalised and the extent to which the agenda can be influenced. The development of the campaign organisation is also critical since it determines how each of the specific components are actioned (e.g. political communication, fundraising). It is through the organisational development phase that funds are raised, and a volunteer programme co-ordinated which, in turn, leads to expenditures in time and effort on research and polling, political communication and constituency campaigning. The latter three components of the model are interlinked and it is important to realise that that effect on one another is iterative rather than sequential. The whole campaign exists within the confines of the electoral law in which the campaign is operating, the culture of the country, and the political system. In this case, the political system refers to the electoral system, the infrastructure supporting the campaign industry, the length and timing of campaigns and media structure. 2.5 The Ethics of Political Marketing Marketing is often seen as manipulative raising the question as to whether or not marketing’s direct application to the political process is ethical. Devlin et al (1996) argue that ‘since social cause marketing programmes are calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas it might be argued that these marketing approaches are manipulative .... however, marketing is not inherently manipulative but the process by 67

which it is employed may be construed to be especially so if such a process emphasises or exploits feelings of guilt, fear, inadequacies and the need to belong.’ Laczniak et al (1979) suggest that ‘while social marketing could be curious and fascinating in its potential to improve effective mass communication, the hasty ‘opening of the box’ - a wholesale application of social marketing - could release ethical and social problems of large dimensions’. The authors later suggest that various bodies could regulate social marketing techniques in order to guard against unethical practice. These could be government, professional/industry or self-regulated and would help to ensure that the techniques were not abused. Banker (1992), however, disagrees with the fact that political marketing is unethical. He states that ‘from a rhetorical point of view, modern marketing techniques as used in politics are not unethical.’ He suggests that this is because ‘it is not “truth” that emerges because we allow free debate, but rather alternative “truths”. It is our job as the electorate to decide on the reasonableness and relevance of those truths.’ Thus, it is the job of the voter to determine whether or not the politicians and their consultants are unethical in their practices. Goldstein (1995) argues that this occurs through media scrutiny. An example of this was where the incumbent British Conservative (Neil Hamilton-Tatton) was defeated in the 1997 British General Election because the public voted against his record in the face of “sleaze” allegations. Fowler (1995) also argues that the ethical question of politicians’ conduct lies with the voter. She states that ‘ultimately, it is up to citizens to devise their own common-sense rules for judging a politician’s conduct.’ The ethical issue concerning the use of marketing techniques in political campaigning is relatively unrepresented in the literature and, as a result, this section only contains a small amount of material, drawn largely from the field of social marketing. Of particular interest to ethical political marketers, is the notion that the use of political marketing could lead to populistic governments. This is suggested by critics of political marketing, who claim that further use of marketing techniques by political parties will lead to “government by focus group”. Logically, this is possible; if a political party or candidate only puts forward policies that the people want based on polling and focus group data then such politics could be in danger of being populistic (see Baines and Worcester, 2000). The key consideration is to ensure that the policies and statements made fit with the party’s or candidate’s ethos (see Table 2.6). Thus, political parties and candidates should retain some leadership in terms of devising policy on how to solve a country’s political problems. However, they should defer to the people for both their views (when a solution is complex) and their support (outside as well as inside the election cycle). Dann and Dann (1998) have stated that, in terms of public policy, it can be argued that the role of politics and politicians is not to submit to [vested] interests but to provide real alternatives and leadership. The use of lobbying by political parties and candidates to raise campaign finance is also contentious. The question is over whether or not unelected political consultants and party executives should wield such bargaining power over the political process. The impact of the above areas, and the associated ethical considerations, are beyond the scope of this thesis, but provide useful suggestions for areas of future research. 2.6 Conclusion The link between marketing and political campaigning has been demonstrated to be concerned with the satisfaction of the voters’ needs in terms of providing a representative 68

voice in government. This link between marketing and political campaigning is a function of satisfying the exchange relationship between the voter and the political organisation. The political marketing literature, relating to election campaigning, lacks a strategic dimension. Indeed, existing models have left such concepts as fund-raising strategy, campaign co-ordination, supporting industry infrastructure and regulation largely unconsidered. Yet, the political market is highly regulated in both the US and the UK, although very much more so in the UK. Thus, a more inclusive model has been deduced from the literature to illustrate the generic campaign management process in the UK and the USA. The generic model is referred to again in Chapter Six, where a UK model of the campaign management process is derived from the generic model developed in this chapter and the US model of the campaign management process developed in Chapter Four.

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Chapter Three Research Methodology: Using Qualitative Research To Investigate Political Marketing Contexts 3.1 Introduction This chapter provides an insight into the way in which the research was designed in order to fulfil the objectives of the research. The chapter aims to justify the procedures and methods that were utilised and provide the reader with an understanding of how the data were collected and from whom. Because the research was qualitative in nature, the chapter contains a detailed section on the data analysis instrument used and how it demonstrates reliability and validity within the data. The research design incorporates the following three phases: • Understanding the US political marketing process • The Americanisation of UK political marketing • The British political marketing context The chapter provides details of the research designs and the objectives of each of the three phases of the research. In addition, there is a section illustrating the limitations of the research study37. 3.1.1 Research Objectives The main aim of the thesis is to determine how (American) marketing methods, used in political campaigns, can be incorporated into British political campaigns in order to draw up a campaign management process model for use in both US and UK political campaigns (see Figure 6.2). The study also aims to produce a UK campaign management process model from the Phase III interview data together with the model derived from the literature (see Chapter Two) and the US campaign management process model (see Figure 4.1). The study has a number of research objectives, arising from these aims, which are set out below: I. II. III. IV.

To gain an understanding of how marketing techniques are applied in US political campaigns (see Chapter Four). To produce a marketing planning model for US political campaigns (see Figure 4.1). To determine the problems associated with transferring US political marketing methods to UK political campaigning (see Chapters Four, Five and Six). To derive a UK political campaign management process model (see Figure 6.2) based on the US political campaign management process model (see Figure 4.1), the Phase III interviews and the generic UK/USA marketing planning process model (see Figure 2.6).

These aims are further considered in one of the three study phases. For instance, Phase I is designed to satisfy Objectives I and II. In Phase I, some data to fulfil Objective III is also collected. This data has limited validity, however, since many of the respondents were either talking about the subject of Americanisation of political campaigning hypothetically (since they had no experience), or they had no direct experience of 37

See Section 3.7 Limitations of the Research.

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working in the UK but had experience of working in other countries. Phase II of the research deals with Objective III whilst Phase III of the research considers Objectives III and IV. Since the focus of the dissertation is marketing management and Americanisation of UK political campaigning, these topics are considered in depth. For instance, marketing planning arises in Objectives II and IV, whilst Americanisation of UK political marketing is considered explicitly in Objective III, and implicitly in Objectives I, II and IV. The study attempts satisfy Objective IV through the derivation of a UK campaign management process model based on the Phase III interviews, the US campaign management process model and the generic UK/USA model derived from the literature in Chapter Two. 3.2 Research Design and Theoretical Considerations This section justifies the use of the research design that has been applied throughout this study. The initial consideration regarding the design of the research relates to whether a qualitative or quantitative study is the best method for this type of investigation. Generally, qualitative approaches are used where an exploratory research design is being employed whilst quantitative research designs are employed where the research design is more conclusive. Hawkins and Tull (1993) suggest that ‘the selection of a measurement technique is influenced primarily by the nature of the information required and secondarily by the value of the information.’ Since the main objective of the research is to gain insights into the Americans’ use of political marketing techniques and determine whether or not aspects of their practice can be incorporated into UK political campaigning methods, it would appear that a qualitative approach would be more appropriate. This is because a quantitative research method would not allow the researcher to explore the US political marketing context, and the people who work in it, in sufficient detail. Thus, because the research approach is organisational rather than consumer-oriented, a qualitative approach is considered more suitable. Malhotra (1996: 89) indicates that exploratory research designs should be used when the objective of the research is to discover new ideas and insights. It is, characteristically, a flexible and versatile approach to research design and tends to use expert and pilot surveys, secondary data collection methods and qualitative research designs in order to collect the relevant data. Zikmund (1997: 129) argues that when an exploratory research design is employed, the appropriate categories of research design are experience surveys, secondary data analysis, case studies, pilot studies, focus groups, projective techniques and in-depth interviews. Thus, an appropriate research design in this case, taking into account the opinions of the different authors, would appear to indicate the use of one of the following techniques: projective techniques, in-depth interviews, focus groups, pilot studies, case studies, experience surveys and secondary data collection. The advantages and disadvantages of each technique, and a judgement of the appropriateness of each method for the purposes of this study, are illustrated in Table 3.1. From Table 3.1, it can be seen that projective techniques, pilot studies, case studies and secondary data studies would yield insufficient data to meet the informational objectives of this study. These data collection methods would not offer the marketing insights into political campaign practice that are required for the topic of this thesis. Since the thesis is concerned with determining whether or not US political campaign practice can be 71

transferred to the UK, there is a strong need for the researcher to understand, in detail, the US political market and the operators within that market. Table 3.1 A Comparison of Qualitative Techniques Technique Projective Techniques

Depth Interviews

Focus Groups

Advantages Highly useful for obtaining subconscious and sensitive information Allows detailed exploration of research problem Good technique to use for gaining insights into specific populations Offers researcher good understanding of the research problem

Disadvantages High degree of interpretation bias

Depends on the skill of the interviewer

Difficult to respondents

probe

individual

Useful for gaining insights into sample

Pilot Studies

Case Studies

Experience Surveys

Secondary Data Collection

Allows exploration of a research problem Precursor to more detailed quantitative research usually Entire organisations or entities can be investigated Useful for gaining insights and producing hypotheses for future research Helps to formulate research problem and clarify concepts Provides detailed knowledge of area of research interest Economical method Helps define background to research

Data not generalisable

Results are tentative Highly dependent on the skill of the case investigator Difficulty in contacting and arranging interviews Reliance on few interviews, not generalisable Limited use since circumstances may be very different in current situation

Appropriateness Not collecting subconscious or sensitive information inappropriate Need to gain insights since political campaign practice poorly documented in literature - highly appropriate Difficult to organise since consultants and party executives unlikely to come to one central place Also unlikely to gain sufficient insights into individual consultancy occupationsinappropriate Pilot study would have yielded insufficient insights into political campaign practice for this study inappropriate Not the purpose of the research to investigate a single entity inappropriate

Need to gain insights from certain professional people in a specific industry - highly appropriate Insufficient secondary data available, further insights necessary - inappropriate

Source: Compiled using Malhotra (1996) and Zikmund (1997) Thus, a method was required that allowed detailed probing of the individual political consultants and the two methods that offer this facility are experience surveys and indepth interviews. Essentially, experience surveys are interviews with people who are knowledgeable in the area of interest. Depth interviews may or may not be used to interview people who are knowledgeable in the particular area. Essentially, the main difference between the two techniques is that one concentrates on gaining data from a supply-side perspective, whilst the other employs interviews to gain data from either a supply-side or demand-side perspective. An interview is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as: ‘a meeting of persons for purpose of discussion; oral examination of applicant; conversation between reporter and person whose views he wishes to publish’ (Fowler and Fowler, 1986). The word is derived from the French entrevue and literally means to see inside. Thus, an interview is concerned with gaining insights and determining meaning from an interactional relationship between interviewer and interviewee. There are numerous methods used in in-depth interviews. The most common used in marketing research are cited by Malhotra (1996: 176) as laddering, hidden issue questioning and symbolic analysis. Laddering is a method used whereby questioning proceeds from product characteristics to user characteristics. Hidden issue questioning attempts to uncover deeply personal opinions and symbolic analysis is a technique used where the symbolic meaning of products or services are determined by asking respondents what they would do if they could no 72

longer use that particular product or service. A further method used in depth interviewing is the ‘funnel’ technique. Chisnall (1997: 182) describes this as a method that involves ‘discussion at first on the broadest possible level; gradually narrowed down through progressively more restricted channels. The investigator has a list of points that the interview should cover and he or she guides conversation (without directly influencing by formal questioning), so that all the principal points are covered adequately.’ The type of interviewing method that is used also depends to some extent on the philosophical stance taken. Holstein and Gubrium (1998) distinguish between two types of interviewing. The first, ‘creative interviewing’, is described as ‘a set of techniques for moving past the mere words and sentences exchanged in the interview process. To achieve this, the interviewer must establish a climate for mutual disclosure. The interview should be an occasion that displays the interviewer’s willingness to share his or her own feelings and deepest thoughts. This is done to assure respondents that they can, in turn, share their own thoughts and feelings.’ This particular methodology is more related to a positivist stance since it assumes that what the respondent is feeling deep within themselves is “real”. The second method is termed by Holstein and Gubrium (1998) as ‘active interviewing’. They define this method as one where ‘from the time one identifies a research topic, to respondent selection, questioning and answering and, finally, to the interpretation of responses, interviewing itself is a concerted project for producing meaning.’ This method adopts a more social constructionist stance. In order to produce meaning, it is often useful to record the interview and transcribe it in full. Perakyla (1997) argues that working with tapes and transcripts helps to increase the validity and reliability of the data. She is also careful to argue that ‘although tape recorded data have intrinsic strengths in terms of accuracy and public access, special attention needs to be paid to the inclusiveness of the data.’ Perakyla (1997) goes on to state that qualitative data collection may be problematic since it may only be collected and be relevant for a single period of time and that such data need to be backed up with a consideration of ‘documentary realities’. In this case, documentary realities have been considered in the literature review. The research study concerns itself with understanding the US political marketing environment and determining whether or not marketing methods used in the US can be transferred to the UK. The research involves collecting data from very experienced and senior people within their organisations and industries and, in some cases, the number of people within an industry is relatively small. For instance, the number of opposition researchers advertising their services in Campaigns and Elections in 1997/8, the US political consultancy magazine, was only five over the whole of the US. This combination of having respondents who are difficult to access, very experienced and senior within their own organisations generally demands a qualitative procedure since quantitative studies would probably not receive a sufficiently high level of response. It was intended initially that the second phase would involve a quantitative survey to US politicians in order to discover the politicians’ perspective on the use of marketing techniques in their campaigns, although this would have taken the theme of the thesis in a different direction from its current focus. A questionnaire was devised, but after discussion with a number of academics researching in a similar area (at the 5th International Symposium on Government Relations and Public Affairs held at Lake Bled 73

in Slovenia in July 1998), and who had also, in some cases, attempted to undertake similar types of surveys in the US, it was decided that the response rate would be so low that the results would probably be meaningless. A two-phase qualitative research design was then considered where the first phase comprised a survey of US political consultants and a second phase consisted of interviews with their UK counterparts. This research design would have been limited, however, since it would not have considered the Americanisation process, the transfer of political marketing expertise, explicitly since it would only have been able to test the transferability of US political marketing methods in the UK hypothetically. The inclusion of a third phase in the research design incorporating interviews with consultants who had worked on British campaigns, and academics that had studied Americanisation in British political campaigning, remedied this lack of knowledge. Thus, in order to adhere to the theme of the study38, it was decided that all phases of the research should be qualitative in order to maintain the exploratory focus of the work and that three phases of research should be undertaken. Having determined that the research study would be entirely qualitative, it was necessary to determine which method of qualitative research procedure to use for collecting the data. Table 3.1 highlights those methods that were considered and whether they were appropriate or not in view of the objectives of the research. In each of the three phases, in-depth interviews were used since they were considered the best format to obtain the necessary, detailed information required. None of the other methods that were mentioned in Table 3.1 provided the means to obtain the data efficiently or effectively. Sections 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 describe the design of each of the three phases in further detail. 3.3 Understanding the US Political Marketing Process (Phase I) The first phase of the research, in this study, attempts to determine what marketing techniques are associated with US political campaign consulting. To determine which political campaign consulting techniques are transferable from the US to the UK, it is necessary to further understand the US campaign culture. However, some understanding was gleaned from a survey of the American political campaign consulting literature and from a thorough reading of the main professional political campaign consulting magazine39. In order to develop a stronger understanding of the marketing techniques that are used in US political campaigns, it was deemed necessary to obtain primary data from informed and expert sources close to US political campaigns. The key professional dealing with the marketing aspects of American political campaigns has, traditionally, been the political consultant. The American culture of free speech, principally manifested in the first amendment, and the obsession of the founding fathers of the US Constitution with ensuring that the new country was a strong democracy with inherent checks and balances on the attainment and use of political power, has partly led to direct elections for many official positions in state and federal government. Generally, in the US, due to the fact that there are so many political offices that require elections, a large political consulting industry has developed.

38 39

See Section 3.1.1 Research Objectives. Campaigns and Elections magazine, A Congressional Quarterly Publication.

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Major state wide political offices such as mayor, state representative, senator, congressmen and governor, in addition to lower ballot races such as tax officers, judges and minor state officials, are all filled through the election process. In addition to this, other electoral phenomena such as referenda have also assisted in producing a highly diverse and fragmented political consulting industry. Bowler et al (1996) state that another reason for the development of the political consulting industry relates to the introduction of primaries40 as a means of selecting candidates. Generally, due to the fragmented nature of the industry, there are a number of political consultants who deal with different aspects of the political consulting process. The principal actors41 are: • • • • • • • •



Campaign Managers - specialists who deal with the day-to-day running of the campaign from a strategy perspective including resource allocation, and theme and message issues. Direct Mail Consultants - consultants specialising in get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activity42 and fund-raising using mail. Fund-raising Consultants - consultants specialising in raising the necessary finance for a campaign plan (generally from both political action committees and individual voters). Field Operations and Organisation - consultants specialising in building up grassroots activity such as door-to-door fund-raising and get-out-the-vote. Media Consultants - consultants specialising in the development of advertisements through the broadcast media such as television, cable, satellite and radio. Polling Consultants - specialists in obtaining and interpreting public opinion regarding issues related to political campaigns (generally using either surveys or focus groups). Opposition Researchers - specialists in obtaining information relating to opposition candidates and candidates’ campaign teams. This role is analogous to a competitive intelligence operation in the commercial marketing environment. Targeting Consultants - highly specialised consultants involved in the refinement and production of selected voter mailing lists for the distribution of campaign materials to selected audiences (this task is also performed by some pollsters and direct mail consultants). General Consultants - consultants specialising in developing the theme and message of the campaign and the related allocation of resources. Generally contracted for larger campaigns where the campaign manager has either insufficient experience or where the workload is heavier.

Thus, because US political consultants effectively control the politician’s campaign, it was deemed that this population would provide the researcher with the strongest understanding of what marketing techniques are used in US political consulting in the 40

Primaries are US electoral contests where voters elect candidates for each party to run in general election campaigns. 41 A list of political consultants was derived from Campaigns and Elections: Political Pages 1997-1998, Campaigns and Elections Publishing Corporation, Washington DC. 42 Get-Out-The-Vote efforts are attempts to increase the turnout of one’s supporters either through door to door canvassing or, in this case, direct mail.

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late nineties. As campaign managers were not listed in the political pages directory, and because their role is more message- and theme- related than marketing-related, they were left out of the interviewing schedule. Thus, the intention was that the study should concentrate on developing an understanding of US political campaign practice from a marketing perspective. Phase I of the research study is, therefore, concerned with satisfying the following objectives: I. To gain an understanding of how marketing techniques are applied in US political campaigns. II. To produce a campaign management process model for US political campaigns. III.To determine the problems associated with transferring US methods to UK political campaigning. 3.3.1 Research Objectives (Phase I) In this study, the funnelling technique was used since the interview was exploratory. It was anticipated that the interviewer would learn more from an informal interview structure than a formal structure where a substantial knowledge of the respondent and the interview subject would have been required in order to write the necessary questions for this type of interviewing method. A list of the questions asked of the consultants is provided in Appendix 2. The primary objectives of this first phase of the research were to: 1. To gain an overview of the political consulting industry and the current salient issues within it. 2. To understand the type of clients that the political consultant deals with and caters for. 3. To understand what services and products are provided for the campaigns by the consultant. 4. To develop an understanding of what marketing techniques are used in the political campaigning process and how they contribute to a candidate’s success. 5. To discuss with the political consultants what marketing methods can be applied to the UK and European political markets. 6. To understand the financial and ethical implications of the political consulting profession with regard to their impact on the electioneering process. 7. To understand how political consultants determine what services and products they should provide their clients. Essentially, these research objectives encompass the major aspects of the political consulting process and formation of the objectives was achieved through a survey of the current US political consulting literature. In addition, prior knowledge of the US political consulting industry had been gained through the conduct of previous research in a related area (see Baines, 1996). 3.3.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase I) It was decided that only those political consultants who were involved in consultancy involving an element of marketing activity would be included in the sampling frame. Determining whether or not the political consultant’s occupation involved significant marketing activity was effectively a subjective decision made by the researcher. Thus, the sample was largely judgmental, although an understanding of the nature of the 76

occupational categories was derived from reading Campaigns and Elections magazine, the magazine serving the US political consulting industry. As a result, only those types of consultants who were illustrated in Section 3.3 Understanding the US Political Marketing Process (Phase I) were considered. The American political consultancy journal, Campaigns and Elections, produces an annual directory entitled The Political Pages which lists all those political consultants who are prepared to advertise in order to promote their businesses. This magazine was used as the sampling frame. However, since the research used an in-depth interviewing method, it was necessary to obtain interviews from as many political consultants as possible within certain geographic areas in order to minimise transportation and other research costs. After discussion with a small number of Washington DC political consultants (three respondents during the initial stages of their recruitment in December 1997), and a political marketing academic in Chicago (Professor Bruce Newman at DePaul University), it was ascertained that the main political markets in the US were, probably, Washington DC, Austin, Los Angeles and Chicago. In order to maximise the number of interviews and minimise the total cost of the research (a budget of £2,000 was provided), it was decided to conduct interviews in Washington DC, Chicago and Austin since the latter two cities were within reasonable flying distance of Washington DC). In order to generate the interviews for the research, a fax or email was sent out to every political consultant in the above cities between December 2nd and December 10th 1997. A copy of the fax sent to generate the interview is illustrated in Appendix 3. The total number of political consultants in the three areas contained within the political pages of Campaigns and Elections amounted to 111; with 88 in Washington DC, 13 in Austin, Texas and 10 in Chicago, Illinois. It was decided originally to attempt to distribute the interviews between the cities based on the ratio of political consultants to the number of working days that would be spent in the US. The ratio is illustrated below: 88:13:10 16:2:2

Ratio of political consultants in Washington DC, Austin, Chicago Ratio of days to be spent in each city based on number of consultants

However, it was also necessary to plan the trip in order to take into account flight and other transportation schedules and the ability of researcher to cope with the travelling and interviewing pressures. It was eventually decided that two weeks should be spent in Washington DC, one week in Austin, Texas and one week in Chicago. A further justification for not conducting as many interviews in Washington DC as a locationspecific quota sample would have suggested was that the political consultancy industry is quite tight-knit in the capital. This might have biased the sample by providing views and opinions that were not necessarily held by political consultants in other areas. Thus, it was decided that a judgmental sampling procedure should be used. The number of the different types of consultants in the three different cities is illustrated in Table 3.2. After an initial response, from the fax and emails sent out, which gained twelve interviews, further interviews were obtained by follow-up telephone calls to the members 77

of the original sample frame (who had not responded) between December 12th and December 23rd 1997. Table 3.2 Political Consultants by Type and City (1997/8) Type of consultant Chicago Washington DC Direct mail 4 6 Field operations 0 3 Fund-raising 1 21 General consultants and 3 13 strategists Media 1 22 Pollsters 0 19 Opposition researchers 0 3 Targeting 1 1 Total 10 88 Source: Campaigns and Elections, Political Pages, 1997/8

Austin 3 0 1 1

Total 13 3 23 17

4 2 0 2 13

27 21 3 4 111

However, further interviews were arranged, through referrals from existing respondents, whilst the interviewer was in the US in order to increase the sample size which eventually reached thirty-four. The final list of interviewees is shown in Appendix 4. Thus, while a judgmental sampling procedure was used in the first instance, the second phase of the sampling exercise involved a snowball sampling method in order to obtain a larger sample in selected occupational categories. A concerted attempt was made to increase the total number of interviews in each major category. The breakdown of the types of consultant who were finally interviewed is shown in Table 3.3. Table 3.3 Number and Type of Political Consultants Interviewed Type of Consultant

Total Number of interviews conducted

Direct mail Opposition researcher Pollsters General consultants Media consultants Fund-raising consultants Targeting consultant Other (Attorney)

Chicago 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

Washington 5 1 4 3 3 4 1 0

Austin 0 1 1 2 6 0 0 0

Total 6 2 5 6 10 5 1 1

* Totals do not add up to thirty four due to the fact that some consultants had more than one main specialism

Thus, more media consultants, general consultants, direct mail consultants, fund-raisers and pollsters were interviewed than any other category of consultant. Since these consultants represent the core activities of a political campaign team, this mix should reflect the major marketing activities inherent in US political campaign management practice. All in-depth interviews were taped and lasted between forty minutes and one and a half hours. 78

Table 3.4 The Major Components of the Phase I Research Design Research Process Component Research Approach Interviewing Method Question Type Sampling Method Sample Size Timing Sample Profile Data Collection Data Analysis

Detail Qualitative - Investigating Objectives I,II and III Personal Depth Interviews (40 - 90 minutes duration) Semi-structured Judgmental / snowball 34 (+1 attorney, later disregarded) Between January 5th - January 31st 1998 Political consultants from a variety of pre-selected occupational categories Audio-taped, transcribed by two other persons and edited by researcher. Use of NUDIST for coding and content analysis

Two independent people transcribed the interviews and the researcher amended the resultant transcripts in order to correct any transcription errors occurring mainly due to the lack of understanding of the context by the individuals concerned. The process of amending the transcripts was undertaken by listening to large sections of the interview in order to input any sections of conversation missed or misunderstood. A copy of a transcribed interviewed from this phase of the study is presented in Appendix 5. In summary, the major components of the first phase of the research design employed in this study are illustrated in Table 3.4. 3.4 The “Americanisation” of UK Political Marketing (Phase II) The second phase of the research, in this study, attempts to determine the problems associated with introducing American political marketing methods into the UK. American political marketing methods refer to techniques adopted by polling consultants, media consultants, direct mail consultants, opposition researchers and fund-raising consultants and used in American political campaigns. After discussions with the supervisor of this thesis, it was felt to be necessary to conduct a small-scale survey in an attempt to bridge the gap between the practice in the USA and the transference of that practice to the UK. The political science literature has detailed that there has been some traffic between the party campaign executives of the US Democratic Party and the British Labour Party, and the US Republican Party and the British Conservative Party. Nevertheless, this traffic has been limited since there are only three parties in the UK, whereas there are thousands of individual campaign committees in the US. The difficulty in this phase of the research was determining who had experience of campaigning in the US and had been involved in the transfer of this to the UK. Similarly, the small number of American political consultants who have been involved in UK campaigns also makes it more difficult to gain access for interviews. After discussion with Phil Harris43, an advisor to the researcher for the purposes of this thesis, it was decided that it might be advantageous to interview a number of UK academics who had researched the area of “Americanisation” of UK political campaigning. Thus, the approach was to obtain an understanding of the difficulties associated with introducing 43

Phil Harris, an academic from Manchester Metropolitan University, was called as an expert witness in the Irish Divorce Referendum case where he testified that use of marketing had a positive impact upon the turnout in the final vote. The judge of the case decided that in such grave matters, marketing would have no impact upon the final vote.

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American political campaign methods into the UK, from both a practical and theoretical perspective. Therefore, the research was designed in this phase to consider Objective III of the research study. III.To determine the problems associated with transferring US political marketing methods to UK political campaigning. 3.4.1 Research Objectives (Phase II) In this section of the study, the funnelling technique was used since the interview was exploratory and the interviewer had a limited knowledge of the context of the interview. Although the researcher / interviewer had an understanding of the techniques being discussed, gleaned from the US interviews conducted in Phase I, that understanding was limited to the nature of those techniques rather than the applicability of those techniques in the UK environment. A list of the general areas of questioning used in this phase of the study is provided in Appendix 6. The primary objectives of this phase of research were: 1. To determine the differences in the way American campaigns are managed compared to in the UK, with specific reference to the use of marketing techniques. 2. To determine why those differences might exist. 3. To determine what the difficulties are in further introducing American political marketing methods to UK campaigns. 4. To provide the researcher with an understanding of how US political marketing techniques are used in the UK, in order to further refine the topics of questioning in the interviews to be conducted in Phase III. The style of questioning was less structured than in Phase I, with the questions directed by general topics to be investigated rather than specific questions. This allowed the researcher to question on areas that were not considered previously and that were brought up during the interview. This was considered to be a necessary condition of the interview since the data to be collected were to be obtained from specialists in the area. 3.4.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase II) Finding US political consultants who were prepared to talk about their UK campaign experiences was particularly difficult. This was mainly because there was no way of knowing who had worked in the UK since none of the original sample (in Phase I) had any practical experience of working in the UK. Nevertheless, through contacts with these first-phase respondents, it was ascertained that three senior American political consultants had worked for all three British political parties: Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat. The contact details of these three consultants were noted and they were contacted. Two of these consultants agreed to participate in the study. In addition to obtaining an understanding of the Americanisation process, and its inherent problems from the perspective of American political consultants, it was decided that it would also be useful to obtain opinion from UK academics conducting research in this area. This would enhance the sample, ensuring that the Americanisation process is considered from a theoretical as well as practical perspective. Six respondents were eventually selected in March (see Table 3.5) and interviewed between April 13th and April 23rd 1999. 80

Table 3.5 Phase II Respondents RESPONDENT A B C D E

F

ORGANISATION Cambridge University London School of Economics Manchester University US-based polling group US-based polling group UK-based consultancy group

ROLE Conducted substantial research into US political marketing. Conducted substantial research into Americanisation of UK political campaigning. Conducted substantial research into comparative political campaigning. Advisor to the Labour Party during the 1997 British General Election. Former President of the International Association of Political Consultants and advisor to the Liberal Democrats during the 1997 British General Election. Key Clinton Campaign Advisor during the 1992, 1996 American presidential elections, senior advisor to the Labour Party during the 1997 British General Election.

These respondents are denoted as respondent A-F where respondents A,B and C are the academic respondents and respondents D,E and F are the professional political consultants. One interviewee - Respondent F - had to be interviewed later than originally intended. An email was sent to eight respondents (similar to those shown in Appendices 3 and 9) and six agreed to participate; one academic and one professional consultant refused. The US political consultants all had experience of advising UK political parties. The academic respondents all had substantial knowledge of US campaigning and its impact on UK campaigning. The interviews each lasted approximately forty-five minutes and were conducted in the form of telephone interviews in the case of the three American political consultants who were resident in the US at the time the interviews took place. The three academic interviews were conducted in person, in Manchester, Cambridge and London. The topics covered in the interviews with all six respondents were the same, although it might be argued that the data obtained from a telephone in-depth interview might not be as highquality as the data obtained in a personal in-depth interview. The reality of the quality of the two probably depends largely on whether one views the problem from a positivist or social constructionist perspective. If one is an ardent positivist one could argue that it does not matter so much about the data collection method, as long as the respondent is given the same opportunity to speak. The quality will be unaffected. A social constructionist, however, would argue that without the physical presence obtained with a personal interview, the respondent is less likely to construct the “meaning” of what they are being asked (although this might then make the interview more positivist!). All six interviews were taped and transcribed, although the three telephone interviews used telephone conversation recording equipment and the three academic interviews used a dictaphone. All six respondents were informed of this fact, all were provided with a copy of the interview transcript and it was suggested that they should contact the researcher if they had been misrepresented in the transcript subsequently sent to them.

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Table 3.6 The Major Components of the Phase II Research Design Research Process Component Research Approach Interviewing Method Question Type Sampling Method Sample Size Timing of Interviews Sample Profile Data Collection Data Analysis

Detail Qualitative - Investigating Objective III Personal / Telephone Depth Interview (45 minutes duration) Semi-structured Snowball Six Between April 13th 1999 - April 23rd 1999, 30th July 1999 3 ‘Americanisation’ Academics / 3 American political consultants who had operated in UK campaigns Audio-taped, transcribed by researcher, and two others, edited by researcher Use of NUDIST for coding and content analysis

The interviews were transcribed by the researcher and two other persons. These helpers were the same people as were used in the first phase of the study. Since they had been involved in this process before, it could be argued that the quality of the transcription was increased. As before, the interviews were amended later by the researcher by reading the transcripts and amending relevant sections by listening to parts of the interview. An example copy of a Phase II transcript is illustrated in Appendix 7. The major components of the research design of the second phase of the study are illustrated in Table 3.6. 3.5 The UK Political Marketing Context (Phase III) The British phase of the research attempts to determine the extent to which UK political parties can use American political marketing techniques. However, UK campaign organisations function in a different way compared with their American counterparts. In the US, political campaign committees are run by a campaign manager and a general consultant with a myriad of other specialist consultants in support. The politician has final say but tends to raise finance and attend photo-opportunities and press conferences. In the US, the parties input may be minimal. In the UK, campaigns are run by the national party organisations and the senior politicians within the parties hold a very strong role in formulating and determining the message. The result is that UK campaign organisations consist of political party executives with specific functions provided by sub-contracted agencies. Such specific functions include polling, advertising and direct mail. Similarly, to some extent, broadcast news and press organisations provide a conduit for political parties and function as a mediated (filtered) message dissemination service in direct contrast to the States where earned media is less important because of the availability of political advertising. Since the research was attempting to determine whether or not certain American political marketing techniques could be further used, or instituted, in the UK, it was necessary to obtain equivalent respondents to their American counterparts. For instance, direct mail was an area of interest and in order to investigate this further in the UK, it was necessary to interview party executives since they performed this function. However, in the case of other marketing functions, they were sub-contracted and were handled by a professional agency specialising in that area. Table 3.7 illustrates the difference in the organisation of the marketing functions between campaign organisations in the US and in the UK.

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Table 3.7 Campaign Organisation in the USA and UK (August 1999) Marketing Function Direct mail Advertising Polling Fund-raising

News management Opposition research

UK Party function for Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats Sub-contracted by Labour and Conservative parties, party function for Liberal Democrats Sub-contracted by all major parties Direct mail fund-raising sub-contracted by Labour Party, party function for Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives Party function for all parties Small rebuttal units exist for both Labour and Conservative parties, Liberal Democrats rebuttal function not explicit But this function different compared with the US since opposition research material generally fed to news organisations

USA Sub-contracted Sub-contracted Sub-contracted Sub-contracted

Sub-contracted Sub-contracted Generally used in political advertisements

Source: Based on the author’s judgement, 12th August 1999

In order to ensure equivalence in sampling, it was necessary to determine which persons within the party in the UK dealt with which tasks. Since the roles of individuals within political campaigns in the UK is well-documented in the UK political science literature, the researcher was able to determine who those people were that worked for the party in a sub-contracted capacity. The third phase of the research was, therefore, conducted with a mixture of political party executives and agency executives depending on who was performing each function for a particular party. Because opposition research in the UK is primarily aimed at broadcast news organisations (as opposed to the US where it tends to be used in political advertisements), the sample includes respondents from third-party media organisations. For instance, respondents from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC), the Independent Television Network (ITN) and Sky News were selected. Where the marketing function for political campaigns in the US resided with the political consultants, in the UK the function resided principally with the party. Some functions were sub-contracted to professional agencies in the UK, although these were still managed by the party. Third-party organisations (i.e. the media) were involved in a much more direct way. The final phase of the research study aims to satisfy the following research objectives: III. V.

To determine the problems associated with transferring US political marketing methods to UK political campaigning and, To derive a UK political campaign management process model (see Figure 6.2) based on the US political campaign management process model (see Figure 4.1), the Phase III interviews and the generic UK/USA marketing planning process model (see Figure 2.6).

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3.5.1 Research Objectives (Phase III) This final phase of the research study attempts to determine whether or not further use of certain marketing techniques, predominantly used in US political marketing campaigns, can either be instituted or further integrated into British political marketing practice. The objectives associated with this phase of the research were: 1. To understand the nature of the direct marketing, opposition research, media strategy, polling / message testing, fund-raising and associated legal and regulatory considerations of the marketing functions (where they currently exist) in the UK context and, 2. To consider, in each case, whether or not American methods in these areas could be instituted or further utilised. The objective of each marketing function is described as follows: • Direct marketing - particularly considering more use of direct mail for both fundraising and voter contact purposes. • Opposition research - commissioning research into the opposition party’s voting record, statements made and speeches given, manifesto commitments and pledges and the inclusion of this information into rebuttal material. • Media strategy - specifically relating to generating earned media and reformatting party political broadcasts. • Polling / message testing - use of quantitative and qualitative research to formulate messages, policies and statements made to the press and public, especially considering the use of dial groups44. • Fund-raising – a determination of whether or not direct marketing methods can be used more to encourage donation, and provide an insight into British donor behaviour. • Legal and regulatory considerations that might inhibit further changes in British campaign practice. The above marketing functions were selected because they represent the areas in which UK political marketing practice differs significantly from its US counterpart. This apparent difference is the subjective opinion of the researcher but is based on an understanding of the political campaigning and marketing literature (see Chapter Two), the results of the first and second phases of the research (see Chapters Four and Five), as well as previous research on political marketing practice in the UK (see Baines, 1996). To demonstrate to what extent US political campaign practice could be used (further) in the UK, it was necessary to find appropriate sample elements who could best determine the transferability of these techniques. The sub-objectives effectively provided the researcher with topics to explore in the depth-interviews. A list of the topics covered in each marketing functional area, and which formed the structure of the interviews, is detailed in Appendix 8.

44

“Dial groups” are where groups of up to fifty people rate various forms of advertising, usually using rating scales and electronic equipment (referred to as people-meters).

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3.5.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase III) In this phase of the research it was necessary to find and access UK political party executives and associated agency executives who corresponded with the marketing functions outlined in Section 3.5.1. In order to do, this letters requesting interviews were sent to selected respondents (see Appendix 9). In some cases, where the respondent worked for a political party, the person was identified by ringing the party’s reception and asking for the name of the person associated with the generic area, for instance, what is the name of the head of fund-raising? This method provided the names of those respondents from each of the parties. Where the respondent was not from a party (usually because the person associated with the marketing function was sub-contracted by the party), the names of respondents were obtained from accounts of the 1997 British General Election (for example, Butler and Kavanagh, 1997 and Crewe, Gosschalk and Bartle, 1998). Table 3.8 illustrates the respondents who were eventually selected. The intention is to show their appropriateness for the topic that was being investigated. As can be seen from Table 3.8, there are a number of interviewees associated with each category. Table 3.8 Phase III Respondents Int no. 3.

Respondent Executive A

Company Political Party

4. 5.

Executive B Executive C

Sub-Contractor Political Party

8.

Executive D

Political Party

9.

Executive E

Political Party

1. 2. 14. 15. 10. 13.

Executive F Executive G Executive H Executive I Executive J Executive K

ITC BBC ITN Sky News Political Party Political Party

16. 12. 11.

Executive L Executive M Executive N

Political Party Advertising Agency Political Party

6.

Executive O

Political Party

7.

Executive P

Political Party

Occupation Direct Marketing Executive Managing Director Head of Direct Marketing Direct Marketing Executive Director of Corporate Fund-raising Programme Officer Political Advisor Broadcast jounalist Broadcast journalist Press Office Manager Former campaign coordinator ’92 general election, advertising agency account director ’97 general election Press Officer Chairman Deputy Research Director Director of Campaigning Head of the Elections Unit Research Director Chairman

Area of Investigation Direct Marketing Direct Marketing Direct Marketing Direct Marketing Fund-raising Broadcast media regulation Broadcast media regulation Opposition Research Opposition Research Media strategy Media Strategy

Opposition Research Media Strategy Media strategy Direct Marketing, Opposition Research, Message testing Direct Marketing, Opposition Research, Message testing Polling / advertising tracking Polling / advertising tracking

17. Executive Q Pollster 18. Executive R Pollster Note The executives are denoted using by their main specialisation but in many cases were questioned on other areas in addition. The following coding procedure was used to denote the different occupations for each respondent: • • • • •

A-E: Direct marketing F-I: Broadcast media executives NOT employed by political parties J-M: Media executives employed by political parties N-P: Executives employed by parties with strategic and general co-ordinator roles Q-R: Pollsters employed on a sub-contracted basis.

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In some cases, representatives from all three parties were interviewed. Thus, it was possible to discuss media strategy with respondents from the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party. However, in other marketing functional areas, it was not possible to get respondents from all three parties. This was the case with the polling interviews. The respondents who took part were either currently working for the Labour Party or had done so in the past. The Conservative Party’s pollster declined the offer of taking part. In the case of media strategy, both the Labour Party advertising account director and the Conservative Party account director were interviewed. In most cases, the respondents were selected using the judgement of the researcher either through contacting the political parties or from quotes in published sources. In some cases, the respondents were referred to the interviewee by other respondents. This occurred with Executive G, Executive A, Executive P and Executive L. Thus, the sampling method used combined judgmental and snowball sampling procedures. All respondents were contacted prior to the interview taking place in order to ascertain their suitability for interview. This procedure was used because of the specialist nature of the research where only a few population elements exist and it effectively constituted a screening process. The total number of respondents interviewed in each marketing function category is illustrated in Table 3.9. Table 3.9 Number of UK Interviewees by Marketing Function Marketing Function Direct marketing Opposition research Polling and research Message testing Media strategy Fund-raising Broadcast media regulation Other

Total Number of interviewees questioned in each functional area 5 5 4 6 4 2 2 1*

* Totals do not add up to eighteen due to the fact that some consultants had more than one main specialism

Table 3.9 shows a bias towards questioning in the areas of message testing, opposition research, direct mail, polling and research, and media strategy. Fund-raising and broadcast regulation were areas that contained fewer numbers because they were more specialist. The areas selected arose out of the first two research phases as those worthy of further consideration. In other words, they were areas where the Americans were using different techniques compared with their counterparts in the UK (see Chapters Four and Five for further clarification). All interviews were in-depth interviews, and each lasted around three-quarters of an hour. The interviews were taped and transcribed by the researcher and one other person. The researcher amended the resultant transcripts by reading the draft transcripts and listening to the taped interviews. An example copy of a Phase III interview is provided in Appendix 10. In summary, the major components of the final phase of the research study are contained in Table 3.10.

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Table 3.10 The Major Components of the Phase III Research Design Research Process Component Research Approach Interviewing Method Question Type Sampling Method Sample Size Timing Sample Profile Data Collection Data Analysis

Detail Qualitative - Investigating Objective III and IV Personal In-depth Interviews (45 minutes) Semi-structured Snowball 18 May 1999 - September 1999. Consists of executives from parties, agencies and other organisations associated with specific marketing functions. Audio-taped, transcribed by researcher and one other person, edited by researcher. Use of NUDIST for coding and content analysis

3.6 Data Analysis: Theoretical Considerations How one comes to interpreting and analysing the data associated with the qualitative research process depends, to a large extent, on the philosophical perspective that one takes. The philosophical perspective concerns itself with the extent to which “reality” can be found in the interview data. Miller and Glasner (1997) state that ‘positivists have as a goal the creation of a “pure” interview - enacted in a sterilised context, in such a way that it comes as close as possible to providing a “mirror reflection” of the reality that exists in the social world’. Radical positivists, therefore, suggest that the data produced from an interview can be regarded as free from bias generated from the social setting of the interview. Miller and Glasner (1997) state that ‘radical social constructionists suggest that no knowledge about a reality that is … in the social world can be obtained from the interview, because the interview is obviously and exclusively an interaction between the interviewer and interview subject in which both participants create and construct narrative versions of the social world.’ Essentially, the two perspectives could probably be viewed at each end of a spectrum relating the interview, as a research instrument for gathering truthful data, to the concept of artificiality on one hand and reality on the other. Thus, attempts to measure reality using qualitative research methods rely on the extent to which the data generated would be replicated in a repeat study (reliability) and the extent to which the data generated is free from bias (validity). Parasuraman (1991: 441) defines validity as ‘a criterion for evaluating measurement scales; it represents the extent to which a scale is a true reflection of the underlying variable or construct it is attempting to measure’. In this case, the term measurement instrument would be more appropriate than scale. There are various methods outlined which attempt to determine validity. Content validity is the use of the researcher’s subjective judgement to determine whether or not an instrument is really measuring what it is supposed to measure. Thus, a question asked about promotional opportunities does not necessarily measure degree of job satisfaction. Construct validity is also another method of determining the validity of the data but is more commonly used in quantitative studies since the method involves measuring the degree of correlation with similar and dissimilar variables. In a qualitative study of the kind conducted here, construct validity would be relatively difficult to measure since the number of variables are limited and unsuited for quantitative analysis due to the smaller number of respondents. Predictive validity is also used to determine the extent to which a variable measures a phenomenon. For example, 87

if a variable measures attitudes towards a political party and this correlates strongly with actual vote for a political party, the original variable can be shown to have a high degree of predictive validity. However, the data collected in this study have no predictive validity due to its qualitative nature. The study is more concerned with exploring the political marketing context than with describing causal relationships. Reliability is defined as ‘a criterion for evaluating measurement scales; it represents how consistent or stable the ratings generated by a scale are’ (Parasuraman, 1991: 443). Thus, reliability attempts to determine whether or not what the research instrument is measuring is being consistently measured. Reliability is affected by concepts of time, analytical bias and questioning error. Bryman (1989) differentiates between two types of reliability. In order to measure how reliable the data are, researchers might conduct the same research over two or more time periods to determine the consistency of the data. This method is known as the test-retest method. This illustrates external reliability. Another method used involves dividing the responses into two random sets and testing both sets independently. This would illustrate internal reliability. The two different sets of results are then correlated. This method is known as split-half reliability testing. However, these methods are more suited to testing the reliability of rating scales than qualitative research from in-depth interviews. Malhotra (1996: 30) argues that some marketing decision-makers consider that structured, qualitative data analysis is not particularly important for the following reasons: • • • •

Lengthy analysis might produce boring descriptions instead of insightful conclusions. Qualitative research is about imagination, flair and personality, not about painstaking annotation. Too much analysis can produce overkill; it can be mechanistic and boring and may mean that vital insights are missed because they are lost amongst the analysis. Some well-known researchers are believed to get by without doing much in the way of analysis.

Other authors have also argued that there is little point in attempting to analyse the data generated from qualitative research objectively since the data contains inherent biases. Chisnall (1997: 183) suggests that ‘critics of qualitative research have suggested that some of the “findings” of this method of enquiry are too greatly influenced by the individual analyst’s training and background, with resultant subjectivity tending to bias analyses.’ It is likely that marketing researchers have not bothered to conduct qualitative analysis to a great extent, in the past, due to the fact that they lack the disciplinary tools found in other areas such as the cognate social sciences (Matthews, 1996). Whatever the reason it is not difficult to see why the problem of determining the “truth” in an in-depth interview is so elusive. Proctor (1997: 154) suggests that the replication of qualitative research interviews is difficult. In this case, the replication of the interviews` conducted would be extremely difficult for the following reasons: 1. The populations are very small and specialist and the same people would be unlikely to allow themselves to be re-interviewed. 2. If they did accept an invitation to be interviewed again, the cost of re-conducting the Phase I research would have been too great. This is because a further transatlantic trip 88

would be necessary (although it could theoretically have been conducted by telephone if the respondents had agreed and the researcher had both the access and the time). 3. The time involved in replicating the qualitative research would be excessive for the purposes of this research. It would appear that the validity and reliability concepts most suitable to this study are concept validity (face validity) and internal reliability. Illustrating these concepts in the data requires detailed content analysis. Matthews (1996) argues that ‘the main problem with content analysis from a practical point of view is that it is very time consuming and although computer programmes have been devised which are capable of taking some of the drudgery out of the task they can only be used where it is possible to devise unambiguous instructions. Thus, while they are ideal for word counts they may be quite unsuitable for thematic analysis.’ Catterall and Maclaran (1995) suggest that tools such as NUDIST45 are sophisticated tools for qualitative data analysis but that there is an advantage to returning to the original data to gain further insights. Thus, the data in this study, will be analysed using NUDIST but will also allow the citation of original comments made by the individual respondents so that the reader can determine for themselves whether the data is reliable and valid or not. One measure used to increase the validity of the study was to send all interviewees a copy of the transcript of their interview. This allows them to make amendments where they may have been misrepresented in the transcription process. Unfortunately, it also allows them to misrepresent what they said post-hoc (perhaps, for political reasons). However, without using sophisticated pyscho-linguistic methods to analyse the transcripts, the extent to which this occurs is both difficult to determine and beyond the scope of this thesis. Golden-Biddle and Locke (1997) state that composing qualitative research is a mystifying process. Most qualitative research writers agree that composing qualitative research is about story-telling. Thus, composing qualitative research is an effort to produce a picture of the world about which one is writing. In that sense, perhaps, it is more of a de-mystifying process. Wolcott (1990) states that researchers can either weave description and interpretation of the data together in one chapter or present them separately. In this work, the two have been woven together. 3.6.1 Data Input and Analysis: Techniques Adopted Initially, the interviews were fully transcribed into Word document format before being converted into text files in order to facilitate analysis. The data generated from the indepth interviews were analysed using QSR NUDIST (qualitative data analyis) software. Each comment (paragraph) made by either the interviewer or the interviewee was used as the unit of analysis (text unit). Other units of analysis could have been used, such as the line or paragraph, however, since there were a large number of long-duration, fully45

‘QSR NUDIST software is a computer package designed to aid users in the handling of Non-numerical and Unstructured Data in qualitative analysis, by supporting processes of coding data in an Index System, Searching text or searching patterns of coding and Theorizing about the data’ (QSR, 1997).

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transcribed interviews, it was felt that other units of analysis would not sufficiently reduce the data to a manageable form. Use of NUDIST in qualitative research is relatively common (see Weitzman and Miles, 1995). The researcher read the interviews in hard copy first and areas of text were highlighted which were considered to be of further interest. Each of these paragraphs was coded manually. Then using NUDIST, each highlighted area was placed into a free node (a category without connections to other categories) and labelled with the code applied in the manual coding phase. Each text unit could be placed within more than one node depending on the relevance of the text unit. Once all highlighted areas had been placed within the free nodes (coded), the free nodes were attached to “umbrella” nodes (fixed nodes) which theoretically (and logically) encompassed them. This enabled the researcher to generate an understanding of the data and logically order the data. A list of the main resultant nodes obtained, and those documents from which the text units originated, from all three phases is provided in Appendix 11. The NUDIST package was also particularly valuable, initially, in searching the text for the occurrence of phrases. Where these phrases were considered of further interest to the researcher, the text units were entered into free nodes and later attached to other nodes. The NUDIST package allows the researcher to theorise about the linkages of the nodes by determining the relation of text units within and between nodes. Thus, if various text units are coded in two separate nodes, the NUDIST package is capable of providing the researcher with all those text units that overlap between the two nodes (those text units that are coded in both nodes) or all those text units within the two nodes that do not overlap, and so on. These and other functions allow the researcher to theorise about the data. NUDIST allows the researcher to determine the relationships between free nodes and other free nodes, free nodes and fixed nodes, and fixed nodes and fixed nodes. One such relationship, where text units have been coded in two free nodes, is illustrated in the Venn diagram in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1 Venn Diagram Illustrating Overlapping Nodes --------------------------Concept --------------- Concept 1 -------------2 ----------------------In this hypothetical case, because the two concepts overlap (with certain text units), it can be argued that they are linked, by those text units that reside in the shaded area. When the data are originally input, the relationship between concepts 1 and 2 (the text units in the interviews) is unknown. NUDIST allows the researcher to determine where comments have been coded and determine the relationship between those coded comments by determining the similarity between the text units. This allows the software to draw dendrograms describing the relationships.

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Figure 3.2 Venn Diagram Illustrating Subsuming Nodes

Concept 1 Concept Concept

Concept 2

Another common example of a relationship that often exists between the text units includes one concept subsuming another (see Figure 3.2). In this case, the software allows the researcher to determine that one concept is linked to another and is a subsection of it. Thus, concept 2 forms part of concept 1. The data analysis process allows the writer to form an understanding of the linkages between the data. This is facilitated in the next chapter by the provision of comments made by the respondents. So, the reader can make their own judgements as to whether or not their interpretations of the data given are the same as those of the author. Modified copies of Chapter Four (with individual names of respondents blacked out) were sent to the US political consultants for comment, as were all the interview transcripts for respondents in all three phases. Alterations were made where comments from the respondents required the rewriting of the text. This increases the validity of the data (Miles and Hubermann, 1994). A number of respondents sought to clarify their transcripts. In addition, some measure of reliability is shown by giving more than one example of a comment made by different respondents. 3.7 Limitations of the Research The research is limited in that it is only investigating one area of the political campaign management practice in the US at one time. More inclusive studies would investigate the role of campaign managers. The role of the politician in the US political marketing process might also have been investigated. Further research would have benefited from a longitudinal design but this was not possible with the limitations placed upon the researcher in terms of time and money. In such a case, it would have placed greater emphasis on the US dimension of the research, which was not the objective of the study. The research might have benefited from an enlargement of the number of interviews at each phase of the research, but this would have made the analysis of the qualitative data extremely time-consuming. In addition, increasing the sample size would have required considerable time to gain access to the necessary respondents (who generally belong to small populations). For the purpose of gaining an insight into the political campaign management industry in the US, the number of interviews undertaken was felt to be appropriate. Similarly, the number of interviews conducted in the second phase of the research was limited to six. However, the subject of Americanisation of political marketing is highly specialist with a very small number of potential respondents. These respondents, because of their “expert” nature, can be regarded as representing a wider body of opinion in their various areas. 91

Throughout the study, each research phase employs either a judgmental or snowball sample. A more rigorous sampling procedure would have been to adopt a quota sampling method, which would have ensured that the respondents were more representative of the population of interest. However, because of the nature of the populations under study in the second and final phases of the research, it could be argued that population definition error could have crept into the study. This is because there was a need to ensure sample equivalence by determining UK respondents who corresponded with their US counterparts in different marketing functional areas. It is unlikely that a high degree of population error exists in this study, since where respondents either deemed themselves, or were deemed by the researcher, to be the wrong type of people to interview, they were removed from the list of respondents and replaced with someone more appropriate. This process was enacted by talking to the respondent prior to the interview taking place, usually at the time of the arrangement of the interview, in order to ascertain their suitability. The research study uses third parties to transcribe the data collected during the interviews. This can help to increase the number of interviews that can be conducted and analysed but also serves to introduce transcription error (recording error). This was minimised by the researcher editing and amending the interview transcripts by reading them and listening to the associated tapes, and by sending the transcripts to the respondents who were encouraged to communicate any errors or inconsistencies. All marketing research is a trade-off between ensuring that adequate, reliable and valid data are collected and ensuring that the process of collecting this data is feasible, bearing in mind the resource limitations (mainly time, money, effort and access to interviewees). 3.8 Conclusion The first phase of the research was undertaken to ensure that the researcher collected sufficient information to understand the procedures and processes involved in political campaign management practice from a marketing perspective in the US. The research was exploratory and was devised to provide an insight into the American political consulting industry, the ‘world role-model’ of political campaign management (Scammell, 1997). The second phase of the research was designed to collect data from respondents who had a strong understanding of how US political marketing methods were being used in the UK. The final phase of the research study attempted to determine what American political marketing methods could be used (and why those that were already being used were not being used more) in the UK. The data were collected by the use of in-depth interviews in all three phases and were, therefore, qualitative in nature. The interviewees were selected using either a judgmental or snowball sampling method (or a combination of the two). All interviews were carried out using the “funnelling” technique where general questions are asked initially, followed by more specific questions later as the interviewee relaxes. The interviews were conducted with a realisation that the interviewee might be attempting to impress the interviewer and vice versa, and that the whole process was both “creative” and “active” in the sense that the research was an attempt to produce meaning. It was also understood that the subjects were “vassals of knowledge” who needed to be tapped in a sensitive and careful manner. The data were analysed using the qualitative analysis software package 92

NUDIST in an attempt to improve and illustrate the validity and reliability of the data collected. The methodology that was eventually used in the three phases of the research evolved as the researcher gained experience. Thus, the semi-structured interviews used in the first phase became more structured. This was intentional since the researcher had limited knowledge of the US political market. It was determined that in the next two phases, the researcher would use general topics for discussion rather than specific questions since this generated a more fluent conversation between interviewer and interviewee. Similarly, the researcher had intended originally to use judgmental samples but, in practice, used a combination of judgmental and snowball sampling methods (with referrals coming from people who were more experienced in specific areas), since this allowed the researcher to obtain a more experienced sample. It was intended that a generic model of the political marketing planning process would be deduced from the literature review. Following this, the first phase of the primary research was conducted to collect sufficient data to develop a US campaign management process model, purely from interviews conducted with political consultants from a variety of marketing functions. The data collected in the first phase were useful input in determining the types of topics on which the UK party executives and sub-contracted consultants would be later questioned in Phase II. These data also provided the researcher with some understanding of the differences in political systems, culture and industry infrastructure. Data collected in Phase III of the research were used to develop a model of the UK campaign management process, in conjunction with the US model developed in Phase I, and the generic model deduced from the marketing, political science, campaign management and political marketing literature.

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Chapter Four Results - Phase I: Defining the US Political Marketing Process and Factors Associated with its Internationalisation 4.1 Introduction This chapter is written under a variety of main headings: the political marketing industry, concept and related issues; campaign organisation; campaign strategy; campaign financing; research; competitive analysis; communication; moral, ethical and regulatory considerations in US political campaigning; and cross-cultural implications for political marketing. In reading this chapter, the reader should understand that all categories together feed into the political campaigning process. Each sub-heading represents a fixed node which contains coded statements (on a similar topic) made by the respondents and each node is linked to an “umbrella” node (hence why it is referred to as being fixed) which in each case is the category identified by the main heading. The linkages between the different main categories are illustrated in Section 4.2 entitled A Model of US Political Campaigning. 4.1.1 Data Analysis Due to tape recorder error, three interviews were not considered for final analysis. These interviews included a media consultant, an opposition researcher and a fund-raising consultant. An interview with an attorney with a specialism in electoral law was also left out of the final analysis since many of the questions that were asked of the other consultants were not asked of him. NUDIST provides the researcher with statistics on those text units that were coded and the contribution of each respondent to the coding for each node. The researcher coded the interviews by reading a full transcription of each of the interviews. Comments of interest were coded with a single word or phrase, or a combination of words or phrases. Once the interviews were loaded into NUDIST, the consultants’ comments were stored in one or more nodes using the manually-coded comments as the title of the node. These nodes are referred to as free nodes. The researcher used text searches to find related comments made by other interviewees (which might have been missed on the initial reading of the transcripts), or within the same interviews and all these comments were then added to the relevant free nodes46. The researcher then ran a series of commands in NUDIST which allowed the researcher to determine whether or not there was a relationship between various nodes (see Figures 3.1 and 3.2). In cases where the researcher believed a relationship to exist between nodes, the nodes were fixed to other nodes manually. NUDIST software aids the qualitative researcher in coding and theorising about the data but cannot remove the subjectivity of the qualitative data analysis process without reducing the data to counts of the appearance of certain words. The data (the consultants’ transcribed comments) in the nodes were saved and used to write this chapter. In further reducing the data, metaanalysis was conducted, whereby the data were tabulated either by interpretation (paraphrasing) of the respondents’ comments, or by representing the actual comment. A copy of the node reports is contained in Appendix 11 under the section entitled Phase I. Table 4.1 illustrates the proportion of each interview, for each consultant type, that was coded under one of the major headings. The table indicates that the research and media 46

See Section 3.6.1 Data Input and Analysis: Techniques Adopted.

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occupation categories have been coded more than their counterparts. Thus, the researcher, in coding the various consultants’ comments, considered that the data from these interviewees were more suited to investigating the objectives of the research. It could be argued that this biases the research. However, since these two areas employ the greatest number of consultants, and since these consultants usually contribute most to the campaign, this is unlikely. The respondents in the direct mail and finance categories have been coded less; possibly indicating a bias against them. It could be argued that the respondents in these categories tended to talk more but give less rich data (from the perspective of the researcher). Table 4.1 Average Text Unit Retrieval by Occupation Type Occupation Type

Average coded 64 52 67 56

percentage

Direct Mail Finance General Opposition Researcher* Media 76 80 Research * Note that there was only one respondent in this category

Table 4.2 illustrates the extent to which the comments made, by each political consultant, were included in the node report that was used to write each section of the chapter. The table indicates the varying degrees to which the consultants’ comments were included in the initial analysis from 27% of the units of analysis coded (Consultant AE) to several consultants with 100% of the units of analysis coded (e.g. Consultant H). Interestingly (from the perspective of the researcher) the three consultants with the least units of analysis coded, probably represent three of the most informative interviews. Table 4.2 Text Unit Retrieval by Consultant and Occupation Type RESPONDENT

OCCUPATION TYPE

Consultant A Consultant B Consultant C Consultant D Consultant E Consultant F Consultant G Consultant H Consultant J Consultant K Consultant L Consultant M Consultant N Consultant O

Media Media Media Media Media Media Media Media Media General General General General General

PERCENTAGE OF DOCUMENT CODED 57 58 86 77 100 100 30 100 77 76 58 61 100 57

Consultant P Consultant Q

General Direct Mail

52 85

RESPONDENT

OCCUPATION TYPE

Consultant S Consultant T Consultant U Consultant V Consultant W Consultant X Consultant Z Consultant AA Consultant AB Consultant AC Consultant AD Consultant AE Consultant AF Consultant AG

Direct Mail Direct Mail Direct Mail Direct Mail Pollster Pollster Pollster Pollster Finance Finance Finance Finance Finance Opposition Researcher

PERCENTAGE OF DOCUMENT CODED 74 73 33 55 84 79 100 80 55 43 77 27 60 56

The coding process involved in qualitative analysis is highly subjective since it relies on the judgement of the researcher to determine whether or not a concept is valid. An 95

attempt has been made to highlight where consultants have made similar comments to each other and where their comments have been in contrast to previous statements. This is an attempt to demonstrate internal reliability47. The respondents were also given the opportunity to respond to their transcripts, if there were any errors, in an attempt to improve the face validity of the results of this phase of the study. In addition, they were also provided with an early copy of this chapter (with names blacked out). None of the consultants indicated that there was a problem with their transcripts and a number of consultants commented, in subsequent telephone conversations, on how interesting the chapter was. The comments made by the consultants during the interviews have been used as direct quotes in order to support certain claims made by the researcher throughout this chapter. However, in some cases, the standard of English within these quotes is poor and the researcher would like to point out that this standard should not reflect the standard of his own English. 4.2 A Model of US Political Campaigning It was possible to determine the relationships between the different aspects of the political marketing process from the data provided by the respondents. NUDIST allows the researcher to determine whether or not there are linkages between elements of data by determining whether data is coded in one or more places. Figure 4.1 illustrates the US political campaign management process and the factors associated with the transfer of the use of US political campaign management practice in other countries. The six major areas (campaign organisation; competitive analysis; campaign finance; research; communication; strategy), directly impacting upon the political campaigning process, are considered further along with three types of environmental force (moral, ethical and regulatory; cross-cultural; and the political marketing industry) which also have an impact. These nine areas are discussed in detail in the proceeding sections of this chapter. In Figure 4.1, the importance of campaign finance is clearly shown. Without private and public finance, political campaigns simply cannot occur. Finance is required to fund research, competitive analysis, communication with voters and the campaign organisation that is built around the activity of getting the politician elected. The campaign organisation determines the strategy that will be adopted and usually organises the GOTV48 and communication efforts with voters. The communication plan is also affected by the strategy that is adopted by the campaign team, which is itself affected by the research and the competitive analysis that is performed. These factors will be referred to as intra-campaign factors. However, the US political campaign management process is also affected by inter-campaign factors. Inter-campaign factors determine the mode of operation of consulting teams and have significant impact upon both the communication and strategic planning processes. Thus, the degree of professionalisation and specialisation of the supporting political marketing industry affect the political campaign management process. For instance, in the US, there are large numbers of firms offering political marketing services such as list brokers, polling companies, petition management companies and media consultants. The US political campaign management process is also affected by moral, ethical and regulatory 47

See Section 3.6 Data Analysis: Theoretical Considerations. Get-out-the-vote activity is usually co-ordinated by a paid national director who organises the activists and volunteers at the grass-roots level.

48

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considerations. For instance, although the law in the US allows free speech, it does not allow donations by individuals to rise above set (relatively low) levels. Similarly, US political campaigns often operate on a negative campaigning platform and campaigns are fiercely competitive. The extent to which research is conducted into the opposition and the nature of that research depends on the ethics of the campaign team. Transfer of US political campaign practice is limited by cross-cultural considerations. In many countries different electoral systems operate, different media structures exist and campaign financing systems may be either public, private or some mixture of the two49. Nevertheless, the consultants themselves acknowledged that there were inherent differences in campaign practice throughout the US, principally due to differences in State law and culture and that American political consultants were already adept at dealing with cultural diversity in political markets. Figure 4.1 Model Depicting US Political Campaign Management Process Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations Campaign Organisation

Political

Competitive Analysis

Campaign Finance

Marketing

Communication

Industry

Campaign Strategy

Research

Source: Based on Phase I interview data 4.2.1 The US Political Marketing Concept, Industry and Related Issues The political marketing industry has developed gradually over the course of the last twenty years as senior executives have lost control over the campaigning process 49

See Section 1.6 The “Americanisation” Debate and Section 2.3.9 Electoral Law, Culture and Political System.

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(Newman, 1994). Nevertheless, US politicians still need to have a measure of ideology to be credible and get elected. As campaigning has evolved, campaigns have become more centred on the expertise of individual campaign staffers with the resultant increase in consultant specialisms (e.g. list brokers and petition management companies). Electoral competitions tend to be more adversarial than their commercial counterparts, encouraged by the American free speech media system. Thus, political marketers are not subject to restrictive communication regulation, or to anti-trust law, in the same way as commercial companies might be. This partly explains the increased and negative campaigning and rapid rebuttal in the US which can effect voter apathy and some measure of incumbency. 4.2.1.1 The Political Marketing Concept When the political consultants were asked what they understood by the term “political marketing”, a majority of the consultants were either unfamiliar with the term or disliked what they perceived as its implications. There were also a number of consultants who could see the direct application of marketing techniques in what they did and welcomed it. Table 4.3 illustrates some of the abridged comments made by the different consultants when discussing political marketing and the implications both for the application of marketing to campaigns and the ability to describe the phenomenon of US political campaigning using a marketing typology. Table 4.3 Political Marketing Concept Comments Respondent Consultant B

Consultant G

Consultant J Consultant L Consultant M

Consultant N

Consultant O Consultant S

Consultant U

Consultant W Consultant X Consultant AA Consultant AB Consultant AC

Comment from Interview One of the techniques that we use extensively in the United States is spot testing with what we call dot groups, where you have an instantaneous reaction to various parts of a television spot; and they now have transferred that into using a lot of that in commercial markets. Sometimes we are over-controlled, over-manipulated by survey data that tells the candidate here's how to talk, rather than the candidate saying here's what's in my heart, here's what I want to say.

Factor Political campaign techniques are also transferring to commercial sector indicating its special nature.

I think that politics is less marketing it's more military. It's really a military campaign.

More attack and argument in political campaigning. “Product” more complex.

Most people who run for public office are pretty complex, multi-layered personalities and when you get to a campaign you cannot communicate all those layers and nuances. Political marketing is to find out what kinds of political leaders and public policy people are looking for. They use the obvious marketing techniques of advertising, in targeting, segmenting audiences based on propensity to support or oppose, identifying people, volunteer recruitment, fund-raising, election day turnout. I liken this to surfing. You got a big wave coming in and you are on your board and you are paddling like hell to get in front of the wave and ride it in and watch it get up, stay up and ride it in to the beach. Note that I have very little impact on the wave. You want people in politics to be driven by a certain set of convictions, regardless of what side of the island they're on or what party they're from. You go out and get polling information and the voting information tells you what people want. What a lot of people do is to say well we are not going to offer that product because we don't believe in that. The concept of how you position a candidate on issues to attract voter interests and votes. I hope what I am doing is different than selling something like jello. I think it's more about idealism. It's got to be a genuine reflection of the candidate. I don’t think that we change peoples' minds. Candidates who really are themselves do better. Consultants who take candidates and take their strengths and amplify them but really focus in on their strengths will do well. I don’t shy away from the term political marketing, although, I feel that it is much more issue and ideological driven. You can’t just make someone look beautiful and think they’re going to be voted for because they have pretty packaging

Marketing more useful after ‘product’ is formulated.

Political marketing is concerned with candidates, policies and voters. Many marketing techniques directly applicable. Can’t change public opinion, one can only follow it. Political “product” needs to be credible from a political perspective. Can position political “product” but need to make sure that this ties in with voters’ opinions. Political marketing concerned with voters, their perception of the candidate and how they make their ballot choices. Ideas (“product”) rather than product focus of exchange. The complexity of the “product”. Can’t change public opinion, one can only follow it. More ideological “product”. The “product” is more ideological.

The extent to which marketing techniques can be used in US political campaigns was thought to be limited as candidates and issues are constantly changing and the difficulty 98

arises in communicating those changes to the electorate. Political campaigning is concerned with providing representation of the people’s opinion to government bodies and decision-makers. Political campaigning, however, also needs to take account of other publics, which may not necessarily form part of the electorate (i.e. other countries’ political leadership, minors, international bodies, etc.). Candidates also need to propose credible legislation when communicating their policies and, therefore, many of the marketing techniques are directly applicable to the conduct of political campaigns (e.g. marketing research, segmentation, positioning, marketing planning, etc.). Political campaigning does have its peculiarities; concerning itself with attacking the opponents’ viewpoints and policy (“product”) and ability to carry out the proposed policy. This phenomenon (associated with the argumentative element of politics) has led to the use of rapid rebuttal and negative advertising in the US. 4.2.1.2 Commercial / Political Marketing Differences The respondents made a number of comparisons regarding the nature of political marketing and the use of marketing in traditional, commercial markets. This section has been highlighted because it provides an understanding of how marketing can contribute to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the political campaigning process. Table 4.4 illustrates some of the differences between commercial and political marketing. Table 4.4 Commercial / Political Marketing Differences Respondent Consultant A Consultant B

Consultant D

Consultant G

Consultant M

Consultant N

Consultant S Consultant U

Comment from Interview It's all research based, no different than product advertising, it's just done on a smaller scale with slightly less budget. Unlike commercial marketing, you either win or lose, you have to have that 50% of the vote and so it's a little bit tougher business than the world of commercial marketing where you're trying to get 2 or 3% of market share.

Major Difference Size of budgets

You can't be absurd in a political campaign. In commercial campaigns it might make your product stand out, it might make your spot memorable, but I think that people think of campaigns as a serious endeavour that has an impact on their lives and the lives of their children. We have to play it so much safer than commercial advertising. I can't use naked women, I can't use outlandish humour, we have to be careful. We are trying to reach 51% of the market, we do not have the resources and the time.

Advertising (implicit)

When you're McDonalds, you can buy in Austin television ads that go at the level of 100 points, or 150 or 200 points because they're always advertising the entire year. Political campaigns have to get known quicker for a short period of time. You want to have 6-700 points. Many of the people that are involved in politics, move up the ranks, they're a more specialised animal, they understand that the political message is quite different than the [commercial] message. The whole idea of crisis management, comparative advertising, comparative public relations has been used more often in politics than in the commercial field, and I think that people on the commercial side have learnt from them. We never have as much money as the commercial people.

Market share attainment

guidelines

Advertising guidelines (implicit) Market share attainment Resource Availability Time Factor

Nature of the “product” Public Relations Advertising Size of budgets

In America there is a car rental company here that advertises the fact that it's number 2 ... Avis ... You can be very successful being number 2 in market share [in a commercial market]. There's only one winner in a political campaign.

Market share attainment

Commercial advertising types drift over into political campaigns and they do not have a feeling for the urgency of the situation that they're in. I see no difference between commercial marketing and political marketing only that the sense that the product of political marketing is far superior to commercial marketing. Marketing in the commercial world falls down entering the political arena … [when] political consultants are asked to … take a product that often has zero percent real market share, although once you have a party label it does have a 30% market share and, in a month, move that market share to 51%, with budgets that are minuscule compared to commercial marketing.

Time factor

The difficulty in politics versus the commercial world where you have the ability to test it; often in politics is you have to throw it out there and see if it works, because you don't have the money to test it. If you tested it, you wouldn't have the money to run it after you found that it worked.

Nature of “product” Market share attainment Size of budgets

Size of budgets

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Political marketing and commercial marketing are different in a number of ways. Some of the major differences have serious implications for the planning of the campaign. For instance, political campaigns are conducted over a shorter time period, and involve smaller budgets for the communication of the candidate’s policy and statements. The nature of the “product” is different and, in political campaigns, the competition is much stronger since there is need to obtain a majority of the vote. Such factors all affect the way campaigns are conducted. In commercial marketing, advertising is often pre-tested amongst a representative sample of consumers but, due to its expense, this is not often considered in political markets (except for Presidential campaigns). Similarly, the competitive nature of political marketing also leads to greater use of public relations in campaigns such as the use of crisis management methods, and comparative and negative advertising. 4.2.1.3 Technology There is constant pressure to conduct campaigns in a more cost-effective and efficient manner. Often, in political campaigns, this pressure manifests itself in the introduction of new technologies and the struggle of the various actors in campaigns to innovate in the campaigning process. The points made below illustrate this more clearly. The political consulting business is being driven by technology. Technology is what's determining how political campaigns are won and the pace of political campaigns. Whether it involves computers, television, radio, desktop publishing, fax machines, satellites, the whole array of technological changes are changing politics (Consultant M). Everybody [is] grappling with the new technologies. I mean how is the rapidly dropping cost of computer power making it more possible for us to do things in a different, more powerful way? It used to be that you could buy 3 television stations and get 80 or 90% of your viewers (Consultant O). For as much high-tech experimentation that is out there, there's always somebody trying to figure out if it's useful in campaigns. We've tried raising money on cable television. People really have done virtual reality marketing and survey research … it hasn't been perfected yet but it's probably coming (Consultant AE).

Nevertheless, the American political campaign is unusual in this respect (when compared with its Western European counterpart) because there is a greater need to innovate. This has subsequently led to a world-wide demand for American consultants as advisors to foreign campaigns in Western Europe, Africa and Latin America, and emerging democracies as the following comments from interviews suggest. I think we're at the forefront of electoral technology and I think that other countries are catching up but we find, particularly in emerging democracies, [that] … there is a lot of demand for people who have our kind of experience in democratic, electoral politics (Consultant F). Because of the size of our country and the lengths of the campaigns we are on the cutting edge and generally come up with new innovative things (Consultant K).

4.2.1.4 Infrastructure As political campaigning has developed in the US so has the industry infrastructure associated with it. Consequently, the industry has developed to match the demand for its services in a highly specialised and professional manner. Consultant M suggests that the industry has developed around mass communication and research. Political consultants don't exist because anybody wanted them or anybody necessarily wanted to be political consultants. They exist because technology requires expertise in handling tools of mass

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communications and research, and political marketing in direct contact. Over the years, the industry has been specialising and it has been professionalising (Consultant M).

The highly specialised nature of some of the services offered by political consultants is further illustrated: The level of sophistication in the US, it's like you're going to a doctor but what does that mean? Are you going to an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in the patella, or an orthodontist for the teeth, or an optomologist and there's literally political consultants who have more specialities, things that you wouldn't even imagine were special (Consultant U).

Such specialisation in campaign consulting has led to a change in recruitment procedures since, in the past, one consultant was hired who would generally co-ordinate a small team of consultants. There is a need now to hire a range of consultants who have their own specific roles. People are moving away from what is called the general consultant. It used to be you'd hire one guy to do the overall strategy, the campaign plan. That's now changed, where candidates are now hiring 4 or 5 different consultants … to do specific jobs, become a team (Consultant G).

The changing employment structure of the political campaign industry has changed because of the technologies required by campaign organisations. This has had the following effects; an increase in voter apathy, an increase in competition for media advertising space (since commercial companies are also attempting to obtain broadcast time), a rise in the number of television channels, and fragmentation of the television industry. It used to be that you could buy 3 television stations and get 80 or 90% of your viewers. Today you buy 4 television stations and you're lucky to get 50% of your viewers, so how do you deal with that? (Consultant O). We've determined that generally, to get introduced with one ad, you want to have 6-700 points, it's gone up, it used to be 400 (Consultant G).

4.2.1.5 Industry Issues: Incumbency and Voter Apathy Despite the obvious use and importance of marketing in political campaign management, the actual turnover of candidates is limited since once they gain office they have a number of advantages that manifest themselves during the next campaign. The following comments illustrate the financial advantages of being an incumbent candidate. People don’t like to take risks. So you are the elected official, people like you, generally the PAC [political action committee] community likes to stay with you; they will not take a risk to support someone new against you because they fear repercussions and they fear change. So, generally an incumbent has tremendous financial advantages (Consultant AC). Incumbents tend to have a tremendous advantage in terms of campaign finance and the reason for that is that they receive money from PACs [political action committees]… [challengers] have a very difficult time beating incumbents unless they have great means themselves to match the amount of campaign finance that the incumbent has (Consultant AF).

The incumbent candidate for state-wide contests is also able to take advantage of the fact that the press is more interested in their press releases and conferences as they are directly affecting peoples’ lives. This can have enormous advantages, particularly in expensive media markets. 101

The incumbent mayor of New York has an enormous megaphone. Anytime the Mayor of New York speaks he gets covered and so there is a tremendous advantage to being an incumbent in a market like that (Consultant J).

Incumbent candidates also have an advantage in terms of experience since they are more familiar with the process of conducting a campaign and understand more what can and cannot be achieved. Every incumbent who has run is an expert because they won their race. So they have a very strong idea about what they want to do. If they are not an incumbent and they are a first time candidate then this whole process can be very overwhelming (Consultant V).

The use of marketing techniques in promoting political candidates to voters has also failed to raise the general levels of turnout, which are still around 50% even for presidential elections. In some cases, the persuasive techniques adopted by the campaigns have not just failed to increase turnout, but they have actually succeeded in disillusioning the public. [A major problem is] the overall cynicism and disinterest of the public. Driven, and not irrationally so, by candidates, increasingly, and people in government, increasingly, whose objective is to get re-elected and little else (Gold Inteview). How do you reach voters now that they have had a twelve year diet of negative ads? (Consultant C).

Thus, the use of negative campaigning is widely thought to have contributed to low turnout and voter disenfranchisement. Similarly, incumbency further limits the voters’ electoral choice since it makes newer candidates much less likely to win races due to their difficulty in securing political action committee money. 4.2.2 Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations American political campaigns are extremely competitive; partly as a result of the “free speech doctrine” and partly as a result of the large number of electoral contests that are held. The result is that there can be a feeling among some consultants (and politicians), that there is a need to win at all costs. This attitude can manifest itself in unethical behaviour such as lying to the voters, spying on opponents’ campaigns and noncompliance with electoral finance and voting laws. 4.2.2.1 Ethics The highly competitive nature of American political campaigning, and the degree of prestige bestowed upon politicians often means that the winning of electoral contests (rather than achievements in office) becomes the ultimate prize for many candidates. This is illustrated clearly by the comments made when asked what the ethical boundaries were in political consulting: You have to be willing to do whatever it takes ... You cannot be predictable. You have to be willing to do what it takes (Consultant W). There are a lot of people who do not think there are any [ethical boundaries]. (Consultant J). Some people don't have any. I have a few. I don't take money from drug dealers, or people who are involved in money laundering. You would be surprised how important a decision that is ... I think it's important not to lie to voters (Consultant AC).

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People do have some ethical standards and I think there are a lot of temptations to break them for winning at all costs (Consultant P).

Despite the competitive nature of campaigns, most campaign committees have some level of restraint placed upon them as one media consultant outlines: There are two restraints. One is the restraint that you place on yourself or that your campaign places on you, and the other, the more effective one, is the restraints that the public places on you. Lying is a dangerous proposition, it is not one I recommend because you fetch a response from the news media generally that can really hurt you (Consultant J).

From the consultants’ perspective, campaigns are regulated by the candidate for whom one is working, who in some cases may be somewhat unsavoury and, in others, downright criminal. Of course, the vast majority of candidates are neither but as the final campaign decision-maker, they determine the ethical line of the campaign. Some clients will do anything to win. So where do your responsibilities to yourself versus your responsibilities to your client begin and end? I will not break the law for anyone. I will not do anything that I consider unethical. I am pretty proud of what I will not do. We will not play games with those who launder money (Consultant T). Basically the ethics tend to be around the client you choose to work for (Consultant V).

Campaigns are also regulated to some extent by the media and by the public. The media often considers itself as the defender of democracy and, thus, usually attempts to uncover any duplicitous statements or acts made by politicians. The dilemma occurs when one considers the extent to which a commercial enterprise can act as a defender of democracy. One consultant had no problems, however, with this approach to regulation as is indicated by the following comment: They are there but not written down, although there is a threshold. I like to think of it as what the market bears. That is why I don't think you can have guidelines on ethics (Consultant E).

The fact that there are no written ethical guidelines with regard to how campaigns should be conducted is a manifestation of the free speech doctrine, which so envelops the American political tradition. Nevertheless, there are some consultants who realise the need for more guidance in this area as the industry develops further. There are few clear-cut ethical boundaries in political consulting outside of what the law requires. I think that is unfortunate because I think there is a need for higher standards, recognised standards and people in the industry need to devote more effort in coming up with a recognised series of ethical boundaries (Consultant B).

Individual examples of unethical behaviour in campaigns tend to centre around truthfulness in campaign communications as the following quotes illustrate: I think they are pretty distinctive, ethical boundaries; to tell the truth, I suppose, is the most important one (Consultant X). I guess I communicate part of the truth or part of an issue of what a candidate stands for, not necessarily the whole issue because you know it will affect the whole issue (Consultant AD). You have to tell the truth (Consultant C).

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I think truthfulness is a serious ethical issue, not taking cheap shots at a political opponent. It's one thing to hit people hard, but hit them hard on a truthful issue. Don't be fictitious in developing your advertising. I think that's quite important in terms of ethics in a political campaign (Consultant AF).

The competitive nature of political campaigns and the need to innovate in campaign management can often force consultants to accept that unethical practices might be appropriate in certain circumstances. Someone once said to me, the stuff that's illegal you don't do that, there's the stuff that seems scandalous or border line you look at that and decide if the pay off is worth the heat (Consultant T). For example, in my book I talk about the "just this once rule" and sometimes people who wouldn't normally do this but just this once I'll have to do it, whether it's coming out with out-and-out lies in a speech or in a TV or radio commercial or direct mail piece or something like that (Consultant P).

More serious ethical breaches might be to gather information about how an opposing candidate is running their campaign. Sending spies to his campaign and getting them involved so they can report back to the other campaign. That's certainly an ethical violation (Consultant P).

4.2.2.2 Regulation When the political consultants were asked whether or not they felt that their activities as consultants should be regulated, a number of interesting responses were obtained. Most thought that, within the nature of the media system, the existing level of regulation regarding campaign expenditures and ballot organisation were sufficient to deal with most ethical violations. There can only be self-regulation ... frankly we are over-regulated with the Federal Election Commission (Consultant G). You have laws that protect against defamation, libel and slander, theft, vote fraud, those types of things, but there are very few laws that protect fairness and implement some sense of balance and some sense of civil standards ... Basically the process self-regulates (Consultant M). I think that we are regulated, at least my industry is heavily regulated, because we have the Federal Elections Commission that oversees what we can and cannot do and all of our actions are really affected by that. So I see myself [as] already regulated (Consultant AC). I think that there's a self-righting mechanism that says it's debate and, if a person is out of bounds and not telling the truth, let's expose that, and trust the good judgement of the American public. That's the best regulating mechanism in the world… (Consultant B).

In addition, the reputation of the consultant is also under scrutiny by the media and, if a consultant acts in an undesirable manner, that could be devastating to his or her existing and future business. If I am considered involved in something unethical or accused of something illegal I am not going to get any clients or will earn substantially less money. The press is constantly looking for something like that. I think you have checks and balances (Consultant AD).

The difficulties arising in regulating the American political campaigning system are outlined in the following quotes taken from interviews with two direct mail consultants (political direct mail tends to be more emotive and persuasive than its broadcast counterpart). 104

I don't think you can regulate political free speech or you could regulate the candidates. There are no regulations in terms of speech. Can you say a political candidate cannot lie? Good luck! (Consultant H). I don't believe we should be in the business of regulating what we can say in elections. There are some laws out there. We are starting to see proposals that say if you run a negative ad. you have to say who it's from. The idea of censure on free speech I don't believe is right (Consultant V).

The current system of media sanctions against those that are found to be behaving in an unethical manner, however, is less than perfect and is illustrated by the following diametrically-opposed points of view. I think we could stand for a little more regulation than we have. Again, though, I think it is market driven. You know when you join certain associations you make a pledge to do things in a certain way (Consultant E). I'm anti-regulation. I mean the American Association of Political Consultants has a code of ethics ... and the ethical breaches have gotten bigger. So who's paying attention? (Consultant AE).

In the end, perhaps, the line of enquiry that political consultants should be regulated as a way of reducing the ethical breaches was naïve considering the American free speech tradition. The following comment indicates the way in which such regulation might be perceived. We are not electing political consultants. We are electing candidates! If a political consultant does something wrong or unethical the victim is going to be someone who has consulted you professionally. Campaigns should be regulated but regulating consultants is the tail wagging the dog (Consultant N).

4.2.2.3 Negative Advertising There are no restrictions placed upon what can be said about one’s opponents. As a result, most campaigns engage, to some extent, in a negative style of campaigning to gain a comparative advantage with voters. This does not always result in such an advantage, however, particularly if the attack is responded to well or the attack backfires because the media investigates the claims and finds them to be erroneous. Attacks on campaigns are one thing but counter-attacks are even stronger, so it strikes me that if you make an attack that's fundamentally unfair and flawed and the opposition responds in a strong, effective manner, then you're worse off than when you began (Consultant O).

The conventional wisdom amongst consultants is that negative attacks should be concerned with a candidate’s record in office, although some mentioned that personal attacks could be used. [You use personal information] when you can make a case concerning that person's ability to do the job. If a guy is engaged in irresponsible business practices, that's OK. Just because he did something in his past and he was not a public figure at the time does not mean it is out of bounds, so long as it is an indication of his ability to do the job (Consultant Y). If [personal attacks are] used, I favour “indirection”, not through the campaign putting it out but rather leaks to the press without fingerprints ... people waste so much time on that personal stuff, all these rumours, I tell campaigns to ignore that. I say if [you can verify the rumour], that is gold, you've found a nugget of gold in your pocket and let's be thankful for that but otherwise don't count on it (Consultant G).

In the end, it is likely that negative campaigning depresses both the voters and the subsequent turnout – a problem which is made worse by the media. Negative campaigning is seldom associated with increasing the popularity of the campaign that has 105

released the information, it simply lowers the popularity of the candidate it is used against and is more effective when the campaign that releases the information is untraceable. Negative campaigning insults voters, it irritates them, it gets them angry, it gets them disgusted with the process. Most of the time that's usually because it's done in a clumsy fashion and the problem is because it's fashionable that the press talks about that in a national campaign (Consultant U).

4.2.2.4 Independent Expenditures The free speech doctrine has also allowed the development of so-called independent groups that wish to affect the legislative process. The fact that the outcome of the election does not directly affect them, and so they are not accountable, often means that it is such groups that take part in negative personal attacks. The result is that many campaigns are being significantly affected by independent expenditures. [There is] this proliferation of third party independent groups involving themselves in campaigns to the point where they actually become more important in the campaign than the candidate themselves and that's a troubling issue that has to be dealt with (Consultant J). Negative advertising often [is conducted] by third parties. I mean independent groups who are not officially connected to the campaign. It really became widespread in 1996, it's ugly and it's bad and it's spreading and those people are the ones who most frequently go beyond the bounds of decency (Consultant D).

In some cases, the level of expenditure can be greater than that of the opponents’ campaign with obvious implications for the standard of debate and the level of democracy. In many campaigns, much more money is spent on independent expenditures. [People] can do whatever they want and take a campaign down a different road. It's diminishing our ability to, and the candidates' ability to, affect their own races. It threatens the entire process (Consultant Z).

Independent expenditures are not always as independent as they might appear either, as the following comments indicate: [Clinton’s campaign team] took federal money, people's money that was regulated for presidential campaigns and it was $8 million. They used the Democrat National Party to funnel money through to buy television time for Bill Clinton, to help his campaign (Consultant G). There are too many places where you can hide the money. You can start a fund for “Good America” and get ten companies or individuals to put all the money in, and the advertisements are paid for by “Good America” (Consultant AB). People with a lot of money can influence elections without really having to reveal who they are (Consultant H). When a non-profit organisation is involved [in the election campaign] they ought to have to disclose. Third parties, particularly on the Republican side, sprung up merely to work on the elections. Well, in Kansas, they put in $400,000 [in one race] in the last two weeks (Consultant AG).

Independent expenditure is perceived as a threat to democracy by most political consultants since its input is not accounted for in campaign guidelines and such expenditures are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission. The current US rules on independent expenditure effectively allow political parties and candidates to spend, and receive, unlimited amounts in their campaigns as long as they are able to set up a front organisation and disguise its “independence”. This could occur by simply siphoning 106

off a number of high-value donors from the campaign committee to the “independent” organisation. Nevertheless, consultants continue to produce and design advertising spots for them and, it could be argued, are somewhat to blame for their continued growth. 4.2.3 Campaign Strategy Developing the message, and finding the staff to put the message together, constitutes the key strategic function in political campaigns. This requires considerable discipline, once the press and opposition start to attack the policies and statements, in order not to dilute the message. Campaign strategy is predominantly concerned with communication strategy and product (message) development. In order to determine what message fits which voter segments, detailed research (both opposition and conventional research) must take place. The degree of co-ordination between candidates’ campaign teams and the staff and resources of the political party is also an important consideration in the planning of the campaign. This is because the parties will often provide support in terms of get-out-the-vote activity, voter identification and registration, and campaign training (distribution strategy in marketing terms). Most high-level race campaign committees (e.g. presidential) - and the political parties - operate post-election analysis to determine what mistakes were made and how strategy could be improved50. 4.2.3.1 The Strategy Implementation Process The process of campaigning for political office incorporates a number of phases. One consultant suggests that there are three time-phases of a political campaign. For instance, research is conducted in the first phase (planning phase), followed by media planning activity and communication (engagement phase), followed by grassroots activity (motivation phase). This argument is illustrated as follows: There is a planning process. [You collect] research from the opinion polls. You may, if you can afford it, do focus groups [You] get the campaign staff together. Then there is the engagement phase, you have got a message together, you’re inputting your data and you are getting into persuasion. That's when all your mail goes out, your televisions spots, the phone banks, your fliers, your radio and all that, the debates all within that time period, all the free press gambits, all of that goes on in what we call the engagements. Finally, the third period, is the motivation period and that's usually the last three to five days when the campaign staff are engaging with their core voters to get them to the polls (Consultant N).

Most professional campaigns develop plans in an attempt to organise the campaign process better and allocate resources (time, money and manpower) more efficiently. The contents of a typical campaign plan are illustrated by the following comments: A campaign strategy plan would include a series of strategies on timing and intensity, persuasion, mobilisation, message sequence and then you have a series of opportunity strategies, as things go on in the campaign either you have weaknesses you need to correct, or opportunities you could take advantage of (Consultant M). A campaign plan would have 1) description of the campaign strategy, 2) the description of the campaign’s message, 3) a time line as to when things would happen, 4) a media plan, as to which media you're going to use, 5) an organisational chart, 6) a budget, how much money you're going to spend for each function (Consultant X).

Thus, political campaigns generally attempt to determine what their message is, how much money they have to communicate that message and what media to use, taking into 50

See Section 2.3.8 Post-election Analysis.

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account the limitations placed upon them by the available manpower and time. Some consultants generally felt that the first phase of the political campaign process would rely on opposition research. You start out by analysing what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are and figure out ways to play up the strengths and figure out ways to cover up the weaknesses or make it so they are not very important (Consultant P). First you talk to the candidate to find out what their views are and then you try to articulate that. You come up with a message that is very simple, say what the candidate's views are in a nutshell and if you are lucky you can identify the candidate with that message in voters' minds (Consultant P).

However, other consultants suggested that research would be the first component of the process. Every successful campaign starts off with research, moves into message development, then a period of execution of the message through the free media and various political opportunities and finally the delivery of the message in paid media and those are the phases of a campaign (Consultant J). Typically, the first phase of the campaign is research. Policy develops as the campaign develops … The strategy is developed through meetings and research and polling after we determine where we want to be on message and we test that message to make sure that we are not too far off where the mainstream voters are. We test the message and redefine and redefine (Consultant E).

Without finance, campaigns simply cannot run in the US. Financing impacts upon strategy in the sense that it determines the media planning (and the ability to hire more specialised - and better - political consultants). You do have to have a reasonable expectation of what it is you're going to raise. I've got to figure out, I can buy advertising for the next five weeks and there are three weeks left of the election after that, is it reasonable to believe that in the next five weeks I'm going to raise enough money to do the final three weeks of advertising? If it's not, then you'll start buying from the election backwards (Consultant O).

The uncertainty associated with the allocation of resources and the differing level of funds that can be raised for a campaign is alleviated by drawing up campaign plans with different budget levels as indicated by the following comment: In many campaigns we have three campaign budgets. An A level budget, a B level budget and a C level budget. So that if the fund-raising in the campaign does not meet prior expectations we can go down to a B level or a C level budget in an organised fashion (Consultant AF).

4.2.3.2 Development of the Campaign Message The message underpins all electoral campaigns since the politician needs to present the voter with a reason for being elected. It is essentially the raison d’être of the candidacy and its purveyance is the essence of political positioning process. The message has a strategic impact since every communication should stem from one underpinning theme. Table 4.5 indicates some of the comments made.

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Table 4.5 Comments Concerning the Campaign Message Respondent Consultant A Consultant C

Consultant D Consultant F

Consultant J

Consultant K

Consultant L Consultant M

Consultant N Consultant O Consultant P

Consultant U

Consultant X Consultant Z

Consultant AF

Comment from Interview If you think your strategy is worth it, you have to be disciplined enough to do it, even if the press is piling it on. I have worked in a South American country where they had fifteen minute slots. What we did, we ran the same things over and over in blocks, where the other side was doing something new for each one but the repetition is important in any part of advertising. Your message has to be simple and you have to hammer it in. When we talk about message, what we're really talking about is rationale, what's the rationale of your candidacy, and it's shocking how many candidates cannot answer that fundamental question.

Strategic Importance Message Discipline

Research and testing and double testing your messages because you only get so many shots at the barrel … so you've got to find out a way to be pretty compelling, and that just gets back to being simple, relevant, coherent, concise, compelling. You look at your opponent's strengths and liabilities and you try to find areas of intersection where you will have a comparative advantage and then you build the message around those two or three things.

Message Development

The real key to successful consulting is to constantly keep on message, understand what your particular message is and to react within the context of the message.

Message Discipline

In a winning campaign we have discerned the message and we have stuck to it. You must get across the messages that are important to your candidate and important to his constituents and his stand on those issues, and generally you do that by polling, and you find out what are the important issues to the constituents you are trying to appeal to

Message Discipline Message Development

You have to pick three or four issues that are important and hammer, hammer them home, because people will simply not remember or focus on more than that.. I think that the commitment to message is the most important thing; so it's not the technique, it's the discipline, it's very much knowing how do you position yourself against the opponent. Essential to the development of campaign strategy is the development of a campaign message … You need to have an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your candidacy versus opposition candidacies and to develop a campaign message based on the lines of distinction.

Message Repetition

That's the same thing that Bush had in 1988, that Reagan had in 1984, they had very disciplined message campaigns. Repetition is a huge key to whether you can persuade somebody. A great message sent once is a lot less effective than a so-so message sent twenty times. We had to have enormously focused and disciplined message delivery which our candidate was able to do. You have to come up with a message that the voters understand and then repeat that message. Some candidates flip-flop all over the place trying to take the same position on every issue and then they get in trouble that way. People forget that what really wins elections is what your candidate stands for, the message that voters are hearing and the people who understand that tend to do much better in political campaigns.

Message Discipline

The best success stories that I've been involved in are campaigns that for one reason or another we have found a persuasive message to deliver to voters and it is persuasive either because it attracts people to the candidate that I'm working for, or it repels people from the candidate that I'm working against. You look for, but don't always find, themes and messages that respond very much to what voters care about in their own lives. In a survey we will introduce various types of information, different messages, themes, issue positionings and measure the impact of those among key audiences; and from that quantitative data will emerge a strategy. Political marketing is developing a theme which will be attractive to the majority of voters in the district in which your candidate is running and then developing the specific issues which allow him to develop that theme successfully.

Message Development

Message Repetition

Message Repetition Message Development

Message Development

Message Discipline Message Development

Message Repetition Message Discipline Message Discipline/Repetition Message Development

Message Development Message Development

Message Development

Most of the comments pertain to the importance of staying “on message”. It is clear from the comments made by the consultants that message discipline is an important component of communication. In order to do this, rebuttal of opponents’ comments needs to be made in such a way that the response answers the opponents’ charges but still manages to reinforce the campaign’s theme. Such discipline produces considerable repetition since, without this, messages will be forgotten and misunderstood. Thus, a number of consultants suggest that messages have to be constantly repeated if the campaign’s theme is to be understood properly by the voter. The process of developing the message lies in determining a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses (in terms of their connection with the voter) and producing a message that enhances the candidate’s strengths and disguises the weaknesses at the same time as disguising the opponent’s strengths and enhancing their weaknesses. Clearly, such a 109

message is ideal and seldom achieved. The candidate’s strengths should be either their ability to connect with the voters along important issue-stances or their ability to effect positive change in line with how the voters expect such change to occur. Determining such a message is usually achieved from the conduct of polling and focus groups to determine whether or not certain messages are being received in the way intended by the political consultants. 4.2.3.3 Area Targeting The first phase of the targeting process is to organise the political jurisdiction into its smallest area units. For instance, presidential races need, first, to be broken down into states, then into counties, then into precincts. Classification of these small area units, according to their partisanship (determined by the pattern of voting at the previous elections), allows political strategists to direct their resources more effectively so as to maximise their vote. This process of classification of political jurisdictions is explained: You take the smallest election unit, which in our country, in most places is called a precinct. My home county had a population of about 200,000 people, we had 183 precincts in that county, and you rank order them according to a couple of things; usually partisanship, that's easier to do if you have voter registration. If you don't have voter registration, you can't do it. So, for instance, you have the 183 precincts and they're ranked in order of their propensity to vote Republican and Democrat (Consultant AE).

Classification by partisanship is explained further with an illustration of how the precincts might be ranked. You break the precincts down into various levels. For example, in the precinct where we expect our guy to get 65% or better, we call that the get-out-the-vote precinct. The second designation is what we call "base". That is 64.9% to 55. The next is 55 to 50 is what we call "high swing" and then 50-45 is "swing" and then 45-35 is "cut margin" and 35 and down is what we call "opposition" (Consultant N).

However, although the seats themselves have a history of voting, there may be events that upset the pattern. An example is when an incumbent politician stands down. In cases of this nature, the race becomes much more competitive since the political action committee community, and other businesses and trade unions, consider the challenger as more likely to win the race and provide such candidates with finance. The party strategist is confronted with a problem, whereby they have to determine which seats to concentrate on. This scenario is illustrated by the following comment: Do you concentrate on winning open seats? Do you concentrate on defeating incumbents? Or do you concentrate on protecting your incumbents who are in trouble? Most political parties have a three pronged strategy, where they go after open seats, where they put resources in to protect weak incumbents and they put resources in to beat the weak opponents who are incumbents (Consultant M).

The question of where to focus the campaign is also determined by soliciting the services of a pollster, as Consultant X indicates: There are some states that are too small or they have few electoral votes or they are too predictable. There are some states that will vote Republican no matter what and there are other states that will always vote Democrat. So you can throw a bunch of them to one side, but they will certainly do polling in 30 of the states, the Clinton campaign spent 3.5 or 4.5 million [dollars on polling] (Consultant X).

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Sometimes, campaign teams spend resources in areas where one might not expect them to, either to stop opposition campaign teams guessing their strategies, or to keep opposition campaign teams “on their toes” in their own campaign heartlands. This situation is clearly illustrated by the following two quotes. In the first, a Democratic consultant makes the point that the Republicans were wasting resources during Reagan’s campaign by spending money in an area in which no progress could be made. Even though Reagan won by a landslide the second time he ran for president he actually spent the last week of the campaign in Minnesota which was one of the Mondale states … He should actually have been targeting undecided voters (Consultant P).

Whilst in the second, one of the Republican general consultants in charge of the particular area which was referred to, explains that this was part of their strategy. We divided the Reagan campaign into what we called regional political directives and the region I had was Iowa, Virginia and Minnesota ... Minnesota they gave me because that was where Mondale was from and we thought that Mondale was a strong factor in the Carter campaign and we needed to neutralise anything that Mondale might do to help Carter. So everytime Mondale got too far from the state, I did something to cause him to come back because Mondale had to have the Carter/Mondale team take Minnesota or it would destroy his political chances in the future. So, he had to see that his base was protected (Consultant K).

Once the campaign has determined those areas that are most likely to change allegiance, or those areas that are strategically important, it is necessary to communicate with the voter. 4.2.3.4 Voter Targeting In most campaigns, there is a need to target only a small section of the electorate. This section represents the small share of voters who change their votes from contest to contest. In many cases, targeting the voter depends on what the lead medium is. Despite the obvious need to be able to address individual voters, this is not usually a feasible process. Most campaigns don't have the money and the time to develop super-sophisticated targeting strategies and even if they did, they don't have the money and the time to execute them. The most sophisticated targeting involves voter identification that's used in telephones, mail, door-to-door; asking voters what their attitudes are and then targeting them based on those attitudes (Consultant M).

In a situation where the lead medium is television, in order to target voters as efficiently as possible, one might use the following procedure: Let's say there's a candidate running for Congress. The first thing we do is take his district geographically and overlay that district on where the vote comes out of and then we overlay that to where the media is (Consultant G).

There is also information available from polling data that can be used to determine who the campaign needs to “speak” to and how to target floating voters.

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The new things that are happening are being able to focus the segmentation much more on a small universe of swing voters by making much more use of CHAID51 analysis. You merge the data you get from the interview with other kinds of census data, not based on the individual publics but information about people who live on that person's block (Consultant X).

In addition to floating voters, most campaigns also target ethnic groups, particularly using direct mail for voter persuasion purposes and mailing lists. You would look at the ethnic spelling of the person’s last name. You would have a computer programme that would see it and if it, for example, began with an O, it was Irish. If it ended with an I, it was Italian .. (Consultant U).

One method which was discussed as a segmentation base, but discounted as a viable method, was the use of psychographic segmentation: We have done some research that relies on more psychographic [data] where we are asking a lot of attitude type questions and using that to develop profiles of voters or targets. That is not done too often in candidate polling (Consultant Y). Psychographics and geodemographics are best used for issues. I haven't seen any campaigns where I thought the investment was that worthy (Consultant AE).

Perhaps, the best method of targeting voters is by matching the demographic profile of the television (or cable) viewers with the demographics of the partisan group that one is targeting, where television is the lead medium. When direct mail is used, the campaign attempts to communicate with their target voters by matching the profile of the voters on the mailing list (usually by demographics) with the profile of their target voters. 4.2.3.5 Campaign Co-ordination As the US political parties (Democrat and Republican) increasingly lose their influence over the organisation of the political campaign function, they have changed their role from controlling the campaigning process, to providing financial support (soft money) and expertise (through training seminars). The extent to which they can assist is, nevertheless, considerable as the following comments indicate: Parties are able to spend a lot of money so long as they do not mention the candidates by name. Federally, they are virtually unlimited in how much they can spend on party building. A political party either nationally or at a state level can spend as much money as it wants on voter registration, on voter ID [identification] calls, on GOTV [get-out-the-vote] calls, on broad party mail and things like that (Consultant Y). We are wondering a year before the election, in the polls, why couldn't Bob Dole get over 40%? He could never get over 40%. It was because, the year before, they had put these ads. on television favourable to President Clinton, negative to Bob Dole, paid for by the Democrat Party and so the Clinton campaign had had $40m more to run even more advertisements So they had an advantage that was extraordinary (Consultant G).

Such co-ordination may not just involve the co-ordination of financing, it may also involve the co-ordination of media planning. 51

Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector is a statistical technique for segmenting groups of voters into separate categories based on maximising the average differences between group members on certain characteristics e.g. age, sex, ethnic origin, etc.

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Co-ordination, that's another strategy. In the Clinton campaign in '92, they came up with a message of the day. Everybody was supposed to talk about one certain thing at a particular day (Consultant M).

Such expenditure by political parties is likely to continue as third parties (such as trade unions, businesspersons and political action committees) continue to spend more to influence the campaigns in their favour. 4.2.3.6 Election Analysis After the conduct of an election, few consultants will conduct research into what went right and wrong during the campaign since external funding is seldom available and it is not considered to contribute directly to their profits. Most people, if they won the election and everything was a success, think they should do it again. I spend some time actually going in after the election with post-election research and post-election survey research, trying to evaluate what happened (Consultant U).

One respondent indicates that it is difficult to determine what factors made a difference in any case. Every election has a winner. The winner is a genius. Nobody really knows, there are so many factors involved, it's very hard to isolate, sometimes you can say “Yes. That made a difference!” All too often, you can't. There are just so many factors involved (Consultant T).

The important areas of consideration when conducting post-election analysis are indicated in the following comment: We went in and we accumulated a lot of information. We got copies of all the advertisements they did, we took a fresh look at what they were doing rather than having the day-to-day reaction to the campaign and we spent a lot of time analysing it and we found out an awful lot. Because people like to brag about their successes, the other side talked at a lot of public forums about how they won this brilliant victory. Also interviewing the staff and literally conducting a detective story into what happened (Consultant U).

Thus, such research work ties back into the strategy development process for the next campaign and gives the consultant some idea of the way in which an opponent, and their own campaign committee, run their campaigns (particularly when compared with how the previous campaigns were run before that). Thu7s, post-election research is an important component of competitor intelligence and, consequently, strategy development. 4.2.4 Campaign Organisation The recruitment of the necessary members of the campaign organisation takes in a number of individuals with key skills and responsibilities. Some of these individuals will act as a contractor with a specific task (such as a direct mail consultant) and some will act purely in a strategic capacity (general consultant, campaign chairman / manager). Others will perform more than one job by combining their roles (media consultant and chief strategist is a common combination). The recruitment of the members of the organisation is usually the task of the candidate, initially, and then subsequently by the candidate and their appointed core team members, however, sometimes consulting teams are put together for candidates who have no prior experience, by the national and regional party campaign organisations.

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Despite the candidate’s obvious interest in making the decisions throughout the campaign, it is often impossible and the candidate must learn to delegate major decisions to key members of the campaign organisation since they also have to perform their duties as a candidate. 4.2.4.1Campaign Organisation Structure Table 4.6 illustrates that the political consultants interviewed mentioned a number of key roles within the campaign organisation. Although the respondents were not questioned explicitly on what comprises a campaign organisation, the table is drawn from the respondents’ answers to questions posed regarding the determination of campaign strategy and the role of the candidate. Table 4.6 Roles and Campaign Organisations (by Political Consultant) Respondent

Cand.

Consultant G Consultant D Consultant E Consultant M Consultant B Consultant U Consultant N Consultant AC Consultant AD Consultant F

x x x

x

x

Consultant AF Consultant Y Consultant AE Consultant K Totals

x x

x x

x 10

x/x 12

x x x

Manager/ chair x x x x x x

Press

Gen. Con.

x

Media Con. x

Field Dir. x

Fund. Con.

DM Con.

x

x

x x x

x

x

x

Opp. Res.

Fin. Chair

x x x x x x

x

Pollster

x

x x x 5

5

x x

x x x

x x x

x x

x

x

x x x x 11

x x x 10

x x

x

x x

x 5

6

x x x 6

x 1

x x 3

Note – The following abbreviations are used to represent the different campaign organisation team members: Cand. – Candidate, Gen. Con. - General Consultant, Med. Con. – Media Consultant, Field Dir. – Field Director, Fund. Con. – Fund-raising Consultant, DM Con. – Direct Mail Consultant, Opp. Res. – Opposition Researcher and Fin. Chair – Finance Chairperson.

Table 4.6 illustrates that the most mentioned members of the campaign organisation include the pollster, candidate, manager, and media consultant, although there were a number of mentions for the fund-raising function (including references to the finance chairperson) and the direct mail consultant. There was also mention of the press officer (who would control the earned media strategy), the general consultant (who would coordinate the whole campaign and commission the sub-contracted agencies) and the field director (with responsibility for the get-out-the-vote efforts). Only one of the consultants specifically mentioned that a campaign would need an opposition researcher as a matter of priority when discussing the determination of the campaign organisation. The actual job that any one specific member does depend, to a large extent, on the experience of the individual concerned and the relationships between the team members. Consultant D mentions that some members of the campaign team are more influential than others. [The strategy committee comprises of] a collegial group of campaign manager, pollster, a media consultant and the candidate. That is the primary team. In any campaign there may be one or two people who have ascendancy. You may have a very experienced campaign manager who wants a lot more authority over the

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rest of the team, or the candidate may be that way. The major decisions of the campaign are [made] by group consensus (Consultant D).

The hiring of the necessary professionals is an integral part of campaign management and an important aspect of the strategy process. One Washington fund-raiser describes the recruitment of political consultants in more detail: You need to have a budget and a finance plan and the fund-raising operation in place so they can pay for everything. Unfortunately, most campaigns probably hire the media person first because it’s the most sexy. Once you have the finance plan in place, you need the media team, you need to have a polling team … and then your staff on the ground; which is your campaign manager, your press secretary. As the campaign evolves, you add field people (Consultant AD).

A former general consultant suggests that there are three functions that need to be conducted by political consultants. These are: One is the strategy and planning function, another is the communications function and the third is the research polling function. Usually, the communications function is done by a media consultant and sometimes the strategy and planning functions are also done by the media consultant; or they may be done by the pollster or a combination of both or you may hire a general consultant to do that (Consultant M).

A more detailed exposition of the initial process of recruiting members of the campaign organisation is also given: The first thing to set up is the campaign organisation structure and, generally, suggest to the candidate that he have a campaign chairman who is a respected member of the community and a man who will hopefully be with him throughout the campaign. The next person would be a campaign manager who has to be somebody that you can fire. He is the person that runs it on a day to day basis [but if] it simply isn’t working you need to fire him. You need a finance chairman who can call on his peers to give money and you need a finance director who puts on fund-raising events. Every person in the campaign can be fired except the campaign chairman and the campaign finance chairman … then you need a press secretary … then you need field people … then you would hire a pollster which would be an independent contractor and you would probably hire a media person too to help you put together your brochures and publications …then you have to get a campaign office, office equipment and then that’s the logistical part of the campaign (Consultant K).

The importance of filling the positions available within the campaign team with the right people is illustrated from the comments made by media consultants who have acted as members of the core strategy team. One of the best things we did was we had good personnel. Professionals who knew what they were doing in all elements. We let everybody lead in their own particular area (Consultant G). The most successful campaigns that I’ve been involved in are those in which the candidate is confident in who they are, what they want to do and they hire good people and let them do their job. The campaigns that aren’t successful are those that lack confidence and second guess every decision or have layers and layers of committees to validate decisions (Consultant F).

4.2.4.2 The Role of the Candidate The candidate is physical evidence of the political “product” in that their views and opinions are what the electorate is voting for but they are also, fundamentally, in charge of the campaign. The fact that candidates are the political “product” often means that the opposition campaign’s researchers will attempt to uncover salacious aspects of their lives in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. Political consultants interview the candidate in an attempt to uncover those aspects of the candidate’s life that might be used in their opponent’s negative advertising. Clearly, a dilemma arises where the candidate 115

does have something in their past that could cast a negative light on their campaign. Here, the question is whether or not they should tell their campaign team such that they can pre-empt their opponents’ attacks or keep quiet in the hopes that such an issue may never arise. The following comments illustrate this point: [An] important aspect is extensive interviewing of a candidate and any skeletons he might have in his closet that would come out. If you know and can prepare for it you can dull the effect of it. If the campaign is surprised by something the candidate has done and it comes out then it is difficult (Consultant K). We have like an interview process where we talk to clients about the district, themselves, their opponents, what they are looking for, what they want to communicate and we ask the question, “why are you doing this? What are the three things you are most proud of?” Those are the kinds of things we ask to try to get to the heart of the matter (Consultant T).

Consultant K also suggests that to rebut an attack properly and foresee what attacks the opponent might use, it is necessary to interview the candidate extensively. Consultant K goes so far as to say that attorneys should interview the candidate to uncover any important issues that will deflect his or her campaign. You have to sit around and think of every possible issue that will come up. You have to be ready and there again, it's knowing every possible thing about your candidate. Leave him in a room with attorneys who are used to interrogating people and that can reveal everything he has ever done that could be a problem. You don't want everybody to know, possibly one or two of the top team (Consultant K).

The candidates’ role within the campaign is unusual in that it is both hands-on (in terms of fund-raising and making appearances) and aloof (in terms of strategy). The candidate should retain ultimate authority over the direction of the campaign. Consultant D suggests that: The best candidate is one who sees himself as the chief executive officer, who assembles the best advisers he can, takes part in the important decisions and delegates. Good candidates are like good military officers (Consultant D).

Consultant O, a senior member of the Bush Campaign Committee for the re-election of the incumbent Governor of Texas (George Bush Jnr.), also makes the point that the candidate is the supreme decision-maker: Ultimately, the candidate sets the mood, sets the message, sets the theme, that's not to say that aren't a lot of candidates who set it by giving way to others but it's ultimately [within] their [the candidates’] ability to control them (Consultant O).

Thus, candidates may wish to delegate more or less authority depending on their personalities and their individual circumstances. In cases where the candidate is new to the campaigning process, they may wish to delegate more since they do not have the expertise to run the campaigns themselves. We have some candidates who may have been pressured by the national committee to run, they feel more comfortable being managed, they want people who are professionals to do their jobs well. You have other candidates who’ve run political campaigns before … and they know how to keep everybody on track and then you have the other candidates who, maybe they come from a small business, they’re used to micromanaging everything, and they feel that they are going to be the supreme strategist, and everyone’s working for them (Consultant AC).

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Nevertheless, even in cases where the candidate is inexperienced, it is important to go back to them and allow them to make the decisions since ultimately, it is their lives that are most affected. I have found it very important, no matter how inexperienced the candidate is, to always go back to them for their gut feeling because it’s them that’s on the line, and when they’re on the line you have a different set of observations than as a business person trying to consult (Consultant AC). I think actually that a very important part of the whole process, is making sure that the candidate, whose life you are really playing with in a campaign, is fully apprised of the major decisions and that they are responsible for them (Consultant U). I think it's important to have a direct relationship with the candidate and we try to do that. So, we work really closely with the candidate. The other thing that we always say is that at the end of the day, when the campaign's over, win or lose, it's their name that's been presented to the voters. It's their reputation that's on the line, the tone and nature and style of the campaign should always be their decision. I believe that a candidate should see every spot that goes on the air, hear every radio ad that goes on the air (Consultant B).

Having said that, candidates also have other tasks to perform. Such tasks encompass raising money for the campaign, making and writing speeches, making appearances in their districts for both voters and the media (through photo-opportunities and press conferences) and developing their message. Aspects of the candidate’s role are illustrated: The candidates' major job is to raise money and to go out and meet the voters and try to win their support and, if they are also trying to manage a campaign, which is a monstrous job, then they can't be doing what they're supposed to be doing. So, they diminish their chances of winning (Consultant AE).

The candidate’s role is not an easy one since they have to allow the communication of their lives to the voters, raise significant amounts of money (from friends, colleagues, acquaintances and political action committee directors). Finally, they also have to design their message and assist the campaign manager and the other consultants who have been hired to run the campaign from a strategic viewpoint. 4.2.4.3 The Role of the Campaign Manager Usually, campaign managers are brought in to make sure that the campaign team is doing what is best for the candidate rather than for themselves. Thus, campaign managers tend to be people who are more likely to have the candidate’s interests close to heart. A lot of times [campaign managers are] just people who are the best friend of the candidate. They're brought in because the candidate wants one person who’s loyal to them, to work with the consultants and the professionals to make sure [the candidate is] not getting taken advantage of (Consultant U).

The role of the campaign manager has been described variously as “making sure that the train runs on time” and “taking care of the nuts and bolts”. The campaign manager is the closest one to the candidate. He deals with the other consultants, he keeps us all rolling. He is the person who makes the train run on time. (Consultant N)

Another approach to campaign management might be as lead consultant, bringing together the different types of consultants within the campaign team (for instance, fundraisers, pollsters, media consultants, etc.) rather than dealing with purely administrative responsibilities. 117

The higher the office you go, the more experienced the manager is. You can in a US Senate race have a manager calling the shots of what the strategy is, almost dictating to the consultants what's going to be done, they'll listen to advice but at the end of the day they're going to call the shots (Consultant U).

The distinction between the role of the candidate (in having ultimate authority over the campaign) and the candidate manager (in making sure that the strategy is followed) can be problematic. It depends on very close co-operation between the two, and the development of a strong relationship of trust and understanding is paramount. Consultant V, a direct mail consultant, indicates that managers should be left to manage but that they should do so with the full knowledge of the candidate. I think the managers should be signing the cheques with the full consent of the candidate. If the candidate is spending money without the knowledge of the campaign manager then you have a real problem, the campaign manager cannot budget properly and there is a breakdown. Where is the authority? I don't think the candidate should be in the dark but ultimately the manager should know (Consultant V).

The campaign manager also has a role to make sure that the message that has been designed fits with the values and opinions of the candidate and that this message is disseminated properly through the different consultants. I often find that the campaign manager is looked upon as the chief designer of the message (Consultant D).

The role of the campaign manager is difficult since they are likely to receive the most criticism when things are not running to plan. They are the ones who are sacked in times of crisis whether or not they deserve it; to illustrate to the media that the candidate has regained control. Managers are a very precious commodity. They are few people managing who are not professional managers, they have done race after race. If they have done two or three races they are good (Consultant V).

4.2.5 Campaign Financing The financing of US political campaigns is achieved through a mixture of private and public donations (depending on the state and the electoral contest). In House of Representative and US senate elections (although not in many gubernatorial contests), there are regulations concerning the total amount that can be donated by individuals, political action committee and other organised groups to campaign committees. Because there are no limits on the level of campaign spending, campaigns committees can raise as much finance as they are able. Nevertheless, limits placed on donations are held at 1974 levels and so there is an increasing need to generate more finance to pay for increases in communication expenses. This often leaves candidates and their committees beholden to interest groups and lobbyists who provide the much-needed funds (but sometimes with “strings attached”). 4.2.5.1 Donor Psychology In order to solicit money from donors effectively, it is necessary to understand what their reasons are for giving. Based on the information provided in the interviews, it would appear that donors tend to give money to political campaigns for a number of reasons. One of the reasons cited, by a political action committee director, was:

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People donate because they feel it’s a part of doing business and if they’re going to do their business well, they’ve got to make sure that legislation and regulations don’t stifle their business or cause them to go out of business (Consultant AC).

Another reason given by a Democratic fund-raising consultant was that the donation was given to feel part of an important social grouping. Probably the most important element [in] fund-raising is what I call the social and personal givers. [They are] people who give because they went to college with the candidate. [They are] people who give because they went to junior high with the candidate, people who give because their sister used to date the candidate's nephew; the person who gives because they want to be able to invite the Congressman or Senator to their daughter or son's wedding. That's the biggest chunk of money in politics (Consultant AB).

The impact of the personal factor in fund-raising is further emphasised by a later comment from the same consultant. It's easier to turn someone who is close to a candidate into a fund-raiser than to find the usual suspect [who] will support that candidate (Consultant AB).

Thus, successfully soliciting donations tends to be more productive when the people who are being solicited have some connection with the candidate. Having given to the campaign, the donor has psychologically committed him or herself to the candidate, as the following comment indicates: I look at it not just as money raising, I look at it as support raising (Consultant AC).

Thus, developing support in this way is a relatively emotional process since it requires that donors commit themselves to a particular candidate. Consultant AB hints at the fact that the solicitation process is less dependent on the ideological position that a candidate holds but is more dependent on the development of the relationship between candidate and donor. Ultimately, the differences between candidates in terms of fund-raising has more to do with the quality of the solicitation and more importantly the amount of time they'll spend, than it has to do with the position on an issue (Consultant AB).

There may be differences in the psychology of giving depending on how the donation was obtained. Most money is raised directly from voters using either direct mail or telephone solicitation methods. The donation may come from a political action committee or from an individual voter. Where the donation comes from a political action committee, it is likely that the fund-raiser will use telephone solicitation in conjunction with meetings with key donors. Direct mail fund-raising is used more to gain support from individual donors. Probably the most successful method mentioned is telephone solicitation amongst people who have some connection with the candidate. 4.2.5.2 Lobbying Businesspersons and political action committees give money to campaigns to attempt to influence policy. It is a necessary element of the legislative process since politicians can never judge perfectly who and how everybody will be affected by proposed legislation. The need for organised interests to be concerned with legislation, and involved in the legislative formulation process, is emphasised by a direct mail consultant: 119

You can't write a law in such a way that the National Rifle Association and the AFL-CIO or Philip Morris or General Motors are going to go, "You got me I'm going to stop trying to influence policy!" You can't, it's too important, they are going to find a way. Maybe they should (Consultant T).

Incumbent candidates are usually more likely to get elected since they generally receive more funds to finance their campaigns. As a result, a dilemma occurs. The candidate must solicit money from sources that can provide (and are interested in providing) the finance within a limited space of time in a highly competitive environment. Ideally, the candidate would like to receive as much money as possible from as many sources as possible since this is more democratic. The corporation or corporate donor would wish for the candidate to be concerned more with their issue (since this is most likely to result in an attempt to change legislation). This process gives rise to covert donations since neither politicians nor their donors wish for the public (via the press) to see this process of influence. Consultant L, a Democratic general consultant, discusses how corporate interests can attempt to dominate policy in newly emerging democracies. I've worked in elections where people are trying to buy the country because they have a corporate goal that they're trying to achieve. Whether it's because they want access to the oil reserves for their company, which is very common. I mean you'd be amazed what people will get for oil rights (Consultant L).

In some cases, the influence exerted does not stop with policy formulation but is also concerned with influencing how a campaign is run. We used to have a situation in Nevada of somebody raising money from casinos for you, so the money goes to your campaign. Then you are paid with that money to run TV ads, so the casinos are effectively paying you, your candidate wins and then you are a lobbyist for the casino during the legislative session. Who's calling the tune? The casinos are calling the tune (Consultant C).

One result of this process has been third party expenditure to influence elections in a way that has no direct link to the candidate. In some cases, due to the fact that third party expenditure does not have to be declared to the Federation Election Commission, organisations have been set up to enable the avoidance of disclosure laws52. 4.2.5.3 The Fund-raising Process Where telephone solicitation is the predominant method used, it is better to have the candidate ask for the donation. When this is not possible, organisations call upon friends of the candidate to act as volunteers to collect the funds and disseminate the candidate’s message. The fund-raising process is very time-consuming as the candidate and the consultant determine who should be contacted. Funds can also be sought from political action committees since their sole purpose is to give money to political candidates’ campaign teams. As a result, They are often solicited as an easy option. However, the process of raising funds from this source is far from simple and the elaborate decisionmaking structure used by political action committees over who to fund can often mean that candidates’ campaign teams spend too much time on soliciting relatively small donations as indicated by the following comment: There are 4000 PACs [political action committees]. 1000 of them have real money; any given incumbent probably has a universe of about 6-700 PACs that they could possibly get money from. Most challengers

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See Section 4.2.2.4 Independent Expenditures.

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might only have 50-100 that they have to worry about. A big mistake that a lot of candidates make is they focus way too much on PACs money because it's easier to ask a PAC (Consultant AB).

The fund-raising process associated with political action committee is dominated by the fact that these organisations tend to be divided into those that support Democratic causes and those that support Republican causes. There are some that are concerned with specific voter groups or causes and so it is necessary to identify which political action committees are most likely to give to any particular campaign. We can target political action committees in terms of the dollars they spend … 500 PACs [political action committees] give primarily to Republicans … then we can look over on the other side of the fence and say those are primarily Democrat PACs … Then you have a whole group that’s in the middle. … If your district contains major corporations in it … if you have an unusual amount of let’s say agriculture, industry … those are people who are naturally going to be your constituency. (Consultant AC).

In elections where there are no limits on financial contributions (such as the Texas gubernatorial), it makes more sense to target larger contributors and spend more time developing a relationship with the donor. If there's no limit, then one is better to go ahead and gamble and try to invest some real time with people who can write huge cheques (Consultant AB).

However, there are political action committees that might tie-in politically with a candidate, and the fund-raising consultant should determine which these are at an ideological level (Democrat or Republican), and at the issue-level (pro-choice, anti-gun etc.). Direct mail methods are also often used but tend to work where the issues are strongly opposed by other candidates. You don't see many Senate candidates going out raising money by direct mail. It has to be a black/white race unless there's a great striking divide, you can't raise money from that in any large amounts (Consultant AB).

The fund-raiser is usually given an indication of how much money needs to be raised and he or she needs to manage expectations of how much money can actually be raised and spent at any one time. It is imperative that the finance director maintains a sense of reality regarding the availability of further income since cash flow problems will reduce a candidate’s ability to wage an effective campaign. The fund-raising process is continuous and the major problem arising is usually one of determining how much more potential donor money is available and how quickly it can be collected. When one fund-raising consultant was asked what the critical success factor was in a campaign, he replied: Keeping the campaign focused on raising the money and not getting side-tracked, and keeping the candidate on the phone. Direct solicitation is the most proven effective way of raising money and also is the least fun part of campaigns (Consultant AD).

4.2.5.4 Finance Effects American political campaigns are expensive due to the high costs of television and the need to hire consultants and, therefore, fund-raising - as a function of the campaign process - becomes increasingly important. Money is everything because it’s so expensive to conduct [campaigns], [to] move mass opinion. It’s totally absorbing trying to raise money (Consultant H).

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Fund-raising is difficult and time-consuming. The need to obtain funds tends to dominate candidates’ time since they have to continually solicit prospective donors. This function is not always well-suited to the particular candidate and, often, fund-raising specialists have to spend considerable time training candidates. Some people ... have the hardest time with asking people for money. It's critical, it's something they have to learn. You've just got to have the money to compete in this, it's the way the political world is here (Consultant AA).

Similarly, because campaigns only exist over a relatively short time period (typically around a year), there is a need to raise the money as quickly as possible using a minimum number of staff. Candidates are usually involved in the solicitation and there is some conflict over how the candidates’ time should be used (e.g. fund-raising or earned media opportunities). The need to raise the campaign finance as quickly as possible is crucial since the opposing candidate(s) are also trying to put their own message across to the electorate and control the media agenda. Campaigns in the US have become accustomed to using attacking advertisements that portray opposition candidates in a negative light. This results in the campaigns needing to defend themselves (usually via paid media) costing significant amounts of money. It is usually easier (in terms of time, effort and lower fund-raising costs) to raise money from people and groups that have a vested interest. One respondent suggests that campaigns become reliant on large donors. The candidate now spends two thirds of his time on the telephone talking to rich people, or interest groups (Consultant D).

It is for this reason that incumbents tend to raise more finance (since they effect legislation) and are, thus, more likely to win. A direct mail consultant explains this further: When you spend more you win because you have the opportunity to dominate the dialogue of a campaign (Consultant V).

The competitive desire to win the election requires that campaigns raise as much finance as possible to fund their strategic and tactical options and gain a competitive advantage: There’s a certain financial threshold that you have to reach to be able to employ all the tactics (Consultant AC).

In the competitive atmosphere generated, it is easy to see why under-funded campaigns might find it so difficult to refuse to accept donations from special interest groups, especially those interest groups that operate legally as lobbyists. The problem is made worse by the fact that the ceiling for campaign contributions is not index-linked and has remained at the level set in 1974 after Watergate when the legislation was first introduced. A Chicago media consultant points out one of the major problems that this can cause: It is difficult to raise money for any office but if you are running for Congress with the strict limitations they have, it makes you a little more beholden to interest groups who can make cash contributions (Consultant J).

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4.2.6 Research Research can be both quantitative (in the form of public opinion polling) and qualitative (in the form of focus groups). Candidates’ campaign committees are also starting to evaluate political advertising much more through the use of focus or dial groups to determine whether or not a set of advertisements have been effective amongst the targeted groups. Research links into the campaign strategy and the communication plan, principally, in terms of highlighting which messages work with which segments of the electorate. Research is also linked into campaign financing in the sense that if there is little finance, research tends to be neglected as a political marketing function. On the other hand, sometimes research is conducted into the types of people who are most likely to donate to a campaign and so the relationship is mutual. Competitive analysis is also interlinked since research is often conducted on the competition in terms of their message statements and their candidates. Thus, opposition research is often used to direct later quantitative and qualitative research. 4.2.6.1 Polling The philosophy of polling is that if you understand what voters want (by asking them) then you can design an appropriate political “offering”. A Republican pollster illustrates this point: Our driving theory is that you do as much as you can and more is better and, usually, the side with the best research wins. Those who best understand voters usually get ahead and are likely to be successful (Consultant F).

There are numerous types of poll that are used for different reasons. Benchmark polls tend to be used to determine what the main theme and issues of the campaign will be and what voter groups are currently thinking with regard to political and campaign issues. Polling is also used to determine the competitive position of the candidate vis-à-vis the other candidates. This is indicated by the following comment: At the early stages of the campaign we'll do the traditional benchmark poll and try to find some themes that might work during the campaign, some issues that are hot buttons. As the campaign wears down, we'll test only a narrow order range of things and then, of course, just the horse-race. Who's ahead with what groups? (Consultant AA).

The benchmark poll is both descriptive and exploratory in that it is used to test issues and statements but it is also used to probe for further issues that may be more useful in promoting a particular candidate. It, therefore, forms the basis for the design of more narrowly focused surveys later in the campaign. Often, polling is used to identify how particular demographic groups feel about certain issues and statements. The better pollsters use more sophisticated techniques for determining demographic profiles such as CHAID (Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector) analysis. However, when asked about sample sizes, many of the polling consultants indicated that small samples were often used (due to the high cost of interviewing). One consultant commented on the conduct of tracking polls. In political polling, people need to get the results done right away and they only allow for maybe three nights of calling and they also want to save money so they do a small sample size. And they want as much demographic [data] as they can get … with the numbers they are generating they will show margins of error and basically meanwhile there is no value (Consultant W).

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Tracking polls are also used to determine whether or not there are any changes in candidate identification within and between the major target groups, and to enable the consultant to determine whether or not the changes are occurring in their campaign’s favour (or their opponents’) and with which groups. Thus, tracking polls are used to measure what the overall changes are in voters’ attitudes over time. There is also some conflict over the resource allocation between voter persuasion methods and the methods that determine voter understanding. The fact that polling does not contribute to voter persuasion is hinted at in the following quote from a pollster: If polling is taking up a big percent of the campaign funding, it's taking out other expenditures (Consultant X).

4.2.6.2 Focus Groups Focus groups tend to be used as an addition to quantitative research as they are relatively expensive to conduct and the results derived from them are not generalisable across populations. They are used to inform political consultants by giving them an insight into the psyche of the voter: Qualitative research allows you to get much deeper into peoples’ feelings and is frankly invaluable in major state-wide contests where the resources are there to do this kind of research. They are invaluable in terms of really understanding the underlying feelings of voters, gauging their reaction, finding the missing pieces of a campaign, in that you can do that much more in a qualitative environment than you can in a quantitative environment (Consultant Z).

Qualitative data, generated from focus groups, is also used to aid in the development of the campaign’s message. We use focus groups for all campaigns that are close in terms of understanding in the broadest terms what is the story we are trying to tell (Consultant X).

Research into voters’ feelings is necessary when the candidate’s campaign team does not know what the voters’ concerns are; providing the voters actually know what they want, which is not always the case. In many campaigns, consultants rely on their own judgement to craft the campaign’s message rather than conducting systematic studies. In any case, research is expensive and the insights it offers may be limited. However, focus groups are particularly valuable as many political consultants have their own views of the electoral and political process that often insulates them from the views of the typical voter. This can affect their judgement as to what the best message might be. I think that focus groups are wonderful for getting people in touch with the real world. I think it's one of the big dangers that consultants have and in certain other groups like lawyers, they start thinking in their own terms that don't relate to anything that anyone else thinks about and they construct a universe in their minds that doesn't have anything to do with the real world (Consultant AA).

Focus groups tend to be used more by the larger campaigns that have the budget to fund them. Such campaigns tend more to be senatorial, gubernatorial or presidential where a deeper understanding of the electorate is necessary as a result of the larger number of voters concerned.

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A relatively small proportion of candidates will do focus groups … because all political opinion research is expensive but very few campaigns have the budget to sustain large focus group research. So, the only campaigns that really do focus group research tend to be the higher budget campaigns, the major campaigns, the big state-wide campaigns (Consultant Y).

4.2.6.3 Testing the Effectiveness of Advertising To determine the effectiveness of advertising, focus groups are often used. In these circumstances, groups of 8 – 12 people are asked questions about specific advertising messages and forms. More recently, dial groups have been used (much larger groups of up to 50 people) where respondents use hand-held clickers to rate advertising (usually via rating scales of some kind). A political action committee director gives an example of the uses of dial groups below: They use these hand-held clickers. Instead of the 8-10 people, sometimes you'll get more. They dial their response as they're watching …If you're [interviewing] people in particular to test concepts or test storyboards for advertising, or to test ads just before they go on the air, then I think that the clickers are great because you get more peoples' opinions, and it's statistically accurate (Consultant AE).

In order to aid in recruitment of the typical voter, many of these groups have been conducted in shopping malls with excellent results. In mall testing, they drag people in and have a touch screen on the computer about how they are voting and what they think is important … It's expensive but I think very effective (Consultant C).

Setting up research of this kind is expensive and only undertaken by the better funded campaigns. Recent innovations have been pertinent in Bill Clinton’s campaigns for presidency as indicated by the following comment: [In] the last election the Clinton people moved away from focus groups and went to a style where they set up a kiosk in a mall and showed people individual TV ads. I thought that was brilliant … you find out for sure whether that ad works or not (Consultant N).

Testing the advertising does not always aid the consultant in determining the best message, since evaluation of the advertisements by the respondents depends on how the advertisements are given to them to be evaluated. As advertising tracking is expensive, and since is does not directly affect the vote, it tends to be used less often than, perhaps, it should. As one consultant aptly states: Often in politics … you have to throw it out there and see if it works because you don't have the money to test it. If you tested it, you wouldn't have the money to run it after you found that it worked which is one of the reasons why political consultants that are good are in demand because their gut tells them what works, what doesn't work (Consultant U).

4.2.7 Competitive Analysis Because elections are essentially electoral contests, usually between two or more contenders, the notion of competition is implicit. However, because there are no written guidelines as to what can and cannot be communicated to voters (due to the American concern with freedom of speech and its place in democracy), campaigns often resort to negative and comparative advertising to win elections. As a result, campaigns usually have to defend their own candidate and the best way to do this is often by counterattacking the opponent. Nevertheless, because the media also scrutinises what is being said by the different candidates (and relays this to voters), claims and counter-claims 125

must usually be based on fact rather than fabrication. Campaigns have to hire opposition researchers to find material that is capable of being used in a claim or counter-claim. The competitive nature of US campaigns also means that opposition research is often used to provide information to senior strategists on how the opponents might play out their campaign. 4.2.7.1 Opposition Research The use of opposition research in political campaigning helps the campaign team to understand how to compete against their opponents. Opposition researchers attempt to build a picture of what kind of politician a campaign is facing. When a campaign has sufficient funds, they may commission opposition research into themselves to determine what information their opponents have. A Democratic consultant argues that opposition research is necessary because the fundamental reason for a candidate standing in a campaign is because they do not agree with the other candidates and, therefore, wish to put across an opposing view. He suggests that it is not possible to campaign effectively if one does not understand what the objectives of the opposition are. If you don't know your opposition you don't really know why you are running. You look at the other candidate’s strengths and weaknesses from a strategy viewpoint but also at the most basic level to figure out why your candidate is running ... you have to research the opposition, both for the positive and the negative (Consultant P).

Opposition research is made easier in the US due to the Freedom of Information Act which allows access to public records. As a result, researchers can gather a wealth of information regarding voting records, (campaign) financial disclosure reports, personal financial details regarding the candidate, criminal and civil (court) records, a politician’s record of service in their constituency, speeches made and press releases. Opposition research can be expensive and depends on who is being researched. For instance, it will cost more to research someone who has been in office for a longer period since there is more public information. The type of information provided by an opposition researcher when researching an incumbent congressman for a challenger (the client) is detailed below: I would provide that challenger with an analysis based on every vote the incumbent cast in congress and every vote he cast in his committees’ assignments, all legislation he sponsored in congress, public statements made to press on the floor, on television. During his tenure as a congressman, [we would look at] his campaign contributions that he has received in the races he has run, any travel that has been paid for by professional interests, different studies of how he votes for the president, how he votes for particular liberal or conservative members of congress, what his personal finances look like, the required financial disclosure reports and the accuracy of that. [We would look at] whether or not anything he has done in congress benefits himself personally, economically ... a check of the courthouse records in his home district ... has he been paying his taxes, property taxes on time? Has he been involved in lawsuits? (Consultant AG).

Opposition research feeds into the campaigning process in a number of ways. It allows the determination of what issues to focus on (since weaknesses in candidates’ records can be picked up) and determines what questions to ask when polling, which subsequently feeds into the advertising process. Consultant K illustrates the link between opposition research and the conduct of polling:

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Opposition research if it is well done is going to uncover a lot of things that the opponent has done or said that you can use and so you need to get that information and then conduct polling to say what your reaction is if you knew and then pick the ones that the public react most to (Consultant K).

Opposition research allows the campaign team to determine what strategy they will adopt. An opposition researcher gives an interesting insight into how opposition research is used to develop strategy in political campaigning. One of the things concerning the Monaghan campaign was that their opponent, a woman named Bernadette Castro, was [saying] “whatever it takes, I have ten million dollars to spend”, which would make it a very difficult race for other campaigns running but the first thing I did for them was to get the financial disclosure report which told me that what she was not liquid, she didn't have ten million dollars, if she had a million dollars that was all she could have. [I] did other research on her company and then it didn't take too much thinking to know it was not going anywhere. So by doing it early enough that set their minds at rest. If it had not been done until September they would have spent the whole summer worrying about it. Raising money instead of meeting voters (Consultant AG).

The importance of opposition research in determining the main themes and messages to use in the campaign was mentioned by a number of consultants and is typified by the following comments: It's difficult to develop a political strategy unless you know the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent and it takes opposition research to do that (Consultant M). Most candidates, most campaigns, do opposition research on the other candidate and the person for whom you're working. We usually don't do our first project until that is done (Consultant X). What you learn from opposition research is your opponent's stand on things. I do not know how you conduct a campaign without it (Consultant J).

4.2.7.2 Competitive Intelligence Opposition research can also provide information into how one’s political opponents have gone about campaigning in the past, as well as what is currently happening in their campaigns. The political campaign is often seen as a game by many consultants. You have to play a game of chess. You don't know where he's moving. You've got to guess where he's moving ... You have to figure out what your opponent is going to try and do and where his strengths and weaknesses might be and then obviously probe at the weak points, at the time and the place of your choosing (Consultant O). There's an old saying "know yourself, know your enemy." I happen to go through a process which is very simply identifying what is the best message or messages that will help attract people to my candidate, and then I figure out what is the most likely course of action for the opposition. What they will say about themselves and then what each side will say about the other side; and you can guess if you're smart and you want to spend some time studying your opponent, what they're going to do (Consultant U).

A comment from a senior advisor on the Dole campaign committee in the 1996 presidential election illustrates the four messages that a strategist should consider when devising their own message. A graphical representation of Consultant U’s message development strategy is illustrated in Table 4.7. The first message relates to what the political consultant will be saying about his/her opponent and the second relates to what the political consultant will say about his own candidate. The third message relates to what the opponent will say about your candidate 127

and the fourth message relates to what the political consultant thinks the opponent will say about his/her own candidate. Thus, the table aids the political strategist in determining how best to respond to possible lines of attack which might be used by the opposing campaign and also how to respond to their positive messages. Table 4.7 Consultant U’s Message Development Process Message Focus You Opponent

Message Developer Opponent You Message 3 Message 2 Message 4 Message 1

The political consultants often liken political campaigning to the conduct of a military campaign. It's akin to the military, I want to know who the general is who's opposing me; is he a guy who's going to be a conservative and sit until his troops are massed, or is he going to be an aggressive general who's going to move to flank you. So it's very much a military thing, you've got to know who's on the other hill (Consultant G). You have to know what they are doing, how much money they are spending on advertisements. How many advertisements they have taken out and I will always know if they have more than 6/700 points. Opposition research is critical. It's like knowing where your enemy is (Consultant E). A lot of people thought that the campaign would come down to a Dole vs. Phil Gramm contest; we bumped into Phil Gramm and for other reasons as well, Phil Gramm just disappeared and suddenly the battlefield, if you will, changed radically (Consultant U).

Understanding how the opponent might play their campaign is critical since there is limited time, limited finance and limited media available. This understanding comes from analysing (either as a formal procedure or informally using intuition) previous opponents’ campaigns and finding patterns in the way that they make their decisions. Such patterns may cover when they buy television time (early or late in the campaign) or the types of media that they favour. Media consultants tend to get a name for developing and producing certain types of advertisement. This is typified by the following comment: You look at their spots ... [Mike Murphy is] now doing Jeb Bush's race … Jeb used to be a real rightwinger, now he's trying to say “I'm compassionate and concerned.” A lot of that is influenced by Murphy's approach to getting him back to the middle and we'll know what the spots are too. I imagine they'll be very good positive spots (Consultant B).

Because of the fact that consultants develop certain types of modus operandi, and due to the fact that they understand that their opponents may have hired opposition researchers to determine what that modus operandi is, political consultants often attempt to divert attention from their real strategy. Often what we do is we bait our opponents to over-reach, to over-attack, to over-think, to over-analyse. So when they do that, we hit them back showing that they have no compassion ... Nine times out of ten we know where they are going to attack us and they know where we are going to attack them (Consultant G).

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Thus, there are occasions when political consultants will craft and place advertisements in areas that are not salient to their own strategy. They are simply designed and placed to unsettle the opponent and stop them from second guessing the real strategy. 4.2.7.3 Rebuttal Rapid rebuttal is being used increasingly as a means to respond to opponents’ criticisms and messages. The method of rebutting usually involves the sending of press releases to selective broadcast media and press organisations - press releases that respond to an opponent’s attack - and the holding of press conferences. The press release (rebuttal) sent out is usually based on information provided by the opponents themselves (either in speeches or in campaign literature) and is, therefore, a powerful tool to use to reduce the effectiveness of the original statement made. The rebuttal process is highlighted by the following comment: Instant response technology is particularly innovative, definitely this high-speed scanning technique that we have, we're one of the only firms that does it. We will take everything that's ever been said and put in print or we will take what they've said and dictate it and then we put all the information together, we put it on a CD-ROM, and we carry everything that we have said and our opponents have said around with us in a laptop computer. So, if [the opponent] says something brand new, I can find another point where he's said the opposite (Consultant L).

However, one consultant suggested that an ingenious method of rebuttal might use placement of pre-prepared TV advertisements rather than press releases. The strategist need not necessarily have to wait for a statement to be made prior to the production of the advertisements, if they can anticipate what future attacks might be. We game played out in January, February, March, how we wanted our television spots to be in August, September and October and we thought about possible responses to those attacks. We filmed, in July, our response to her attack, which we then put up in early October. It was sitting at the television station shortly after Labor Day, simply waiting for her to attack us and sure enough she attacked us and we let her attack run for three days without responding to it on television, just so that people would have recognition that she was attacking us and that it was a negative attack and then we responded with this ad that we'd filmed in July ... We let that play for 4 or 5 days (Consultant O).

The speed of rebuttal has been enhanced in recent times by the use of the Internet and email. Thus, responses to statements made by opponents can be sent to hundreds of journalists all over the world or posted on a website for all to access. At the same time, campaign teams often have pre-prepared responses ready for the press and are just waiting for the moment when such attacks will happen. Such a scenario is outlined by one respondent further: In his re-election campaign in 1996, for example, Bob Dole called a press conference at 10 a.m. to propose tax cuts and the Clinton campaign had a press conference at 10 a.m. the same morning, responding to him. So they were responding to him at exactly the same time that he was making his proposal. So it wasn't just quick response anymore, it was instant, continuous simultaneous response (Consultant M).

Consultant K, a general consultant on the Reagan campaign committee in the early eighties, also reinforces the fact that speed is important in the campaign management process: Clinton has had one of the best response teams I have ever seen. They never let hours go by without responding to an attack. That's a new innovation (Consultant K).

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Rebuttal is more effective when it is framed within the context of the candidate’s own message since the statement made then promotes awareness of the candidate’s message as well as reducing the effectiveness of the opponent’s message. The real key to successful consulting is to constantly keep on message, understand what your particular message is and to react within the context of the message. In 1996, the Clinton people did a splendid job of bringing the race back to three or four issues in virtually everything they did … These were areas where they had a competitive advantage over the Republicans and they just hammered away at them until it became a mantra (Consultant J).

Rapid rebuttal is only possible if a candidate’s campaign team has access to information on the opponents’ speeches, advertisements, policies, voting records and manifestos since this provides the information with which to rebut. Hiring an opposition researcher usually provides information of this nature but it is also important to develop very strong contacts with journalists (both broadcast and press) in order to be able to respond quickly. 4.2.8 Communication The political communication process is one whereby the campaign determines how best to portray the candidate to the electorate in such a way as to engender a “connection” between the voters and the candidate. This process encompasses determining which voter groups to target (segmentation) and selection of the media (targeting) through which to purvey the necessary image (positioning). The selection of the different types of media depend on the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each medium as well as other factors that are governed by the environment in which campaigns are operating (such as the cost of the media in different markets). 4.2.8.1 Voter-Candidate Connection The key focus of political communication will differ depending on the level and type of electoral contest53. However, because of the candidate-centred style of campaigning in the US, communication tends to be on aspects of the candidate’s ability to perform in their prospective role, and their associated character traits. A media consultant illustrates this point when he states: Races for mayors, governors, president tend to revolve more around personal issues because people are entrusting you with administrative responsibilities and they want to have more of a sense of connecting with you as a person and to know that you are strong enough to do the job (Consultant J).

One respondent emphasises that the voters must feel that the election is about their wants and needs. I think, more than anything else, you want someone who connects in a very personal way … You ultimately have to convince people that this is about them, not about you. It can't be about your ego or your desire for power, it has to be about their lives, how you improve the country, the state (Consultant B).

Thus, candidates need to endeavour to make a “connection” between themselves and their voters in such a way that the voter can acquaint with them. A media consultant from Austin makes this suggestion explicitly with the following example:

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See Section 4.3 Cross-cultural Implications for Political Marketing.

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You want a grandmother saying that [candidate] could be my grandson, you want a mother saying that could be my son, you want a dad saying that could be my son, you want a young man saying that could be my father. You can be a family saying that could be our family (Consultant G).

A media consultant suggests that voters transfer their trust to candidates to deal with public matters since they have neither the time nor the inclination. Thus, the emphasis in communication is on portraying the candidate as someone who will do their job effectively without betraying peoples’ trust. I have another philosophy about media today, and that is what I call the transference of trust. I believe that people are disenfranchised from politics. That they've never been as sceptical ... they want to have something communicated to them, that says something about their values and characters (Consultant F).

Thus, candidates are under some pressure to manage their image in such a way as to generate as much support as possible with key voter groups. However, impression management needs to be conducted in such a way that the image presented to the voters is one that is credible. We have to try and match the candidate profile with what the public is looking for [but] you can't suddenly create something out of nowhere or something that disconnects with their past history. So you've got to figure out what in the profile connects up with the issues that are out there and make sense so that you have credibility (Consultant F). It is very important in terms of advocacy, getting the sense of where the voters are at, how the voters views correlate with the views of the candidate and the views of the party (Consultant T).

The communication is more a process of tying in with existing voters’ attitudes and opinions rather than trying to persuade them to change their convictions. Since the time in which to communicate with voters in a political campaign is limited, communications are usually designed to reinforce existing attitudes or opinions among key groups of the electorate in line with the candidate’s opinions and attitudes in this area as the following comments indicate: It's easier to move people from a non-position to a position than to swing them around (Consultant AA). We are followers not leaders. We don't believe we have the money or resources to change hard core attitudes (Consultant N).

4.2.8.2 Media Usage in Political Advertising There are a variety of media available for use by political consultants when communicating with voters. The political consultants interviewed in this survey indicated that there were a number of different types of media used in US electoral contests but the main types of media discussed during the interviews were: •

• •

Television advertising - the 15 or 30 second advertising “spot” represents the largest proportion of media spent in higher ballot electoral contests. Many consultants buy cable advertising space because of the smaller areas that cable companies operate in and the higher degree of targeting possible. Radio advertising - often used as a supporting medium where targeting of voters is more critical, and where television advertising is very expensive. Press advertising - seldom used except in lower level electoral contests. 131

• • •

Earned media - this is the publicity generated as a result of press releases, press conferences and photo-opportunities. Trying to generate such publicity represents a sizeable proportion of the candidate’s time. GOTV - Get-out-the-vote or “knocking up” - as it is referred to in the UK - involves encouraging more loyal supporters to go and vote on election day. Direct mail - literature posted to voters, often in an individualised format, represents the largest expenditure for all media in the US when lower level electoral contests are also taken into account (Godwin, 1988).

It would appear that television advertising in the major US electoral contests is the medium of choice (where it is affordable) since it is thought to be the most effective. In most campaign budgets more than half of the campaign budget is on TV alone (Consultant E).

Television advertising bought on prime-time networks prior to popular shows (such as Oprah Winfrey) is usually favoured since it reaches a larger audience. However, broadcast time is very expensive and “spots” are limited to 15 and 30 seconds. As a result, the “spots” tend to be used to convey emotion and the personality of the candidate rather than issues, as one consultant points out: Television is a rotten vehicle for talking about any issues of substance. What it is really good at is conveying emotion. Well you cannot convey emotion much when talking about an issue unless it is emotive, such as abortion. The personality stuff, character stuff lends itself to television, it is such a personal medium (Consultant N).

There are a number of styles of advertisements used in political television advertising, but the extent to which consultants can be creative is limited due to the nature of the “product” that is being advertised. One media consultant indicates his frustration at not being able to use more creative approaches: I can't use naked women, I can't use outlandish humour, we have to be careful. I have tried everything, I have used humour, I have used cartoon animation, I have used very straightforward headlines appearing on the screen. I have used candidates just talking for 30 seconds into the camera ... (Consultant D).

Television markets usually operate across relatively large areas and demographic details are made available by the networks to aid the political consultant in the purchase of broadcast time. In this regard, advertising with cable networks is often much more effective when targeting specific audiences (since the cable market is more fragmented) and is usually much cheaper per point of television bought54. Radio is considered more useful when targeting certain groups, for example the so-called “soccer mom” using drive time radio). It is also used when the campaign wishes to convey a longer format message. Although press advertising was not considered as important as television advertising by the consultants who mentioned it, during major state-wide and federal electoral campaigns, it was considered useful when used for lobbying purposes, or in campaigns in small rural communities. Obtaining earned media was seen as advantageous since such advertising is free. However, to obtain earned media, it is often necessary for candidates 54

When buying 100 points of television 95-97% of the viewing population will see an advert once, 200 points, twice and so on.

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to take controversial views on specific issues or events. Consultants did, however, suggest that the potential of earned media to persuade voters is limited. Earned media is more for the influencers, the newspaper people, the VIPs, the sort of elite, the 5% that are always paying attention to politics (Consultant G). There are less expensive ways to market within a district or in a state ... doing public events and earned media strategy through newspapers and magazines but they're not nearly as effective as paid communications (Consultant Z).

Although the types of media mentioned so far attempt to persuade the voter, none of these methods are interactive and allow the voter to gain more information regarding what is being communicated to them. Similarly, all require that “space” be bought in advance in direct competition with other organisations that are keen to buy such space to advertise their own products or services. More recently, use has been made of direct marketing methods to persuade the voters at the last minute when they are making their voting decisions. Methods associated with get-out-the-vote activity include mail, canvassing and telephone methods. These last minute efforts are considered to be critical by some. Mail and phones and personal contact are the only way to reach voters one on one and it would seem that any political campaign would want to use those techniques to some degree (Consultant M). If your strategy is you need to increase turnout, then you target the people who are less likely to vote, and by communicating them, by calling them on the phone, sending direct mail, having volunteers knock on their door, they're more likely to vote on election day (Consultant U). Call [the voters] on election day, make sure they get out there, obviously when you're talking about 10% turnout or something like that, these efforts become much more critical (Consultant AA).

The extent to which telephones and direct mail are useful in persuading voters to go out and vote for a candidate is a topic of some concern, with some consultants arguing that they are invaluable whilst others express a divergent opinion. For instance, one consultant argues against some direct marketing methods quite vehemently. I think most things that are done to get out the vote are a waste of time and money. Voters vote ... A good campaign with a good message that moves people to vote for you is infinitely more likely to influence turnout than all the sound trucks and mailings or phone banks, 99% of it is crap. Phone bank guys would disagree with that (Consultant H).

Another consultant argues that direct mail and telephone persuasion are invaluable when they are used for targeting voters. The most sophisticated targeting involves voter identification that's used in telephones, mail, door to door. In effect asking voters what their attitudes are and then targeting them based on those attitudes (Consultant M).

The use of direct mail in the voter persuasion process is relatively complicated. It requires considerable co-ordination of a number of different activities (e.g. buying a list, testing the list, copywriting, monitoring the effectiveness, determining the legal ramifications, etc.), many of which might be sub-contracted to other agencies. This complexity of organisation of the direct mail process in political fund-raising and in voter persuasion is illustrated by the following comment: 133

It involves establishing a list of prospective donors and once they're solicited, acknowledging their contribution and then after some reasonable period of time, seeking additional gifts from them. This involves writing letters, printing lists, designing artwork, computer services to merge the list together and to suppress names of previous donors, people who are not likely to contribute, to get them printed into the mail and to set up a system to analyse the returns so we can evaluate how well the programme is doing. The voter contact side is to help campaigns develop a message that can be conveyed through the mail to target audiences, and then to make certain that those messages fit into an overall campaign plan (Consultant O).

When direct mail is used for fund-raising, the approach adopted in writing the literature is different when the piece is sent out to a prospect as opposed to a regular donor. The process of determining what themes to use when testing a prospect list is illustrated in the following comment: Normally, the least amount, the minimum amount of mail that we'll send out on a prospect test is 50,000 pieces and we like to even test closer to 100,000, and usually broken into 5,000 names per list, so 10-20 lists of 500 each ... We usually keep a response analysis form, in which we key in the aim of the list, the actual cost of postage and everything together, and what the return is. So, we know exactly how each list does, and if a list is doing fairly well; say we test list 5,000 and there is 50,000 left on the list, if the test does well, we'll go back and mail the remaining 45,000 (Consultant Q).

Direct mail tends to be used as a mechanism (for voter persuasion) in large campaigns to support the primary medium (usually TV). However, where television advertising is prohibitively expensive, direct mail may become the dominant medium used. Direct mail also tends to be used for fund-raising purposes when the issues on which the campaigns are running are relatively differentiated. At other times, the telephone (with personal visits) is the medium that is used to solicit campaign funds from voters55. Thus, a range of communications media is available for use. One of the key issues facing the media consultant is to determine what the appropriate media mix will be for a campaign. Clearly, with different advantages and disadvantages for each of these methods, this task can be quite onerous. The use of direct mail and telephones in campaigns has been increasing in the US. Direct mail expenditure represents the largest cost for any single communication medium (even more than television advertising) when all types of election campaign are considered (Godwin, 1988) - rather than just state-wide and presidential. Direct marketing tends to be used for both voter contact (persuasion) and fund-raising purposes although there are differences as to when each is appropriate. 4.2.8.3 Media Planning The media planning process requires that political consultants determine where they will allocate their limited funds. There are a variety of media available to candidates’ campaign teams and these media are considered further here. One media consultant suggests that broadcast advertising is more useful in persuading voters because of its intrusive nature and that, as a result, most of the communication budget should be allocated to it. You are listening to radio or watching television for another reason, and all of a sudden in the middle ofthat's why I call it intrusive-is a message about a political campaign ... but it's still the way to get into [the voters’] consciousness when they're not really interested in talking about, thinking about politics. It's why 95% of every dollar in a campaign, for media, is spent on radio and television (Consultant B). 55

See Section 4.2.5 Campaign Financing.

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Budget is important because it tells you in advance how many commercials you are probably going to produce and this has a huge impact on your creative elements because the task of a media consultant is to decide what the most strategically important elements of the message are and then prioritise those (Consultant D).

Another (fund-raising) consultant suggests that of the whole budget available to campaigns, a large proportion should go into media and communication: 65-70% of all your money should go into paid media; radio, television, newspapers, etc. and if you don't have those numbers up in those percentages you're wasting money somehow (Consultant AD).

Thus, an important consideration in media planning is to determine how much money to spend and on what types of media and whether or not the campaign can afford television advertising. This decision is affected by how expensive the space is on the particular networks that are being used. When candidates are campaigning in areas where the television markets are extremely expensive, they may either use cable networks or rely on other forms of communication as their lead medium. This is illustrated by the comments made below: It is very costly to buy media, it is something like 600,000 dollars a week to buy media in New York city. There is a limited amount of media that you can buy (Consultant J). If you're a congressman in the Dallas Fort Worth area and you want to buy television, it's almost prohibitively expensive to buy. You can buy a little but you can't buy a lot. So you've got to rely more on the personal campaigning (Consultant O). We did a congressional race on Long Island last year and we relied on radio as the lead medium and that was expensive. It cost about $75,000 a week, television would have cost $400,000 a week, so we did a little television, a little cable, but we relied on radio … we should have started the radio a little later and switched over to TV at the end (Consultant C).

One major problem is differentiating a candidate from the opponents when there are so many candidates advertising. Such saturation leads to voter apathy and loss of interest, which makes it difficult for candidates to persuade voters. The decision concerning when to buy media may also cause problems as illustrated: Some people buy too much media too soon and that's a big expense (Consultant AE).

The purchase of too much advertising is likely to cause most concern when the campaign team has limited funds and fund-raising potential. Outspending other candidates is a technique often used by wealthy campaigns to goad other, less wealthy, campaigns into buying media too soon. The temptation to follow suit is tremendous since campaigns often achieve increasing popularity (and funds) with increasing momentum. Once the lead medium has been selected, the next major decision concerns where to place the advertising. This process is generally fulfilled using a combination of polling data (to determine the campaign’s target groups) and historic voting figures. Use of this type of data allows the political consultant to determine which precincts or voting areas contain the greatest numbers of persuadable voters56. Thus, political consultants attempt 56

See Section 2.3.1 Campaign Strategy and Objective Setting.

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to match, as closely as possible, audience research details (provided by network stations) with their target voter groups. In attempting to do this, it may be that several communication media have to be used in the end. A number of comments made during the interviews depict this scenario more clearly: Poll data is very important because, from that, I know where to buy my media [and whom] I am weak with. It may be working women, then I know that I have to buy programming that I know women will watch and I will develop a message that I know working women will like (Consultant E). We spent more time on television in places with the greater swing, we augmented our television with radio, we augmented it with rural print advertising in small town newspapers and then we had a massive phone effort in which we called 1.2 million households in 2 weeks (Consultant O).

Once the media consultant has determined how much of the budget to allocate to the different types of media, it is necessary to design the material that is being used in the advertising. The approach that is adopted usually depends on what message the campaign is trying to convey. One consultant also argues that there are types of television advertisement design that are appropriate at different times: The general philosophy is [to] use the emotional, fluffy, family stuff early but I think the best, most effective stuff is late, where voters are making their decision, and you remind them that this person is more like you than the other candidate because they were a basketball coach and they know more about making kids act right than you do (Consultant A).

Campaigns tend to use earned media when they have insufficient funds for paid communication and also to rebut opponents’ allegations made in the press or in their own television (or other) advertisements. As a result, campaigns often attempt to maximise their earned media (since it is free) by organising press conferences and sending out press releases. The difficulty arises in making the issue of interest to the journalists covering the story such that they publish it and publish it in a way that is favourable to the campaign that is being written about. A Chicago media consultant outlines the difficulty in doing this: Where we get deeply involved is how to deal with the daily parries and thrusts of a campaign where issues come up. How do you "spin" a particular story or event in a way that is beneficial? (Consultant J).

Media planning is a complex and expensive business, and forms the backbone of senatorial, gubernatorial, presidential and electoral campaign management. There are numerous decisions to be made concerning how much to spend, where to place and how to design the advertising and the actual implementation of the media plan. There are considerable problems in keeping to the plan since opponents’ campaign teams are constantly trying to dominate the news agenda and project their own positive impressions of their own candidates (and negative impressions of an opposing candidate). As a result, the media planning process is continuous and iterative and changes over the duration of the campaign in line with developments as they arise. 4.3 Cross-cultural Implications for Political Marketing The impact of culture on political campaigning methods is considerable. The level of cultural diversity is high within the US since there are many different types of electoral contests. It could be argued that these differences are as great as the differences in campaigning outside the US. In the following section, some indications as to how the 136

individual consultants viewed the application of political marketing techniques and methods in other states and electoral races are provided. In addition, the consultants were asked about their experiences in other countries outside the US. 4.3.1 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests Within the US The consultants interviewed frequently cited the fact that when they are operating in states other than the one in which they are based, they are often looked upon as outsiders who do not understand the area or the campaigning style that is required. There are political cultures everywhere around the world. In this country everyone says, in a different state, “we don’t do things like that around here!” (Consultant Y). I believe every district is different. This is a very diverse country. The way you do a political campaign in the state of Illinois, [compared with other] areas, is not the same (Consultant AF). In almost all circumstances, we come as an out-of-towner, and the line here is that “this is not like Chicago, this is different”. Of course, they are all unique but the same techniques apply (Consultant V).

There are, however, differences in different states and electoral contests that do have an impact upon the campaigning style. Table 4.8 lists the differences in races cited by the consultants who were interviewed. The style of campaigns for candidates for mayor, governor or presidency tend to operate in a more personal manner than campaigns for legislative bodies which tend to be more issue-based. With senators’ races, the positioning is centred more on national issues, whereas governors can set their own agenda much more. The strategy that a presidential candidate adopts to position him or herself in a primary campaign will often be different from the positioning strategy used in a general election campaign; the candidate requires support from a majority of all voters (including voters registered for other parties) in the general election compared with a majority of their own registered voters in a primary campaign. There is usually a tendency to be more radical in issue stances in primary campaigns, to differentiate oneself from the other candidates. The resources available to the various types of races also differ since more money can be raised for state-wide races and, for some races and states, there are no limits on donor contributions. It is also easier to raise more political action committee, union and corporate money as an incumbent than as a challenger. Thus, state-wide campaigns are able to fund more expensive forms of advertising such as television (and radio in some states). Lower ballot races tend to use more direct mail as the primary medium of communication. In certain television media markets (such as those associated with big cities), there is a tendency to rely more on other media because television advertising is too expensive. At the presidential level, publicity becomes extremely important. Many of the political campaigns run within the US, in different states, use the same techniques when campaigning because the consultants have become acclimatised to the different cultures operating. This may explain why American political consultants are in such demand world-wide, because they already have to deal with cultural diversity and the effect of differences in political systems on the method and style of campaigning.

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Table 4.8 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests within US Respondent Consultant B Consultant E Consultant J Consultant K

Consultant O Consultant P Consultant T Consultant U

Consultant V

Consultant AB Consultant AD Consultant AE Consultant AF

Interpretation of Comment Senators’ campaigns driven by national issues, governors’ campaigns can set their own agenda. Larger races can generate more earned media. Races for legislative bodies centred on issue, races for governors, mayors, and presidents are centred around personal issues. Positioning a candidate in the general election campaign is very different from the primary campaign since the candidate requires support from all voters rather than just their own supporters and usually runs against opposition candidates with differing viewpoints compared with in primary campaigns where there is a tendency to be more radical in one’s issue stances. Texas has unlimited campaign contributions for the governor’s campaign removing the burden to raise money. Smaller races more about issues than personalities. Smaller races have more personal contact with larger races encouraging more publicity. Differences in terms of cost of media in different states and media markets. Direct mail is more important in House of Representatives races but often used as a support mechanism in Senate race. Direct mail used in presidential primaries because audiences are smaller. TV advertising highly variable in terms of cost from one state and within states to the next. Publicity very important in presidential races, but editorial less important for senate, and House of Representatives races. Editorial becomes important again for lowest level races. Strict limits on contributions in some states, whereas, in others there are none. The regulations regarding Governor’s races depend on the particular state. More money can be raised out of state for state-wide races. Easier to raise money as an incumbent than as a challenger. State-wide races tend to conduct more television advertising. Party identification different in different states.

Difference Control over media agenda Ability to generate publicity Style of campaigning Positioning

Fund-raising regulations Style of campaigning Media planning Applicability direct mail

Media costs Earned strategy

of

media

Fund-raising strategy Fund-raising Fund-raising Media planning Strength partisanship

of

4.3.2 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests Outside the US There are some fundamental campaigning differences when operating in other countries. Although, some of the consultants questioned had insufficient knowledge of the UK political system, many had worked in other countries. Table 4.9 indicates what major differences were mentioned and whether or not these occurred in the UK or US. One of the key differences between the US and the UK is the difference in the level of advertising regulation. The levels of restriction placed upon political parties in the UK are considerable. For instance, broadcast political advertising is illegal. The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) places some measure of restriction by demanding advertisements that are essentially tasteful and decent. In the US, the Fifth Amendment and the free speech doctrine encourage a negative and comparative style of campaigning. Such a style of campaigning would probably be less tolerated, if at all, in the UK. The strength of the party system is considerable in the UK compared with the US which results in a style of campaigning which is more party-centred than candidate-centred. This has arguably led to greater promotion of the individual candidate’s personality in the US rather than along the more ideological and issue-based lines that promotion centres on in the UK. This is also affected by the governing system in operation. Since it is presidential, it focuses on the candidate in comparison to the UK where the system is

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parliamentary. In the UK, the resultant focus is upon the party since they wield the political power. Table 4.9 Cross-cultural Political Campaigning (US and UK) RESPONDENT Consultant B Consultant C

CROSS PHENOMENON • Campaign style

CULTURAL

UK •

Party-driven

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • •

Less negative than US Under-used Party Few elections Grass roots oriented Party High levels of regulation Very strong Less utilised than US Parliamentary Party Low Less negative campaigning on character than US Less use of direct mail than US For forecasting race and less so for message development than US Party based Compressed compared with US Less expensive than US Party Substance Might be frowned upon



Party affiliation

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Style of advertising Use of direct mail Strength of party system Extent of democracy Campaign organisation Strength of party system Advertising regulation Strength of party system Use of opposition research System of government Voter affiliation Campaign expenditure Duration of campaign Style of campaigning

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• •

Use of direct mail Use of polls



Consultant T Consultant V

• • •

Style of campaigning Time period Cost of campaigns

Consultant Y Consultant AA Consultant AC

• • • •

Consultant AF



Use of media for advertising Focus of campaign’s message Style of campaign Use of American-style fund-raising methods Voter affiliation

Consultant D Consultant G Consultant H Consultant J Consultant K Consultant M

Consultant N Consultant O

US

• • •

• •

Less party-driven than UK More negative than UK Individuals Many elections Mass communication Candidate

Presidential Individuals High Long More negative on character than UK For message development

• • •

Individual candidates -

• • • •

Dominated by television Person Presentation -



Personality of candidate

Campaign communication (in terms of the message of the candidacy) also differs in the US compared with the UK. In the US, most communication is achieved through mass communication methods with little grass-roots activity compared to the UK, which still has significant grass-roots campaigns and centres on news management (earned media) far more. The culture of free speech and democracy in the US also results in more elections. At local, as well as state and federal government levels, this has resulted in a continuous campaign cycle compared to a more static style of campaigning in the UK. In the US, permanent campaigning has led to the development of a supporting industry infrastructure fuelling the demand for finance. Much greater amounts of money are raised under American campaign finance regulation as there are no campaign expenditure ceilings in most states (although there are ceiling levels on donations) for most elections. In the US, the relative availability of finance has led to greater use of direct mail (for voter persuasion), opposition research and polling than in the UK. Advertising is seldom pre-tested and tracked, and polling is used more for the determination of relative positions of the party and a measure of what groups are supporting which parties in the UK. Finance is also obtained differently in the US where it is generated from large numbers of private individuals, because of the ceilings on the levels of donations. In the 139

UK, there are no donation ceilings, more money is raised from fewer sources (although much is raised from grass-roots activity within the constituencies) and, proportionately, much more is raised from corporations, unions and individual large-scale benefactors (e.g. Paul Sykes, Bernie Ecclestone). The style of fund-raising in the US is also different since individuals are solicited either by the candidate or a representative, usually via the telephone, which does not tend to occur as much in the UK. The extent to which political marketing techniques can be used in different political systems depends to a large extent on the differences in media system, electoral system, structure of government and culture of the country57. Nevertheless, there is some ability to use American political marketing techniques in other countries. [Political marketing techniques] can be applied to any market where technology is driving campaigns, [where] you have a free market, free speech political campaign system, because many countries don’t have. Of course, you apply it differently depending upon the culture and the political traditions (Consultant M). [We have] worked in a lot in South America, Israel, [the] Philippines and one of the things that I’ve discovered through that work is that the tools and techniques and strategies that we have developed here are applicable everywhere (Consultant F).

4.4 Conclusion The objectives of this phase of the research were: 1) To gain an overview of the political consulting industry, its competitive nature and the current salient issues within it. The objective of gaining an overview of the political consulting profession was fulfilled in that the researcher was able to provide a model depicting the US political campaign management process (see Figure 4.1). The competitive nature of American political campaigning was also uncovered in Section 4.2.7 Competitive Analysis. The salient issues in political consulting in the US are concerned with campaign finance reform (not reported in this study), candidate incumbency and voter apathy (see Section 4.2.1.5 Industry Issues: Incumbency and Voter Apathy). 2) To understand the type of clients that the political consultant deals with and caters for. Political consulting firms deal with clients (candidates) that are either Republican or Democrat and rarely a mixture of the two. This aim was considered in Section 4.2.4.2 The Role of the Candidate which highlighted the role of the candidate and the difference between experienced and novice candidates. 3) To understand what services and products are provided for the campaigns by the consultant. The following areas were considered: direct mail (see Section 4.2.8.2 Media Usage in Political Advertising), opposition research (see 4.2.7.1 Opposition Research), polling (see Section 4.2.6 Research), general consulting (see Sections 4.2.3.1 The Strategy Implementation Process, 4.2.4.1 Campaign Organisation Structure), media consulting 57

This is covered explicitly in Chapters Five and Six. See also Section 1.6 The “Americanisation” Debate.

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(see Sections 4.2.4.1 Campaign Organisation Structure, 4.2.8 Communication), fundraising (see Section 4.2.5 Campaign Financing) and targeting (see Sections 4.2.3.3 Area Targeting, 4.2.3.4 Voter Targeting). 4) To develop a clearer understanding of what marketing techniques are used in the political campaigning process and how they contribute to a candidate’s success. This is initially considered in Section 4.2 A Model of US Political Campaigning where the researcher attempts to outline a theory of US political campaign management. The rest of the chapter is based on its structure and each area of the process is considered in more detail. Effectively, the chapter is a consideration of the use of marketing methods in US political campaigns. 5) To discuss with the political consultants what marketing methods can be applied to the UK and European political markets. The differences in the culture of campaigning in the US and the UK are somewhat minimal (see Section 4.3.2 Cultural Differences in Electoral Contests Outside the US) although it is from a theoretical perspective since only a small number of the political consultants interviewed had experience of working in either Europe or the UK. In some cases, however, the consultants had experience of working in other countries (e.g. Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Far East). 6) To understand the financial and ethical implications of the political consulting industry with regards to the electioneering process. The moral, ethical and regulatory considerations in the US political marketing process were discussed in detail (see Section 4.2.2 Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations). In the US, the political consulting industry is relatively less regulated than the UK due to the American constitution and its consideration of free speech. The financial implications are also considered (see Section 4.2.5 Campaign Finance). 7) To understand how political consultants determine what services and products they should provide their clients. This objective was not considered explicitly within this chapter although the sections on different areas of the political consulting industry implicitly consider it. The consultants were usually asked what was innovative in their industry and they seldom answered the question with an innovative product or service. Where they did, and their comments were relevant, they are quoted. The objective of this phase of the research was to gain an understanding of the US political marketing process, in accordance with Objective I. A political marketing planning model was developed to illustrate the US process, in accordance with Objective II. The US campaign management process model is later input with the generic marketing planning process (illustrated in Chapter Two) to develop a UK campaign management process model in Chapter Six. This chapter has also considered the factors associated with the internationalisation of the 141

campaign techniques used in the US. This is an important component when determining which American methods associated with political campaigning can be used in the UK. Although many of the consultants had not worked in the UK, a number had considered the problems associated with using political marketing techniques in other countries, and this informed the design of the questions used in Phase II of the study. Chapter Five provides the results of this second phase and attempts to determine the extent to which transference of political marketing methods can take place and the inherent peculiarities of the British system of political marketing, based on data collected from experts on Americanisation of political campaigning.

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Chapter Five Results - Phase II: Determining the Transference of US Political Marketing Techniques to UK Political Campaigns 5.1 Introduction This phase of the research was designed to determine what the key differences are between political campaigning in the US and the UK from a marketing perspective. The data were based on interviews with three academics, who were knowledgeable about the subject of the “Americanisation of UK political campaigning”, and three US political consultants who had worked on campaigns at the 1997 British General Election. The intention of this phase of the research was to provide areas for future investigation in the British phase of the research study. 5.2 Data Analysis The data were analysed using NUDIST qualitative analysis software. The data from the interviews were entered on to the system as full transcripts and were analysed using the software’s searching function. In this way, combined with a thorough reading of the transcripts, it was possible to determine categories of interest for coding. In some cases, these categories of interest (coded as free nodes) were subsequently removed or placed into other categories where it was felt that they were closely aligned to the inherent nature of the data. Thus, free nodes were used in this case, rather than fixed nodes and, therefore, the nature of the data analysis exercise was not to determine theoretical linkages between the concepts but simply to provide areas for future investigation. This type of approach to data analysis is useful where the nature of the analysis is exploratory. ‘Free nodes are nodes created without any shape to a node system. This is helpful for … categories being created “up” from the data early in coding, as ideas emerge from the data …’ (Richards, 1999). 5.3 Factors Determining Differences in Campaigning Style The interviews with academics and US political consultants raised a number of important considerations related to the transference of US political marketing techniques to the UK. The following categories were coded with comments explaining the differences between US and UK campaign practice: political advertising; message development; campaign organisation; campaign finance; culture; opposition research; professionalisation; campaign experience; direct mail; research; legality of practice; and media management. Table 5.1 illustrates the categories into which the researcher coded the respondents’ comments. The table is set out in such a way that the academics are represented on the left hand side of Table 5.1 whilst the right hand side refers to the comments coded by the consultants. The table demonstrates that there were differences in the way that academics and consultants viewed the differences in political campaigning between the two countries. Consultants were more likely to discuss the differences in media management and campaign experience. Academics were more likely to discuss differences in culture and the professionalisation of the campaign function. Thus, perhaps, it could be argued that the academics were more likely to perceive esoteric differences between the two countries’ campaigning systems whilst the consultants perceived differences related specifically to the application of their expertise. This is to be expected. Academics mentioned differences in research more than their consultant counterparts but perhaps 143

this is related to the fact that academics are research-oriented in their function and so have an affinity for such a construct. Table 5.1 Differences in Campaigning between the US and UK CONCEPT CODED RESP. A RESP. B RESP. C RESP. D RESP. E RESP. F Political Advertising X * * * √ √ Message Development X * √ √ √ √ Campaign Organisation * * * * √ √ Campaign Finance * X X X √ √ Culture * X X X √ √ Opposition Research X * X √ √ √ Professionalisation * * X X √ √ Experience X X * * √ √ Direct Mail * x X X √ √ Research X * * * X X Legality * X x x √ √ Media Management X X * * √ √ Resp. denotes each respondent from A to F, whilst * denotes that more than one comment pertaining to a concept has been coded in the relevant category. √ denotes that one comment has been coded in the relevant category whilst X denotes that the respondent has not made any comments which have been coded by the researcher under a particular category.

The comments made by academics and consultants relating to each of these areas illustrate some of the inherent differences between the two countries in terms of the styles of campaigning and the political system in which they operate. The concepts in Table 5.1 are considered further in the following sections; financing the campaign; campaign organisation, experience and professionalism; political advertising, message development and research; and media management, opposition research and freedom of information. The penultimate section of the chapter comprises a brief consideration of the concept of transference of US political marketing techniques to UK campaigns and vice versa. The interpretation of the comments made by the academics and consultants is outlined in a table in each section, with details of who made the original comments. 5.3.1 Financing the Campaign There are a number of factors that differentiate the way that campaigns are financed in the US compared with the UK. Campaigns in the US tend to be financed through funds raised by the candidate, rather than the party, and the time spent on fund-raising is considerably less in the UK as a result of this. Direct mail has been used much less in the UK, as have been other direct marketing methods such as the use of the telephone (see Table 5.2). The following comment illustrates the importance of the fund-raising aspect in US campaigns: There has been the strong imperative on the American citizen to vote money and energy to force the issue for the national conscience and that has been important because this public philanthropy has been seen to mitigate what is otherwise a harsh and unforgiving society. In this country, the tradition has been much more for the state to do various things for the citizen (Respondent A).

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Table 5.2 Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Campaign Finance Factor Source of finance Fund-raising function

Degree of disclosure - in terms of donors Use of direct mail

Use of telephone fund-raisers

Relevance to UK (Respondent) • Party membership dues very important (Respondent C) • Time spent on fund-raising trivial in comparison to US (Respondent F) • Source of finance principally invisible (Respondent A) • Will become more and more important as a tool for fund-raising - but not for communication (Respondent B) • Use came much later than in the US (Respondent A) • Not used so much here, due to local expenditure ceilings (Respondent A)

Relevance to US (Respondent) raise their own • Politicians (Respondent C) • Massive fund-raising imperative to pay for paid advertising (Respondent A) • Source of finance principally visible (Respondent A) • Reinvented the fortunes of the Republican party in the 1970’s (Respondent A)



Major part of the American political scene (Respondent A)

The implication is that political candidates in the US are more likely to appeal to voters for funding, and are more comfortable in doing so, since it forms part of their culture. The type of appeal manifests itself typically in direct mail and telephone fund-raising, and often uses a type of appeal that is much more emotional than would be tolerated in the UK. With direct mail, it's how emotional, how hyperbolic, how lurid can we make this mailshot? Now it seems that they may well be exhausting the tolerance and patience of the voters. The question arises whether the same method can be repeated ad infinitum. But this culture, I think, is far less receptive to that kind of appeal (Respondent A).

5.3.2 Campaign Organisation, Experience and Professionalism Table 5.3 illustrates some of the perceived differences in the way US campaigns are organised compared with their counterparts in the UK. Whilst US campaigns are predominantly organised by candidates, UK campaigns are organised using party machinery. Table 5.3 Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Campaign Organisation Factor Party/candidate orientation

Degree of personal vote for candidate Campaign organisation

Degree of party co-ordination Categorisation of campaign staffers

Campaign experience

Campaign period

Relevance to UK (Respondent) • Party oriented (Respondent C, Respondent D, Respondent A, Respondent E) • 4 or 5% (Respondent E) • Amateur in comparison to US (Respondent A) • More permanent (Respondent C) • Message and leadership driven from the top (Respondent F) • Ideologically tied to the party (Respondent B) in comparison • Amateur (Respondent A) • Party executives conduct some of the work of the US political consultants (Respondent C) • Less experienced campaign staffers since there are fewer elections (Respondent E) • Five or six weeks at the last general election (Respondent F)

Relevance to US (Respondent) • Candidate oriented (Respondent C, Respondent D, Respondent A, Respondent E) • 20 or 25% (Respondent E) • More professionalised (Respondent C) • More temporary (Respondent C) • Campaigns more independent (Respondent F) • Use (more independent) political consultants (Respondent B) • Consultants conduct specialised activities (Respondent C)

• •

More elections in US means more experienced campaign staffers (Respondent E) Campaign lasts over a year (Respondent F)

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This has an impact upon the personal vote that the candidate receives. One respondent suggests this personal vote is considerably lower in the UK than in the US. The higher degree of party orientation over the campaigning apparatus is likely to be the reason for the higher degree of control that the party exerts over message development in the UK. This could ensure that the campaign retains an ideological steer rather than the more independent stance adopted by US candidates. The personnel controlling the campaigning function in the US differ significantly from the UK because they are sub-contracted specialist consultants. They have often built up significant experience in their function due to the larger number of campaigns that they operate on and the longer time frame in operation for US campaigns. Nevertheless, the notion that campaigning is not (from an absolutist view) professional in the UK, is not at all true. Respondent C suggests that the campaign function in the UK is in transition, and that this transition may be a function of transatlantic influence: Parties have become much more independent, much better resourced. [With] the kind of staff supporting Blair, throughout his campaign, he was able to resource his own office, therefore that helped him to present himself. What you got, in essence, was something that is not a million miles away from the American model (Respondent C).

Respondent A and Respondent B both refer to the concept of transatlantic influence on UK campaigns: We have to remember that there was a great deal of traffic between New Labour and their Democrat friends in Washington (Respondent A). Well, it's very, very difficult to find a campaign that hasn't had an American influence these days. America has been operating for some time as a role model. Certainly, since the beginning of television (Respondent B).

Clinton’s former pollster, Consultant F, advised the Labour Party in the 1997 British General Election. He argues that the campaign organisation in the UK employed an organisational structure for campaigning that was not dissimilar from that used in the US, although advertising played less of a role and UK politicians were involved in constructing the message: The Blair campaign had a campaign manager, Peter Mandelson. It had a general consultant, Philip Gould, and we worked together and I did the polling but the ad. agency, although it was important was not part of the strategic operation because advertising did not have that role. They also have a different kind of role for the politicians. Gordon Brown and Tony Blair led their own campaigns, they were not simply spokespeople. They were very much part of the campaign strategy which is not true for candidates in the United States (Respondent F).

Interestingly, Respondent F, himself an export from the US, suggests that perhaps the UK has reached its limits in terms of the influence that the American model of political marketing should have on its UK counterpart: I'm not sure that they are well-served by making it more professional. There are some thresholds that have been crossed in Britain, which were important to cross. You need to take communication seriously and that means respecting voters. But I'm not sure that taking it to the next step of professionalism would improve

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the campaign. I'm not sure what [the] criterion for improvement is. If the criterion for improvement is increasing participation then we are using the wrong model (Respondent F).

Respondent A expresses the notion that an American political campaign model might not be appropriate for use in all countries: There have been times where American political consultants have failed tragically in other countries (Respondent A).

5.3.3 Political Advertising, Message Development and Research Political advertising in the UK is substantially different from the US in the sense that the ban on paid advertising in the UK ensures the primacy of earned media and public service broadcasts. Table 5.4 illustrates the key areas of difference in terms of political advertising between the US and the UK. Print advertising, an area in which there is no ban, has considerably higher fees spent on it as a proportion of the total communication budget when one compares the UK with the US. The US campaign teams also tend to spend more on direct marketing methods, using mail and the telephone far more. Table 5.4 Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Political Advertising Factor Dominant medium of communication

Nature of broadcast communication

Message type

Negative advertising

Use of focus groups

UK (Respondent) paid broadcast • Absence of advertising (Respondent F) • More emphasis on print advertising (Respondent D) • Importance of earned media (Respondent E) • Party programmes (Respondent D) • Lack of back and forth dialogue – programmes do not respond to claims and rebuttals of opposition to same degree (Respondent D) • Emphasis on party policies (Respondent D) ideological messages • More therefore party oriented (Respondent C, Respondent A) • Communication strategy tends to be filtered through journalists who decide whether or not an attack is out of bounds (Respondent F) • Greater reliance on their use (Respondent E), “overuse” (Respondent D)

US (Respondent) • Lot of money devoted to paid advertising (Respondent F) • More emphasis on direct marketing methods (Respondent D)

• •

• •



Negative advertising dominant part of American campaigns (Respondent A, Respondent F)



Much less used (Respondent B) because of relatively lower degree of homogeneity of population (Respondent C) Greater use of projective questioning in focus groups in US (Respondent B) Statistical modelling of image positions, perceptions and arguments (Respondent D) Message arises out of the market research (Respondent A)

• Message testing



Americans ahead in terms of message testing (Respondent B)

30-second spots (Respondent D) Back and forth dialogue (answering rebuttals and claims made by opposition) important part of the spot (Respondent D) More issue-based (Respondent D) More pragmatic therefore more voter oriented (Respondent C, Respondent A)

• •

In the US, there seems to be a stronger emphasis on the message, or theme of the candidate’s candidacy, rather than an outline of the candidate’s, or party’s set of policies. The advertising spots also contain material that is much more negative, actively attacking an opposition politician’s personal record or character. This is less likely to occur in the UK: 147

We attacked the Tories, John Major, but it had to be done partially through press conferences and filtered through journalists and, if journalists decided it was out of bounds, it didn't work. [In the US], paid advertising is permissive for campaigns to, kind of, push the envelope on the kind of damage they can do to their opponent (Respondent F). Speaking in a 30-second spot is an act of concentrated character assassination and that is a recurrent feature of American campaigning (Respondent A).

Often these spots include a dialogue with opposition politicians (and give the whole campaign a feeling of gamesmanship), in contrast with the party election broadcasts operated by British terrestrial and satellite networks as the following comment illustrates: Often [in the UK] the programme is planned fairly far in advance, certainly before you know what's being done by the opposition that week. So there isn't the same kind of back and forth dialogue, where here you really get into a situation where you might literally be responding. That is, candidate A says "candidate B raised taxes", candidate B comes on and says, "well, A says I raised taxes but he's lying and not only is he lying but he's the one that raised taxes". Then candidate A says "newspapers say that B has lied to you seven times before and don't believe him now". So that's very direct back and forth, where spots actually are very directly, very consciously, very specifically, responding to allegations or messages in the opponents' spots (Respondent D).

The respondents argue that focus groups are overused in Britain, although Respondent C suggests that this might be because of the more homogeneous nature of the UK population. US political consultants are also much more likely to test their messages amongst the target audience than their British counterparts, using quantitative research instead of the British reliance on focus groups. The culture of communication is different in the US when compared with the UK. One respondent suggests that this might have something to do with the religious make-up of the population: I think the role of religion in the States, with the majority of Americans going to church every week puts more focus on character issues, values than you get in Britain. I think that does have a bearing on the nature of the campaign and what kinds of issues they tend to raise (Respondent F).

Another respondent suggests that it is to do with symbolism and the higher degree of importance with which the American people view the marketing imperative in their society: In American politics, you are voting in a much more symbolic kind of way. Partly, I think, because the marketing imperative actually leads to the creation of issues where no dispute existed before. You are not just voting for the policy and the agenda, you are voting in a civil war of values (Respondent A).

Respondent B explains this phenomenon, and categorises it more clearly, suggesting that it has been transferred from the US and has been taken up to some degree by Blair: Catherine Hall Jamieson calls it the feminisation of rhetoric. It's to do with the idea that people increasingly distrust politicians. You are seeing the development of warmer, more personal, non-political language (Respondent B). It is certainly a reasonably clear idea that it's not enough just to have the right words. You have to load it down with all the right visual imagery and the right emotional imagery. It's certainly new in [British] politics (Respondent B).

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5.3.4 Media Management, Opposition Research and Freedom of Information The UK ban on broadcast political advertising ensures the primacy of media management. However, the UK press plays much more of a role in criticising the policies and statements made by political parties than its counterpart in the US, which could be a function of the less provincial nature of the press. Table 5.5 shows how the respondents viewed media management in the US and the UK. The media management process is fed, in both countries, through opposition research. However, in the US, the material collected also feeds directly into political advertisements and so rebuttal can occur at two levels. This is explained further: There's a fundamental difference between opposition research where you have to go through the mediation of the press and opposition research that you are able to put on the air in paid advertising (Respondent F).

Table 5.5 Respondents’ Perceived Differences: Media Management Factor Importance of media management

Nature of press Use of opposition research

Aspects investigated in an opposition research exercise

UK (Respondent) emphasis on TV • Less communications, more emphasis on earned media than in the US (Respondent D, Respondent E) • Press mischievous, national, and anarchic (Respondent A) • Labour party conducted rebuttal somewhat using Excalibur (Respondent C) whilst Lib Dems did little of it (Respondent E) • Press performs this task to a degree in the UK (Respondent A) • Opposition research feeds through press in UK (Respondent F) • Limited due to the degree of freedom of information regulation (Respondent C)

US (Respondent) • Press less likely to criticise statements, more likely to occur through rebuttal by other candidates (Respondent F) • Press tamer, local and provincial (Respondent A) • Opposition research feeds into paid advertising in US (Respondent F)



“Incredibly personal” (Respondent B)

Respondent B states that the kind of opposition research conducted in the UK is different compared to in the US: The kind of opposition research they do is incredibly personal. It includes all kinds of material that they couldn't possibly put out but that they can leak out. It is very much more guerrilla activity in the US than it is here. Here, it is much different. It really has taken campaigning a firm step down the warfare, as opposed to the marketing, route. I really can't see that happening here (Respondent B).

One respondent suggests that UK opposition research would not collect the same type of personal information and that this information would not be released in the same way because: People here place a greater emphasis on privacy (Respondent A).

This is evidenced by the lack of a freedom of information bill in the UK (unlike in the US) as Respondent C (see Table 5.5) and Respondent A illustrate: We have much less access to ready information in this country (Respondent A).

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However, the situation (i.e. media management) is in flux. In the US and the UK, the Internet, and media in general, is also impacting upon the business environment. One respondent suggests that this will have a radical impact upon political communication: In a number of European countries the traditional broadcast advertisements aren't working. Eventually, governments will have to wake up to all of this. There is such a diverse media market with the Internet and international satellite broadcasters. In that sense, everything is going to have to change (Respondent C).

5.4 The Concept of Transference The interviews were conducted to examine the differences between US and UK campaigning activity, from a marketing perspective, and to determine the extent to which political marketing expertise could transfer to the UK from the US. A veteran US pollster, and a consultant attached to the 1997 Labour election campaign made the following comments: Well, a lot of this stuff just isn't transferable (Respondent F). The thing that I think is most transferable is not so much the marketing campaign, but from the Clinton campaign, was the notion that the left can be tough-minded, progressive, fast, flexible, they can construct an organisation that can give people confidence in the left's capacity to govern. I think that's what was at the centre of the Clinton model and I think Blair picked up a great deal of that. It's not so much American campaigns as a whole. The Clinton experience, which was not just a campaign prototype, was a type of campaign for the left (Respondent F).

Later in the interview, after picking up the interviewer’s apparent positivity regarding US political consulting techniques, Respondent F stated the following: Well, I'm not an apostle for American … [pause and laughter] I have to be honest, most of the techniques that have been cultivated in the United States are very closely tied to the amount of money that is part of US campaigns and, therefore, make them almost irrelevant to Britain (Respondent F).

There are also differences in the UK that have been transferred over to the US: There was a much bigger emphasis on presentation in the UK, the presentation of results and findings and strategies and ideas in the UK than there was here, that's something that we brought back (Respondent D).

What is clear from these interviews is that political marketing is not developing in isolation in the United States and being transferred slowly to the UK. Political marketing methods are also developing in the UK. Expertise in these two political markets is developing independently and interdependently as the following comment suggests: The Tories sent people out to advise Bush after their victory in '92. So there is a swapping and sharing of ideas. In terms of technology, the US has always been the leader. It is also true that Labour in particular since 1997 have become a model as much as Clinton. The sets of constraints that Labour are facing are a lot closer to other European countries. [For example], Australia and New Zealand, who are definitely coming over and asking to see New Labour, are developing as a world role model every bit as much as Clinton (Respondent B).

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5.5 Conclusion The interview comments reported in this chapter serve to illustrate some of the inherent differences between the way political marketing operates in the US and the UK. Direct marketing methods are clearly used in abundance in the US, for a fund-raising operation that requires significantly more finance to fund the expensive broadcast advertisements that are the mainstay of US political marketing activity. This type of activity, and the expertise necessary to perpetuate it, requires skilled labour and this has resulted in the development of a political consulting industry in the US. Conversely, in the UK, the public service ethos of UK broadcast “political advertising” has resulted in a lower demand for financing and placed greater emphasis on broadcast message diffusion through publicity (earned media) via the broadcast and print press. In the US, opposition research is used to fuel claims made about opponents and to counter claims made by opponents in both the press and in political advertising. In the UK, due to the less frequent nature of the broadcast communication, opposition research feeds into press but has not traditionally fed into party election broadcasts. Similarly, opposition research is much easier to collect in the US since their public sector is subject to freedom of information legislation, which its UK counterpart is not. However, draft legislation is currently under consideration in the UK at the time of writing (2000 AD). The findings of this phase of the research informed the questions and the analysis of the final phase of the research reported in the next chapter, specifically the different forms of campaign organisation, political communication methods and research programmes. Thus, Phase II of the research study has been shown to be important in determining the differences between components of the US and UK campaign management processes. The data collected ensured that UK consultants and party executives were not questioned on inappropriate topics e.g. broadcast political advertising and incongruous legal aspects of campaigning. This ensured that a more appropriate model of the UK campaign management process was developed, informed by appropriate American best practice.

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Chapter Six Results - Phase III: The Development of a Model of UK Political Campaign Management I think voters world-wide have the same aspirations but they have different life experiences, different methods of going about their daily lives (Executive P).

6.1 Introduction The final phase of the research was designed to determine whether or not political marketing techniques used in the US could be (further) utilised in the UK and in what ways. The data were based on interviews with seventeen UK party executives (incorporating Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and New Labour), sub-contracted agency executives and media executives all of whom have played some role in the realisation of campaigning practice, particularly in the 1997 British General Election58. This phase of the research explored the potential for further use of direct marketing methods, the use of opposition research, US fund-raising methods and advertising strategy; all areas where the US political consultant has traditionally been seen to be more advanced. Opinions on news management in terms of the generation of earned media and the production of party election broadcasts were also investigated; areas where the UK differs considerably from the US. The chapter is structured initially so as to consider the different marketing functions and the potential (further) use of “American” methods. Cultural, legal and regulatory, and infrastructural impacts upon the transference of these methods are considered within each marketing function rather than being considered separately. By considering the extent to which US techniques are used in the UK, a model of the UK political marketing process has been developed. This model is based on the deconstruction of the generic UK/USA political marketing planning model shown in Chapter 2 (Figure 2.6) and the US campaign management process model shown in Chapter 4 (Figure 4.1) and reinterpretation for the UK context into one model (Figure 6.2). 6.2 Data Analysis Once again, the data were analysed using NUDIST qualitative analysis software, and the interviews were entered on to the system as full transcripts. The interviews were read thoroughly prior to analysis using NUDIST so that it was possible to determine categories of interest for coding. These categories of interest were coded as free nodes, although some nodes were subsequently removed or placed into other categories that were more closely aligned to the inherent nature of the data. When it came to writing up this phase of the research, a different approach was adopted from that used in Chapter Four, where the data were presented relatively objectively through verbatim quotes, and Chapter Five, where the data were interpreted a little more but generally presented as verbatim quotes. In this chapter, the free nodes generally contained categories of political marketing techniques that could possibly be further used in the UK, based on American practice. There were also a number of free nodes related to cultural and environmental factors affecting the utilisation of US political marketing practice in the UK. When it came to writing up the data, the researcher tried to interpret the data much more and so 58

For a full breakdown of the sample and their occupations, please refer to Section 3.5.2 Sampling and Data Collection Procedures (Phase III).

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the data are presented less as verbatim quotes and more as truncated comments. This interpretivist style is used to further the objective of determining the extent to which US techniques can be used in the UK, in a more conclusive style. Thus, various techniques were considered as to whether they could be further used in the UK, in the light of the cultural and environmental differences. 6.3 Campaign Organisation Although the Phase III respondents were not asked explicitly about campaign organisation, many made comments about the differences between the US and UK election campaign operations. As a result, and because they significantly affect many of the major marketing functions (particularly direct marketing), this important area is considered further here. The organisation of the campaign function is affected principally by the cultural and legislative environment in which UK campaigns operate, as a leading British pollster points out: The Representation of the People Act, the application of constituency regulations, the embargo against political advertising on radio and television, means that we play amateur games [in Britain] by comparison (Executive R).

Executive K suggests that there is an trend towards “increased professionalism” in political campaigning world-wide although as organisations tend to “to straddle the public and the voluntary sector in their characteristics”. He points out that in UK political campaigns, “you may find situations where there is no designated campaign manager. There are endless committees. There are people, all of whom are expected to have their say in approving one ad.; in approving one decision … when you get that, it's a recipe for chaos and disorder and a lack of discipline” (Executive K). By comparison, the Labour party operated a more “centralised” (Executive L, Executive Q) election campaign team although “the politicians were very much in charge” (Executive L). The “endless committees” that Executive K mentions above, are echoed by Executive M, in the following comment: The only thing that's not straight-forward is that there are too many people hanging around the Party with opinions all the time so it's quite difficult compared with a commercial client where there's a simple hierarchy of people who are experienced and take over. In politics, there are a lot of people who aren't experienced (Executive M).

Executive M, an advertising agency man, states that the professionalisation of the Labour party’s campaign function was “very much attached to Peter Mandelson turning up in '85” although “there are, even with Peter, all sorts of voices chipping in” (Executive M). Executive K suggests that “it is a general characteristic of parties that they are not particularly well-organised”. However, he praises the 1997 Labour election campaign team, which he states was “run very much on private sector lines, [since] everyone knew who was in charge [and] small groups of people took decisions at the right time and communicated effectively”(Executive K). It could be argued that American political campaigns adopt a more entrepreneurial model of organisation, whilst British campaigns adopt a more bureaucratic form of organisation59. Executive Q discusses, after prompting, the suggestion that UK constituency parties operate in much the same way as 59

See Mintzberg, H. (1991) for further discussion of the concept of different types of organisational structure.

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commercial franchise operations: “the franchise is a good metaphor for it”. Conversely in the US, and in keeping with the concept of a more entrepreneurial model of political campaigning, “people are making their own advertisements, doing their own sloganeering and their own thing” (Executive Q). Campaign operation in the US probably acts more like licensed operations, since the national parties have little power over individual candidates, but benefit from the association with the Democratic and Republican parties. Executive K suggests that the main functions, which he defines in terms of people, required by a British political party’s campaign team are: “someone there in charge of policy, someone in charge of communications, someone in charge of campaigning around the country … and someone in charge of research, to tell you how well you're doing”. In the UK, however, many of these functions are performed by party executives whilst in the US they would be performed by sub-contracted consultants. In the US, pollsters advise on strategy development, whilst in the UK pollsters have never had, nor wanted, that function (Executive Q). More recently, the Labour party has adopted the American approach of using a pollster as a key advisor on strategy (mainly considering message development), which Executive Q states impacted positively on the process: We had a fairly limited reporting structure in '97 - which seemed to work very well because Stan [Greenberg] was effectively running the process. Someone was reporting to Stan and they would then bring it all together and go off with it, so it was a centralised process throughout (Executive Q).

The British political parties have commissioned advertising agencies and external operators for advertising strategy development for some time, (e.g. more recently in electoral history, Thatcher famously employed Saatchi and Saatchi for the 1979 British General Election). However, the use of agencies for fund-raising and direct marketing has only recently occurred in British politics. The principle function of direct marketing methods used by the central party operations in the UK is for fund-raising purposes whilst constituency offices send out direct mail for voter persuasion (Executive D). In the UK, more recently, political parties have started to use agencies to handle some of their direct mail on a trial basis. Executive K, a former Tory campaign manager, argues that this has been successful (presumably for fund-raising purposes): Direct mail, I think, is being used increasingly well by parties. We know that some of the Tory fund-raising direct mail, in the last election, was some of the most effective work that the party has ever done in terms of actual results delivered ... The parties are hiring professional, direct mail specialists to do that (Executive K).

Executive B states that direct marketing successfully increased the Labour party’s membership base from 350,000 to 400,000 at the last general election although “the Tories were not particularly successful”(Executive B). Executive B, the chairman of a London direct marketing agency, goes on to suggest that the preoccupation with using direct mail for fund-raising purposes is because parties “can cover [their] costs and still come out with a profit”. He believes that the parties should subsidise the direct marketing agency’s costs rather than expecting them to return a profit with every mailout. 154

This linkage between the central party and the constituency parties has been at the root of the inefficiency of direct marketing (principally mail) operations in the UK. In the Conservative Party, the issue of how to structure the direct marketing function has been at the core of their operational problems for a number of years, as one party direct mail executive explains: Prior to the reforms, political direct mail was managed by the campaigning department and there was the fund-raising direct mail which was managed by the fund-raising department. Now, what happens is that the only direct mail that is taking place is fund-raising which is being dealt with by membership and marketing (Executive D).

The problem of outsourcing the direct marketing component of the campaign’s activity is further illustrated by a Liberal Democrat campaign executive, who suggests, at different points of the interview, that outsourcing both mail and telephone activity would be problematic: I don't think [agencies] would sustain you for very long. We've done enough market testing ourselves to know that if you have no idea who the Liberal Democrats are to begin with, you don't generally make money out of the direct mailshot and we, of course, do the mail by hand delivery. They would be doing it through postage, the Royal Mail, and that would make their costs much greater than ours. Working on experience, I don't think it would be a profitable exercise (Executive O). The Liberal Democrats tend not to have the resources to pay for the phone banks to be installed anywhere but still have younger volunteers who are willing to go knocking on doors, face-to-face(Executive O).

One senior party executive argues that fund-raising should not be sub-contracted to agencies on a commission basis on moral grounds arguing that people work for the Labour party “because they love it”(Executive E). A direct marketing executive from the same party, suggests that agencies are useful when the party does not have sufficient capacity to cope with “a lot of calls in a short space of time” (Executive C). Executive B adds to this debate suggesting that “throughout the world, [political organisations] manage their fund-raising and membership on a franchised basis” and that that this causes problems over who controls the message and its dissemination. He argues that sub-contracting to an outside agency can only compound this problem. The concept of co-ordinated fund-raising being like a franchised operation (as far as the control of operations is concerned) in the UK is appropriate (and has been discussed earlier in this section) since the constituency parties pay the national parties where they can. Sub-contracting marketing functions may increase slowly as parties learn to work with and trust the agencies employed, and as the agencies concerned gain experience. Executive C argues that it is difficult for political parties to agree on the message that is deployed by direct marketing agencies as the target audience may misconstrue the copy. This is “because the direct marketing agencies that we've got don't have that political nous, because they are not in the political arena, whereas, in America they are more” (Executive C).

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6.3.1 Research and Message Development The interviews held with UK respondents were intended to determine how political party research was designed and for what uses. The relevant respondents were questioned on the use of polling, focus groups and dial groups to determine whether there was a difference in the way UK political parties were using and commissioning research compared to their US counterparts. The respondents were also questioned on the link between polling information and the message development process, and the use of dial groups for testing voter reactions to political advertisements. In the US, political campaign organisations tend to spend considerable sums of money on research because of its greater input to the message development process. Labour, however, used an American pollster for the 1997 British General Election campaign to conduct the research operation and provide strategic advice to the leadership of the party, “with some degree of success” (Executive Q). The importance of the research function and its link to the development of the political message should not be underestimated. One party research director suggests that “strategy is the extraction from the research and the message development is part of the strategy”(Executive N). Executive Q suggests that the Americans are “obsessed” by polling because they wish to know their current share of the vote (in terms of voting intention data - “the horserace”). British political parties are not able to do that because they are constrained by the constituency spending ceilings, which might be breached if research was commissioned (Executive Q). In any case, as Executive P points out, “what’s the point of spending loads of money on polling if we can’t tell voters what we have found out from the polls?”; suggesting that British political party funding is seriously limited. Nevertheless, although American political campaign organisations commission more polling, they tend to use smaller sample sizes, which Executive P suggests makes them “unreliable”. Executive Q discusses the use of quantitative polling in developing message statements that are tested on groups of voters by the pollsters, as a suggestion and practice that arose out of Labour’s liaison with the US political consultancy group, Mellman Lazarus. When testing the messages, the pollster anonymises the statements so that the voter supposedly does not know to which party the statement is attributed and, arguably, picks the party with the best statements. Executive Q is less than impressed with this method of message development: “I am very dubious of whether some of the American stuff would work here and whether it actually works in America” (Executive Q). However, even if this exercise did provide the party with a picture of what policies and statements would be most popular with which groups, Executive O would dispute its morality in British politics: Use of market research to guide government … I think there's a thin line between guiding government about what people think they want, to make it more democratic, and simply saying this is what they want, and then giving them it. I think our present government has gone very much into this, instead of fighting for some of the things that need to be done for the country (Executive O).

Principally, it would seem that political parties use polling and quantitative information for developing their “product” (i.e. their message). They do not research into other areas of the marketing mix such as promotion (e.g. are messages received by young people at the cinema likely to be more effective than when the same person is watching a party election broadcast?), distribution (e.g. determining the best method to distribute election 156

manifestos) and price (e.g. how likely voters are to actually go out and vote based on different policies). Executive Q states this point in connection with the promotion element of the marketing mix: You can use the research to drive your media strategy but I don't think people are actually saying, "well if you changed from cinema advertising to newspapers, what would have happened?" I suspect they are probably doing that in the States but whether it's being done as well here, I don't know (Executive Q).

With regards to the effectiveness of media placement, Executive Q suggests that research is not conducted into this area because in the UK, for instance, with billboard advertising, “there is less flexibility of changing around the pattern of spend”. However, Executive P, a Labour party campaign executive, states that billboard advertising is tested “both at concept stage and after the posters have been put up”. He later reveals that “in all honesty, we don’t put a lot of spend into it” (Executive P). Executive K, a former Tory campaign manager, states that billboard advertisements are probably the best form of political media, since the complex political message has to be reduced to around three words (presumably alluding to the “Labour’s not working” advertisement that ran in the 1979 British General Election campaign). Executive P states that, because British parties are conducting their advertising through “one-off” newspaper and billboard advertising, focus groups are more appropriate for testing these messages than the US dial-group method. He also suggests that focus groups are more appropriate for testing broadcast advertising, as in the US. There is also the hint, although this was not explicitly explored that, because the advertising was “one-off” and less voluminous, the research was less valuable. However, the opposite is true, since because there are fewer opportunities to communicate to the public, it could be argued that it is important to get it right first time. Determining what message is going to be used by the parties and communicated to the voters is, however, not a simple process. In the UK, probably because of the greater reliance on the development of policies rather than simple message statements as in the US, political parties tend to commission a great deal of qualitative research in the form of focus groups. These help in developing the language that should be used when communicating with voters (Executive N, Executive R) and in message testing (Executive O) although they “should be used in moderation and not inhaled” (Executive R). US political consultants have adapted their focus groups, however, by making them larger and by fixing respondents up to machinery that allows them to register their reactions to political advertising. They call these groups “dial groups” and refer to the process as “people-metering”. This practice has not really started to occur in the same way in the UK, at least not for the Conservative Party (at the time of data collection): The PEB’s [party election broadcasts] have intended to be part of the political strategy, heavily informed by research. We have on occasion, in recent years, done testing in advance but usually not (Executive N).

One UK pollster states that people-metering “only ever really works in a non-regulated commercial environment where you can buy as many advertisements as you want and then there is so much scope. I think we might see a bit more done but it would need the party itself to change the whole culture of making TV. They would have to turn it out fast, cheap and cheerful” (Executive Q). However, the alternative viewpoint could be taken in this context; that since party election broadcasts and other forms of political advertising 157

actually lead the news agenda, and because there are so few opportunities for advertising, then research into their effectiveness both before and after their placement is critical. UK political parties use dial groups to determine “the way our politicians come across when they are speaking in parliament or on the news” (Executive N). Executive R also argues that people-metering should be used for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of speeches: If I were the party leader, I would have 4 to 5 set speeches and I would not go on with them until I had done them live to a people-metered audience (Executive R).

The use of research for message development should provide not only details of the target group, but also an indication of which message is most likely to resonate with them. Executive M describes how Labour were targeting Conservative voters who were considering switching to Labour and who had become disillusioned prior to the 1997 British General Election. He states that this was because of “surreptitious tax increases” introduced by the Conservatives and once the electorate started to realise this (presumably determined through both qualitative and quantitative research), the Labour campaign team started to attach the blame to John Major (Executive M). The most important lesson learnt by Labour party campaigners is message discipline, and “communicating that [same] message by different forms to voters” (Executive P). Another sub-contracted advertising executive echoes this comment, suggesting that “the first contribution of advertising to political campaigning is discipline”(Executive M). Executive K states that advertising’s function is to “lead the media agenda rather than delivering actual messages” (Executive K) and provides the example of the “tax bombshell” campaign that the media subsequently developed themselves: I know that the budget was very low and hardly anybody saw the advertising. The impact of that advertising was to set the media agenda so that every front page, every news bulletin led on tax and simply by raising that issue, on which we knew we had a strong lead, we therefore transferred that into political gain (Executive K).

He states that the aim of advertising “is not to persuade people that you are better or worse than your opponent on a particular issue, it should be to take an issue where [the electorate] already believe you to be better and simply persuade them that its important” (Executive K). One respondent cites the ‘tax bombshell’ campaign, suggesting that is what “Saatchi has been absolutely excellent at, using advertising in a way which spins on” (Executive M). Having the media report on a party’s posters and party election broadcasts is exceedingly difficult, however, as one respondent explains: We get sick of the messages ourselves. The media do as well but it is only at the point that we, and the media, are sick of the messages that the electorate begin to take them in (Executive J).

British political parties’ limited communication budgets ensure the need to tie in their advertising strategy with their development of publicity through news management. There is a requirement for a coherent and integrated communication strategy since “in order to stand out, you need to focus very clearly on one message and so the first point is that they should all work together” (Executive K). A Conservative Party direct mail executive also suggests that parties might wish to commission an integrated marketing 158

communications agency to develop this further (Executive D). However, outsourcing any communication activity ensures that control over the message and techniques may pass to the external agency (Executive B) rather than being retained by the “hierarchy of the party” (Executive D). The message is further diluted in the UK, by the constituency associations that send out their own direct mail. The difficulty is ensuring that they stay “on-message” (Executive A). In the end, however, research still provides an historical viewpoint in that voter attitudes and opinions are usually collected in a vacuum that neglects the impact of subsequent news items, advertising communications and the voters’ social setting. As Executive R, a former Labour Party pollster, states: There is a quote in one book that says “why would we hire a market researcher to find out what happened last year and why? What we need to know is what's going to happen in the future and how?” He's quite right. Research isn't fortune-telling. I can't do that (Executive R).

6.3.2 Political Advertising and Party Election Broadcasting In the UK, since broadcast political advertising is illegal, political parties communicate principally through the press, radio and television news programmes. Their ability to communicate with the electorate tends to occur through billboard and press advertising, and through free placement of broadcasts on the major terrestrial television networks (a procedure that is written into the constitution of the BBC and the licences associated with ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5). Interviews with advertising agency personnel attached to UK political parties, with party campaign directors, and with the regulators of political broadcasting explored the possibilities of reformatting party election broadcasts and the role of advertising in a UK election campaign. The expenditure on advertising is much less in the UK compared to the US, although there is a feeling that it is still too high. Such a point of view may be unfounded since the expenditure is relatively low compared to “other advertising that is out there” (Executive K). Both a Conservative Party campaign executive, and an agency executive attached to the Labour campaign, has stated that their advertising expenditure at the last general election was ill-spent: Almost half of the 28 [million pounds sterling] went direct to Saatchi's … with wisdom, [we] would never again set aside money approaching that much ... we would put an awful lot more money on staff instead of advertising (Executive N). I think immense sums were wasted at the last election, if the truth be known (Executive M).

The point raised, and considered in more detail60, is whether or not a political party should outsource its communication activity. Executive N suggests that doing so is expensive and, perhaps, not cost effective, although he does not explicitly say this, whereas Executive M does. The consideration of whether or not to commission advertising agencies or do one’s own work in-house is not restricted to political advertising. One respondent states that despite the costs, advertising agencies are still the better option:

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See Section 6.3 Campaign Organisation

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Why can't you have playwrights or artists or poets writing ads? … the reason that doesn't happen and that you are best with an agency is because it is more efficient (Executive K).

A senior advertising agency executive, suggests that the current party election broadcast format leaves parties in difficulties because they are unable to find the expertise to produce the broadcasts; “Five minutes is too long for an advertising agency and too short for a playwright” (Executive M). Before one can determine how to use advertising it is important to determine what its role actually is. In the US, broadcast political advertising has a more persuasive and awareness-raising role. American campaign organisations commission media agencies to produce and place their advertisements on different television networks including terrestrial, satellite and cable. Because of the lack of ceilings on expenditure they can effectively spend as much as they can raise, and because they can raise a high degree of capital (due to a stronger cultural imperative of political donation), their expenditure on broadcast communication is considerable. The bans on political advertising and constituency spending ensure a much lower degree of paid communication in the UK. This effects the primacy of the news management function for British political parties. The short, official, campaign period in the UK ensures that advertising has little real chance of persuasion. It could, perhaps, “confirm the prejudices of people who already believe whatever the message is” (Executive K) and “lead the media agenda” (Executive K, Executive M). Thus, “all the papers and the news bulletins and the radio … are dominated by an issue on which you have a lead” (Executive K). One senior agency executive, reflecting on the role of advertising, becomes wearisome about this topic as the following comment illustrates: You get these people who write books on theories [of advertising] and how it works, but all my commercial experience over the years is that the solution arrives out of the job to be done in the circumstances and, so, in each of the last three elections that I worked in, the role was entirely different in each of them (Executive M).

He does go on to suggest that the role of advertising in the 1987 British General Election for the Labour campaign was to “move around” (confuse) the media agenda because Labour Party policies were unpopular. Whereas, in the 1992 British General Election, the Tories were trying to lead the media agenda, and did so successfully, with their “tax bombshell” campaign (Executive K)61. The ban on broadcast political advertising in the UK ensures that political parties use more billboard and press advertising which is seldom bought in senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential US political campaigns. These forms of communication are static and make the message development process more difficult and simplistic: “It's much harder trying to communicate a complex message in three words than it is in three thousand words”(Executive K). Executive M believes that despite this “the trend to use less and less press will continue and more and more posters” (Executive M). Interestingly, the ban on broadcast advertising does not stretch to cinema advertising, perhaps because the medium is less intrusive than television advertising in that the 61

See Section 6.3.1 Research and Message Development.

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advertising messages only occur at the start of the film. Despite this, parties seem uninterested in using the medium. Executive K suggests this is because of their cost: It comes up in every discussion, at every election. Let's do a cinema ad., let's target young people and it always just drops off the end of the list because of budget restraints (Executive K).

In line with other not-for-profit organisations such as charities, political parties also use direct mail for communicating their messages. One Tory executive suggests that this area should become a “priority” over other forms of advertising (Executive N), whilst another former Tory suggests that a recent (1999 European election) direct mail exercise was the most successful marketing communication exercise ever undertaken (Executive K)62. The restrictions facing broadcast political communication in the UK are considerable for political parties, ensuring that their content is largely unviewed and their format unpopular. One party’s research director makes this point of view explicitly: We have a view that everyone else has, that party election broadcasts are as boring as hell and people rush to the kitchens when they are on (Executive N).

The hybrid format of party election broadcasts (i.e. their mixture of party advertising and communication, and public service ethos) is enshrined in the following comment parodying their nature rather well: I'm very keen to get out of these ghettos of party political broadcasts and get into thirty-second spots and have them allocated in the same way that broadcasts are and let politicians get directly to the population. I mean how would Heinz like it, if they were only allowed to advertise in a programmette which is preceded by a statement saying that “there now follows a statement from the Heinz company” and that was scheduled in your newspaper so that you were warned not to watch it! (Executive M).

Legal authority over the editorial process for party election broadcasts, under the 1990 Broadcasting Act, has “passed definitively to the broadcasters” (Executive F) and they must inform the parties how many they are going to receive and provide a choice of slots (Executive G). However, “there is some confusion over whether political parties need to comply with everything that’s in the programme code” (Executive F) concerning accuracy, taste and decency. Executive F goes on to suggest that whilst it is difficult to ensure accuracy, because of the nature of politics, they must adhere to the guidelines on taste and decency. The issue of authority over election broadcasts is encapsulated in the following comment by a BBC political advisor: Party political broadcasting … is supposed to be a service to the public, not a service for the parties. I think that is the crucial difference. The parties see it as something that is theirs … We see that as a public service but our duty is to our audience not to the political parties (Executive G).

A satellite media executive suggests that parties should be lobbying government to ensure that the satellite and cable industries are also covered by the Broadcasting Act (Executive I), to reach a greater audience. He states that this is important because of the increasingly “fractionating, multi-media environment” which means that voters have more channel choices either through the TV or the Internet. This, he argues, has been the 62

See Section 6.3.4 Direct Marketing and Fund-raising.

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case with America for a long time (Executive P). Encompassing the cable and satellite industries in this legislation would probably “provoke a huge row” (Executive F) since this “is completely out of kilter with anything else they are subject to”. Consequently, this might force parties to broadcast from outside Britain, especially if the Independent Television Commission were to impose their authority on the broadcast of “moving pictures” on the Internet (Executive F). These restrictions on party election broadcasts, and the public service ethos in which they operate, has effectively ensured the regulation of their content. Although the theoretical limit on duration for a party election broadcast is ten minutes, the larger UK parties have been producing broadcasts of under five minutes (Executive F), and have still stuck with a “hybrid format despite using professional advertisers” (Executive I). The Labour Party broadcast, at the last general election, was designed using the American concept of thirty second spots, with five spliced back-to-back in what Executive F refers to as a “Labour ad. break” (Executive F). One opposition media executive suggests, however, that “they went too far down the [route of] superficial American spots” (Executive J). The Labour Party “were very keen on this idea of having lots of 30 second slots … in the middle of popular programmes, either side of EastEnders [and] Coronation Street” (Executive G). All parties were said to be keen to produce material which would “walk like political advertising, talk like political advertising, it’s just that they wouldn’t have to pay for it” (Executive F). When it was suggested to broadcasters that British parties be allowed to broadcast with a greater number of 30-second broadcasts as opposed to a smaller number of 2 minute 30 broadcasts, the broadcasters regarded the suggest with distaste. This is despite the obvious benefits in making political information more accessible to the electorate. The following quote demonstrates this more clearly: We think the political parties cannot have it both ways. They can't say we don't want political advertising, we don't want to go with the American model and then want to go with the American model for free (Executive G).

The difference in the UK, compared with the US, is the taste and decency requirements for political broadcasts outlined in the Independent Television Commission programme code and the British Broadcasting Corporation licence which ensure that political parties cannot make detrimental statements about their opponents. However, there is some confusion about this: “they are violently rude about the personality and personal behaviour of their opponents in the United States which, I think, is illegal here. If it's not illegal, it is generally felt that it will backfire on you”(Executive M). There is still a “market for broadcasts which [take] the electorate seriously” and “present a proper argument rather than a commercial” (Executive J). A former Tory campaign manager suggests that the time frame for presenting such an advertisement is two and a half minutes as “that's just long enough to get over what is often quite a complex argument but not so short that you are reduced to simply uttering slogans” (Executive K). Executive J suggests that “there might be some scope for developing a kind of drama”, although the Tories tried this at the last election with their “Chris and Debbie” advertisements which was “quite an interesting development”(Executive I). Nevertheless, even adopting the style of the more “positive” US advertisements could potentially cause problems as one respondent outlines quite vociferously:

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It's just the taste of the population. We don't do schmaltzy ads here … because the British don't like schmaltzy crap but the Americans love “dawn over America”, “Apple Pie” and all that rubbish (Executive M).

During the 1998 European elections, the Liberal Democrats adopted a news format style (Executive J) because voters trust the news more (Executive J, Executive K). Adopting this format allowed them to produce party election broadcasts to a formula. This was imperative because, otherwise, the cost of producing a large number of broadcasts would have been prohibitive: Altogether, I have made 32 party political election broadcasts this year, some of them were substantially the same, radio versions, television versions, a version in Welsh, version in English, and so on. Now that is a hell of a lot for a party which has pretty meagre resources so we had to find a format that didn't test our imagination beyond the limits. It meant we had to have a formula (Executive J).

The high cost of producing broadcasts (Executive K), and the limited funds associated with political parties, has stopped them from producing different broadcasts for different channels. This is despite the fact that “they are free to do so” (Executive F) and could produce broadcasts to target the viewers of particular channels more effectively through geo-demographic and lifestyle segmentation. This opportunity would be further enhanced were cable and satellite channels also enshrined under the Broadcasting Act as it relates to political broadcasting. 6.3.3 News Management and Opposition Research In the US, opposition research represents one of the newer political consulting techniques. Whilst it has been ever present, as politicians have tried to illustrate the faltering foundations of one another’s arguments, it is only recently that computerised databases - in conjunction with teams of researchers - have been deployed to deconstruct and monitor the oppositions’ policies and statements. Discussions centred around whether or not opposition research could be used further in the UK and the way in which it is currently used by UK political parties, in connection with the news management function that so dominates UK political campaign activity in contrast to their US counterparts. Executive P suggests that opposition research is “good for democracy” because it allows parties to inform the electorate about the weaknesses of other parties. However, another respondent suggests that making charges of hypocrisy against other parties is not always effective: “we have found that people do not care too much [if] someone said [something] last week and then changed his mind. Politicians have to be prepared to change their minds” (Executive N). Opposition research can, however, still be used effectively in the UK although one senior campaign consultant suggests that “we are not doing it in the same systematic way that they are in the States but we are not ignoring it. It comes down to resources and we have to do so much more with so much less money” (Executive P). Executive I states that opposition research is useful in the US. However, it is not so useful in the UK. This because it allows parties “to turn quotes against your opponent [which] is clearly an effective way of winning an argument in a debating context but as you know, we don't really have that kind of debate and personal confrontation culture”(Executive I). US consultants rely on opposition research for material to inform 163

and introduce into political advertisements. At the same time, because political advertising in the US can be made relatively cheaply, political dialogue has developed as one party designs its advertisements to counter their opponent’s attacks in previous advertisements. Similarly, because America is more media-based, “information has to be so much sharper, quicker, [more] competitive, punchy [compared to the UK]”(Executive P), whilst further use of opposition research is hindered by stronger defamation laws in Britain compared with the US (Executive L). In the UK, opposition research has tended to be used as “ammunition for Prime Minister’s Question Time” (Executive H) where the debating scenario, that Executive I suggests is necessary for it to be effective, is more apparent and where politicians are protected by parliamentary privilege63. Further use of opposition research in the UK has been hampered by the fact that MPs in the UK are “whipped” (Executive L, Executive J) and, as a result, the media knows the position of MPs on particular issues anyway (Executive H). “Of course Tory MP's voted in favour of the Poll Tax, they all did, there was not much point in attacking any individual Tory so you just attack the Tory party” (Executive L). He suggests that opposition research can be used to determine when a party shifts to a diametricallyopposed policy position, as the SNP did with secrecy over foreign donations. It will, Executive I suggests, be used to a greater extent in the London Mayoral election in May 2000 when the media are focusing more on the personalities of the candidates. Executive L states that an opposition research function was introduced into the Labour Party around January 1996, just prior to the general election and that their first task was “to compile a database on every Tory candidate in the country” (Executive L). This task was facilitated when a media monitoring unit at Millbank was set-up later “to look at … what was being said in the regional papers … and every piece that came out of local Conservative parties and candidates and various right wing journals”. Nevertheless, the emphasis was still on the press officers knowing where to gather the material from (Executive L). Executive N talks of opposition research providing “quite useful material” into the story that subsequently hit the headlines as “Labour’s rotten boroughs”. He also discusses the Conservative attack on Labour’s 89 election pledges, the Labour rebuttal two hours later, and the Conservative “rebuttal about their rebuttal”. He disputes the impact upon the media and suggests “it was a quite a little chess game for all of us but for the effort that went into it, it had absolutely no impact … on the journalists that I spoke to in the press” (Executive N). This rebuttal episode was “the defining moment of the whole near term campaign … we just blew the legs off their campaign on that one” (Executive L). The Conservatives, however, should have kept up their attacks: “if there had been four or five things like that it would have been pretty hard going for us” (Executive L). The organisation of rebuttal teams seems to have posed problems for the parties. The Tories were “outgunned” having only three rebuttal staff to Labour’s eight (Executive N) whilst the Liberal Democrats had one full-time person during the 1997 British General 63

In the UK, members of parliament are protected from defamation law whilst speaking in the House of Commons. This “parliamentary privilege” is intended to ensure that matters of legitimate concern can be raised without fear of legal repercussions.

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Election but she left and had not been replaced for the 1999 European election (Executive J). Executive I casts doubt on the Tories’ ability to manage their own effective rebuttal function, suggesting they have neither the resources nor the “straightforward human capability”. He stresses that the research function, despite its computerised nature, requires “a 100% brain-hand transmission between the politicians and their press officers”. He praises David Hill and Alastair Campbell, from the Labour Party, who both had the confidence to make statements knowing that what they said would reflect their party’s policy (Executive I). Executive L talks of visiting opposition press conferences himself to see if “there were any subtleties that we would pick up by being in the room”, and Danny Finkelstein’s shock (the Conservative Policy Director) on discovering that their press conferences were being attended by Labour’s press officers. The competitive nature of opposition research, and the dialogue it forces into politics, could have repercussions in the sense that it might generate a more negative style of campaigning, a fear expounded by one party’s senior media executive: I would be sorry if we got into the totally negative sort of stuff that they do in the States ... It's a fertile area but we don't want to go down into the gutter (Executive J).

Broadcasters are also subject to regulation of their news output, which significantly affects British political parties. Executive G argues that because of the history of the development of the UK television industry, the BBC editorialising ethic “has now been enshrined in legislation which covers everyone, cable, Sky, the lot” whilst in the US “they can do what they like” (Executive G). This makes it even harder for UK political parties to get across their messages vis-à-vis their US counterparts. However, because of the rules of fairness of coverage, “quite a lot of effort is put into monitoring and trying to pressurise the broadcasters” into covering new items (Executive N). During election time, however, the fairness rule (incorporating Section 93 of the Representation of the People Act) states that “if any candidate is to take part deliberately in some programme or item about the campaign in a particular constituency, [then] all the others have to be given the right to appear and if one of them doesn't want to appear then they can veto it for all the others”. However, this has been suspended for the 1999 European election, and the Scottish and Welsh elections, because of the size of the constituencies under proportional representation (Executive F). The ruling party has an enormous incumbency advantage in terms of media coverage as “if the government makes a policy statement that is news which is of direct value itself, which suggests that it is going to become law, so it is reported because it is going to make a difference to the lives of ordinary citizens” (Executive I). This is explained more clearly and succinctly in the following statement: To be brutally honest, if there is a major economic story, if I don't get the Chancellor on, then I'm in trouble. If the shadow Chancellor does not go on, he's in trouble (Executive I).

This poses particular problems for third parties such as the Liberal Democrats. The key, according to one party campaign executive, is “to have something that plays into the government's agenda and either undercuts what the government is doing or comes up

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with very telling criticisms” (Executive J). This approach is not always appreciated as one media executive points out: The Liberal Democrats and the other parties are quite shamelessly opportunistic. They will sell and try to launch a policy initiative in a vacuum, they will do it off the back of what they know the government is doing (Executive I).

In order to ensure coverage of a particular party’s stories, the suggestion was put forward that parties should target selected journalists. Executive I disputes the efficacy of targeting journalists when “disseminating their basic message” suggesting that in not doing this, the Labour Party “set the inklings of interest beyond their immediate constituency” (Executive I) and so gained electoral support. He goes on to suggest that in television journalism “fear of not getting a scoop outweighs the satisfaction of getting one”. Another broadcast journalist suggests that not targeting particular journalists with special interests is one reason why press releases “end up in the bin” (Executive H). Another party broadcasting officer suggests that “firing things out” sometimes worked very well but, in hindsight, he would have targeted individual journalists much more (Executive L). Working out how to portray a story and trying to ensure its coverage “is a question of trying to fashion an approach through the media in a more creative lifestyle sort of way”. So, an educational story might go through the educational correspondent rather than the political correspondent (Executive N), and if this causes “turf wars” within the media organisation, “then that’s their problem”(Executive H). In the US, the different editorial policies operating ensure more flexibility in the preparation of material by political organisations for broadcast by media organisations. Sending audio-tape press releases (‘radio actualities’) into radio news stations is common practice. When this was suggested to a BBC political advisor, it was instantly denounced: We don't broadcast undiluted press releases. Everything that goes out has to go through our own editorial process. There is no way we would accept an audio press release (Executive G).

This stance was clearly understood by one former party campaign director who placed such a practice in context in outlining a recent case: For a while it was very fashionable to talk about videos and news releases and to make it easier for the broadcasters you would send in a broadcast quality tape. Greenpeace used this very effectively in the Brent Spar [episode]. The broadcasters have real issues with this now because they realise they're being … used. I think it is very unlikely that they would use that. If they do in the States, then that reflects the different policies of the broadcasters (Executive K).

The increasingly “fractionating, multi-media environment” that now operates in the UK requires skilled professional political communication staff who, according to Executive I, “should be welcomed” (Executive I). This has created a drain of expertise from press and broadcast media organisations to the political parties as they battle increasingly to control the media agenda. These “poachers turned gamekeepers” (Executive I) are particularly useful because when they were questioned by the press or broadcast media, they “just knew what the line was” (Executive L).

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6.3.4 Direct Marketing and Fund-raising From the American phase of the research, it was clear that the fund-raising and direct mail functions associated with political campaigns tended to be sub-contracted to external agencies more so than in the UK. Fund-raising also tended to occur more through telephone solicitation in the US and direct mail was used in the US for both voter persuasion and for fund-raising purposes, and tended to be more emotive. In the UK, the national parties have traditionally used direct mail more for fund-raising purposes rather than voter persuasion. The interviews with the UK respondents centred on these issues and whether or not the UK parties could adopt US practice. The debate surrounding sub-contracted agencies is discussed in the section on campaign organisation (see Section 6.3), whilst this section focuses principally on the methods (e.g. telephone and direct mail) and the reasons (e.g. voter persuasion or fund-raising) for which they are used. Perhaps, the most enlightening comment regarding the differences between the UK and the US is made by a Labour Party election campaign executive who states that “In America, they go about [campaigning] in a very systematic way and we haven't yet got to that sophistication. It comes down to resources and we have to do so much more with so much less money” (Executive P). Thus, the fund-raising function is central to the whole ethos of US campaigning since they need the finance to run the campaign (and pay for the television advertisements, which usually represent the most significant cost in a US campaign). With the benefits-in-kind that British political parties receive64, there is less of a need for such sizeable amounts of finance as their US counterparts. The problem is further compounded in the UK since the culture of giving money to support political causes is less apparent than it is in the US. Determining how to persuade UK voters to give has caused parties considerable problems, particularly outside of election time. The fund-raising director of one party suggests that there is “usually no benefit” in giving to political parties (Executive E). However, whilst the need for money to fund British political parties is relatively less compared to US campaign committees, it is still necessary for UK parties to raise significant sums of money. This has placed considerable pressure on parties to find ‘high value’ donors (which is not allowed under US campaign law in many election campaigns). One party’s director of fund-raising states that this area is “relatively new”, although this is debatable since UK politicians were selling knighthoods and lordships prior to the 1920’s for exactly the same purpose but under a different guise. Money dispensed then was considered to be high-value, although the link to political honours was much more pronounced then than it is now65. There were apparently four £1 million donors to the Labour Party at the last general election (Executive E); comprising over ten per cent of their campaign expenditure. Increasing attention is also being paid to the commercial aspects of political parties’ operations:

64

Essentially, one free election address to every elector, the use of public facilities (e.g. schools) for the holding of meetings, and free broadcasting time for party broadcasts. 65 The Political Honours Scrutiny Committee exists to oversee that honours are not simply provided to “high-value” party donors.

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On the commercial marketing side, it has really grown up over a number of years … our political conference each year is the largest in Europe and our exhibition there makes over a million pounds [sterling] (Executive E).

The development of commercial relationships with organisations, especially for lobbying purposes, has caused controversy in the UK, unlike in the US where political action committees are specifically designed to filter commercial money through to political parties. When a British charitable subsidiary (the Political Animal Lobby) of an American based charity (and political action committee) - the International Fund for Animal Welfare - gave money (reports of £1m) to the Labour Party, the media outrage was so vociferous that the Labour Party returned the money (Executive E). Political parties have furthered this relationship with charities and commercial organisations (for lobbying purposes) in the UK by hiring out exhibition stand space at their party conferences. Nevertheless, British political parties do take advantage of a high degree of voluntary support, in the same way that charities do. One Labour Party campaign executive argues that voluntary support gives British political parties an advantage over their US counterparts: “we have 400 thousand members many of whom are willing to stuff envelopes and deliver to doors and that cuts down on the cost of doing that mechanically and paying the postage” (Executive P). Executive E suggests that fund-raising should not be sub-contracted to agencies on a commission basis on moral grounds, arguing that people work for the Labour Party “because they love it”. However, Executive C, a direct marketing executive from the same party, suggests that agencies are useful when the party does not have sufficient capacity to cope with “a lot of calls in a short space of time”. It is difficult for political parties to agree on the message that is deployed by subcontracted agencies as the target audience may misconstrue the copy. This is “because the direct marketing agencies that we've got don't have that political nous, because they are not in the political arena, whereas, in America they are more” (Executive C). The style of the copy used in direct mail in the US is also “louder and brasher and more explicit and nasty” and would not be appropriate in the UK (Executive B). One argument is that this is because of the greater interest in the US in single issues, such as abortion or gun control (Executive B). Nevertheless, significant opportunities exist for co-ordinating and integrating all political marketing communications: Most advertising agencies now deal with direct marketing as it's now seen as just another form of abovethe-line marketing. Most agencies are integrated anyway, so that is a route a party may go down” (Executive D).

Aggressive use of the telephone for fund-raising purposes is a technique that American political consultants employ with a high degree of success. However, this has not translated well into British campaigning culture. When American fund-raising consultants were used by the Labour Party prior to the 1997 British General Election, Executive C suggests that the public “hated it” and, Executive E, from the same party, states that it was “an absolute disaster”. In the US, this aggressive fund-raising is often used by sub-contracted fund-raising consultants who develop lists of potential donors based on personal information provided by the candidate. Executive E suggests that adopting this style of fund-raising might cause problems in the UK; 168

The British are not ready for [telephone solicitation] ... I can't believe how few people we have who are not paid staff who would ask for money … I don't think even I would feel comfortable going through somebody else's wedding list (Executive E).

However, the telephone is being used more and more by the national UK political parties for voter identification purposes, since this then allows direct mail to be better targeted, a practice developed in the US. Executive C suggests that these data can be incorporated with lifestyle information. However, he disputes that copying US techniques was particular to UK political campaigning. Voter-ID [identification] and telephone work originated in the States and so, to that extent, yes, we followed America. But no more than any other marketing discipline. Outbound telephone calling is employed by a huge range of industries and we just happen to be one of them. So it's not just Americanisation of politics, it's Americanisation of marketing (Executive C).

Use of the telephone, or mail, is however more efficient in the US since they “take advantage of the electoral register of the party” (Executive O) developed in order to allow US voters to select their candidates in primary election campaigns. In the UK, identification of supporters has traditionally occurred, quite successfully, through canvassing (Executive A), mainly door-to-door, and relies more on voluntary voter participation rather than the compulsory registration procedures required for voting in the US. Nevertheless, telephone-enabled voter-identification drives are now becoming the norm in Britain. The Representation of the People Act regulates constituency-based communication in the UK. Conversations with different party executives (Executive A, Executive D, Executive B) demonstrated that they were not clear where the rules applied. The suggestion was that politicians in government could certainly send out information related to their area of interest (e.g. health, employment, etc.) without fear of this counting towards election expenses. However, the point of contention is whether or not it would be equally valid for members of the shadow cabinet or the Liberal Democrat’s front bench spokespeople to send out direct mail along these lines too. Nevertheless, simply because parties could send out more direct mail, does not necessarily mean they should or would. One respondent states that: It's different between America and us, we don't like junk mail, [the British electorate] don't like being hurried, they like to make up their own minds (Executive A).

Linking voter identification information (usually geo-partisan or geo-demographic data), and information regarding their areas of concern, determined through canvassing (both telephone and door-to-door), with subsequent targeted direct mail, is being used increasingly by the major UK political parties. The model that both [major] parties are using now is this combination of opinion surveys in a neighbourhood followed up by targeted communications ... You would do some kind of questionnaire to find out what Mrs C at number 43 really cares about and, if she says that the issues that she really cares about are education and the environment, then that information will be communicated back to head office; and she'll get a personalised letter from the leader talking only about those two issues (Executive K).

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One executive suggests that interactive communication might develop through email, although she believes it is unlikely to happen for the British General Election in 2001/2 and that, in any case, voters appreciate more personalised communications which most email software packages cannot yet provide (Executive D). Direct marketing is likely to be affected significantly by the Internet (and other information and communication technologies), which will itself depend on increasing household Internet penetration levels. A Conservative Party direct mail executive suggests that little will change: “I don't think direct marketing is going to change any more except technology will make it a lot cheaper” (Executive A). Of course, technology has the potential to change direct marketing enormously since interactive television and streaming web video are likely to effect convergence of broadcast transmission technology. Such unregulated broadcasting could effect direct response television. The content could be in the form of fund-raising and membership appeals, get-out-the-vote efforts, canvassing, voter registration or even for the process of voting itself whilst the regulator (presumably the Independent Television Commission) and the government try to draw up legislation to cover this new area. Nevertheless, as a senior programme officer at the ITC declares: “I’m not sure how far regulation of the Internet is possible. We could have a law covering anybody who inputs in the UK but it’s just the same if it comes from California or Dar ‘Es Salaam” (Executive F). Thus, a UK political party could simply place its host web server in a less regulated country. 6.4 Implications for UK Political Marketing Campaigns A major difference between political marketing management in the US and UK relates to the development and dissemination of the campaign message. Whilst UK political campaign messages tend to be more substantive and ideological, the US political consultants tend to research their messages more to ensure that the electorate will be more receptive to them. Another major difference is the extent to which US politicians hire sub-contracted professional political consultancies, for determining media strategy, conducting research, organising direct mail and developing the publicity (or news management) strategy. In the US, key consultants develop the political message between them in strategy groups whereas, in the UK, the message (or policy) is largely determined by committees of senior politicians (incorporating some political marketing personnel) who consider themselves more capable of its creation and development. They then use the party’s central office staff to perform the various activities associated with its dissemination (e.g. election broadcast production, direct mail activity). Figure 6.1 illustrates the inputs to policy development in the UK and the process of its dissemination. It can be seen that opposition research, fund-raising, party election broadcast production and news management are political marketing functions that are generally conducted in-house by political parties in the UK. Direct marketing, because of its link to fund-raising, is generally also conducted in-house although the parties have flirted with sub-contracted agencies with limited success. The functions that have tended to be sub-contracted are research and advertising. The UK political environment is in flux prior to the 2001/2 British General Election because of changes in law placing limits on national political party campaign expenditure in the UK66. As a result, it is likely that UK political parties 66

See Section 6.5 A Model of Political Campaigning for further consideration of how this regulation might affect UK campaigning, and the possible impact of the Freedom of Information Bill which would have an

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will conduct much more of their political marketing activity in-house, using paid staff rather than external consultants since this will reduce perceived costs. UK political parties have adopted the US practice of people-metering, for the purpose of news management, and have also taken on the US practice of using opposition research taken from political information systems (databases) to inform their press releases and respond to their opponents’ charges (rebuttal). These trends look set to continue and could certainly continue to be conducted in-house. UK political parties are also tending to use opposition research material to inform and design their party election broadcast material, although they have tended not to use dial groups to test their content and effectiveness, preferring instead to use focus groups to test billboard and press advertising content. Figure 6.1 Policy Development Process and Dissemination Policy Input

Policy Output Fund-raising

Research

Direct Marketing

(5) (4)

(1)

Policy Development (largely controlled by senior politicians)

(2)

Advertising (1) (2) (4)

(3) Opposition Research (Policy Analysis)

Party Election Broadcasts

News Management

(3) (6)

(7)

Notes to Fig. 6.1 The following numbered processes represent: (1) the use of people-metering to determine voter reactions to party broadcasts (2) the insertion of opposition research / rebuttal information into party broadcasts (3) the feeding of rebuttal information to the broadcast and print media organisations (4) the use of people-metering to voter reactions to news broadcasts (5) the research of distribution, pricing and communication strategy (areas other than product development) (6) the analysis of opposition policy (7) the media monitoring process Opposition Research

The blue text box represents a process which is generally performed in-house by UK political parties

Advertisin

The dark green text box represents a process which is generally conducted by a sub-contracted agency in the UK

Direct Marketing

The blue broken text box represents a process has been sub-contracted in the past but which is generally conducted in-house. The black arrow illustrates linked processes that are not generally considered to have been influenced by US practice The broken red arrow illustrates US campaign processes that have generally not been taken up by UK political parties The broken green arrow illustrates US campaign processes that have been adopted and adapted by UK political parties The broken purple arrow illustrates predominantly British campaign processes

impact upon opposition research.

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Figure 6.1 also illustrates a number of processes (denoted by the green broken arrows) that have been influenced by US practice, and includes opposition research. In the UK context, however, political information systems are used more for providing information on opposition policy rather than opposition personalities although this is starting to develop (e.g. the 2000 London Mayoralty). Use of opposition research in the UK includes inserting opposition research (policy analysis) material into party broadcasts, feeding rebuttal information to the print and broadcast press, and the use of peoplemetering to test voter reactions to news items. This contrasts with its application in America where it is used to test reactions to broadcast advertisements. British party executives have tended not to adopt the use of people-metering expertise to test voter reactions to party election broadcasts (because they are not seen as a research priority), although they could. British parties have always analysed the policies rather than the personalities of their opponents, and this process has a strategic input to the process of policy development and party positioning. British political parties tend to monitor news output to ensure that broadcasters are ensuring fair coverage, as they are required to do by law and this practice is peculiarly British since the Americans can rely much more on their broadcast advertisements for message dissemination. In dividing the various functions of UK policy development into input and output, Figure 6.1 illustrates that it is from the inputs into policy development (message development) that British political parties can borrow most from their American counterparts. This gives the parties’ research departments a pivotal role in aiding the determination of campaign strategy. Although both US and UK parties could, they tend not to research other non-product aspects of the marketing mix. This might include: the determination of the value of voting; the value of donating (effectively price in the marketing mix); how best to distribute their policies (should this just be through communication media as is currently the case?); which media should they use and which are most effective (promotional strategy), the process of voting or the process of public input into policy development (process strategy); how the public see politicians and others involved in the distribution of political ideas and processes and what can be done to overcome shortfalls (people strategy); and how political parties manage the intangibility of their policies and services (physical evidence strategy). This will be considered further in Chapter Seven. 6.5 A Model of UK Political Campaigning The interviews with UK party executives, sub-contracted consultants and associated third parties were based on questions encompassing the feasibility of using American political marketing practice in the UK. It is, therefore, possible to develop a model of the UK political campaign management process based on the American model outlined in Figure 4.1 - Model Depicting the US Campaign Management Process - and on the model presented in Figure 2.6 - The Generic Campaign Management Process UK/USA. The model put forward in this section considers the limitations of American practice in the UK context and an attempt is made to justify the UK model illustrated in Figure 6.2. Figure 6.2 illustrates that the process of research, in principle, is largely the same as in the US. Research tends to provide political parties and campaign organisations with information on the existing vote-share and information for message (policy) development. In both the US and the UK, the function is sub-contracted. However, the party and constituency campaign organisation, policy (message) development process, communication strategy and campaign strategy (e.g. targeting, segmentation and positioning) development process are all areas which require modification from their US 172

counterparts. In the UK, because political constituency candidates are essentially franchised to their party, unlike in the US where the relationship is better described using a licensing analogy, there is a need to consider the organisation of constituency campaign organisations. Whilst the process of message development in the UK is somewhat similar to the US, it is based more on ideology and is developed largely by politicians rather than an (albeit experienced) team of political consultants. The communication of the message (policy) also requires modification because of the different media structure and legislation associated with political communication in the UK. The process of developing campaign strategy in the UK, because of the different message (policy) development process and the relationship between local and national campaigning, also requires adaptation from the American model. Figure 6.2 Model Depicting UK Political Campaign Management Process Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations Party and Constituency Campaign Organisation Marketing

Industry

Policy Development and Competitive Analysis

Campaign Finance

Research

Communication

Campaign Strategy

Source: Based on Phase III interview data and Figures 2.6 and 4.1 Notes Research

Campaign Finance Campaign Strategy Competitive Analysis

The box with black text represents processes that do not differ significantly in principle from their US counterparts. The box with red text represents a process that differs significantly in principle from its US counterparts. The box with blue text represents processes that require modification from their US counterparts but which do not differ significantly in principle. The box with dark green text represents processes which currently differ in principle but which may not in the future (dependent on draft legislation).

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In the UK, the process of financing election campaigns is substantially different from the US. It is unlikely that British political parties will be able to take further advantage of the expertise in the UK marketing industry. Constituency expenditure (outlined in the Representation of the People Act 1986) and national expenditure ceilings (as outlined in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000) rule out the conduct of sophisticated research and communication strategies within individual seats. Regulation also rules out expensive sub-contracted communication and research at the national level. This contrasts sharply with the US where no such ceilings exist. This regulation67 impacts upon British campaigning culture significantly in the following ways: • Foreign donations are banned and declaration of all donations of £5000 or above will be mandatory. This has implications for increasing the use of direct marketing methods. • A limit has been placed on expenditure by national political parties (excluding that spent at the constituency level) of approximately £20m (to be divided into the countries of the United Kingdom according to population levels) for a Westminster general election, with other limits applying to European elections. This has implications for the organisation of campaigns and communication expenditure. Such legislation may ensure that political campaign activity remains in-house and any outside marketing expertise seconded rather than hired out to consultants from external agencies. The disclosure of donations at or above £5,000 may also bring about fewer large donations, thereby placing a premium on generating more, and smaller, donations. This may have significant impact upon the demand for the use of direct marketing expertise by UK political parties. In this area, British political parties may borrow heavily from the expertise of their American counterparts, in terms of the process of effectively and efficiently producing and sending direct mail and conducting telemarketing operations. However, it is unlikely that they will adopt the same tone, in terms of content, as their American counterparts, principally because the message development process is so different. Although British electoral law on campaign finance detracts from the use of American techniques of political campaigning (with major impact on communication spend), forthcoming legislation postulated in the draft legislation on the Freedom of Information Bill68 could move Britain further into the use of opposition research in political campaigning. This may relate to information regarding the workings of government departments (e.g. the National Health Service) or individual politicians associated with those departments. Such information, when fed into political information systems, will add to the existing opposition research and rebuttal processes. The draft legislation states: ‘where personal information is sought about third parties, if the Data Protection Act permits disclosure, there will be a right to it under the Freedom of Information Act’ (Home Office, 1999). Nevertheless, there is currently a major difference in the way that UK political parties research their oppositions compared to in the US. Because the focus 67

Home Office (1999a), “The Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom”, Cm4413, July 1999, London: The Stationery Office, pp.5-6. 68 See Home Office (1999b), “Freedom of Information: Consultation on Draft Legislation”, July, Cm4355, London: The Stationery Office.

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in British politics is more on policy development than in the US, opposition research tends to focus more on researching the oppositions’ policies than their personalities. UK political parties also have a much greater input into the development of their policy (message) than US political parties, and so the UK campaign management process is more producer (politician) oriented than market (voter) oriented (as it is in the US). In the UK, political parties are also affected by different regulatory (with forthcoming legislation and its possible impact), cultural and moral considerations compared with the US. The infrastructure associated with political campaigning is also largely undeveloped and borrows extensively from the marketing industry, despite its lack of experience in the application of marketing to political campaigning. Figure 6.2 has been produced from a consideration of Figure 4.1 with amendments based on the Phase III interviews (incorporating considerations arising from the Phase I and II interviews where relevant) and, importantly, a consideration of the generic model that emerged from the literature in Chapter 2. The categories of “organisation development” and “volunteer programme” in Figure 2.6 have been subsumed into the category of “party and constituency campaign organisation” in Figure 6.2, whilst the category of “fundraising” in Figure 2.6. has been subsumed under “campaign finance” to indicate that finance is raised not only through voluntary donations but also from commercial sources. The category of “research” has remained “research” (as in Figure 4.1) rather than “research and polling” (as in Figure 2.6), to reflect the importance of qualitative market research in the UK. The category of “communication” has remained “communication” (as in Figure 4.1) rather than “political communication” (as in Figure 2.6), in order to remove ambiguity (i.e. the possibility that forms of communication might exist other than political). The category of “campaign strategy and agenda setting” has been replaced with the category of “campaign strategy” (as in Figure 4.1), in order to ensure that agenda setting (essentially product development) is not assumed to be separate from the development of other areas of campaign strategy (e.g. distribution strategy). Finally, the model in Figure 6.2 subsumes post-election analysis under both the research category (in terms of how the election went; mainly determined through academic research) and the competitive analysis category (in terms of constituency and exit poll data). 6.6 Conclusion Analysis of the UK in-depth interviews was based on questions designed to determine the extent to which American expertise could be transferred to UK. Respondents revealed that whilst some techniques can be utilised further in the UK, other methods are less likely to provide the same function that they do in the US. This is either because of structural differences in the media and political systems or because of differences in the socio-political culture. The extent to which political campaigns in the US are able to decentralise their functions from the party to which they are attached is partly a function of this difference in orientation. Decentralisation of the campaign function, and the higher frequency of elections, have brought about the development of a class of professional political consultants in a way that has not occurred in the UK. Copying production of US political advertisements is probably not particularly helpful either because the UK broadcasters make time available for the political parties in a way that ensures that the format is unsuitable for the production of either an advertisement or a short play. Because the production of broadcasts is so expensive and requires a large amount of a UK party’s promotional budget, political parties tend to produce them in 175

such a way that they can be reproduced easily for other channels, media (e.g. radio) and in other languages. However, the party political broadcast may have a more important role than the parties have yet truly realised, since they can be used to guide the media as to the main issues of the election. This use of advertising, to lead the media agenda rather than to persuade the electorate, is also supported through the use of press and billboard advertising. In the UK, message dissemination occurs principally through news management; trying to ensure fair coverage of one’s party’s issues and responding to opposition attacks and policy statements. Because of the lesser importance of news management in many US election campaigns, and the different nature of UK tabloid, broadsheet and broadcast press, there is less potential in the UK to learn from American counterparts in this field. Indeed, American political consultants probably have more to learn from their UK counterparts in this regard. Direct marketing activity, however, both in terms of the use of direct mail and telephone, holds much more promise. Here, because of changes in the legislation of campaign financing, it is likely that such activity will increase. UK political parties can borrow heavily from US expertise associated with the efficiency and efficacy of these processes, but have less to learn from the design of the content of these methods in the US. This is because the process of policy development is more producer-led in the UK than in the US, where a higher degree of voter-orientation is more readily apparent. Nevertheless, if the process of people-metering is conducted inhouse, rather than by external agencies, with only the recruitment of respondents conducted externally, UK political parties would have a useful tool to measure voter perceptions of their coverage on news items and their opinions on party election broadcasts. Using this as an input to the policy development process will ensure that UK political parties are aware of how they are perceived by the electorate. Political campaigning in the UK and the US is substantially different despite the fact that both campaigns operate in first-past-the-post systems69. Despite this, it has been possible to identify common functions that are important to consider in political marketing campaigns in the two countries. Thus, a model of the UK political campaigning process, based on the US model developed in Chapter 4, the model derived from the literature review in Chapter 2, and the Phase III interview data, has been developed. This encompasses the main functions of campaign organisation, campaign finance, competitive analysis and policy development, research, communication and campaign strategy whilst working in a framework of moral, ethical and regulatory considerations and the ancillary marketing industry. This is not dissimilar to the US model. The difference is not in the prevalence of the functions but in the way that they are used. This relates to telephone fund-raising and opposition research. Whereas opposition research is generally used to provide negative, and often personal, information about the opponent in the US, in the UK the function is more focused on the opposing parties and their policy development. Finally, based on knowledge of the interviews in the US (see Chapter Four), and in the UK (as outlined in this chapter), it is clear that neither US nor UK political campaign organisations conduct research into other areas of the political marketing mix. Campaign strategy also tends to be concentrated in the area of product development at the expense of distribution and communication strategies. It is perhaps in these other aspects of the services marketing mix that UK (and US) political parties can make the greatest advances. If they can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the communication and the distribution of their policies, they would not need to spend more 69

See 1.2.1 Types of Electoral System.

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on communication, and thereby not contravene forthcoming expenditure limits imposed by the new legislation in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The next chapter considers some of these issues in more detail. In summary, this chapter has outlined the process of political campaign management in the UK and provides insights into how American political marketing practice can inform UK political marketing practice. The chapter provides the reader with a model of the UK political campaign management process which is derived from the Phase III interviews, the generic model of political marketing planning in Chapter Two, and the US political campaign management model presented in Chapter Four.

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Chapter Seven – Conclusions and Recommendations 7.1 Introduction The study undertaken, and the subject of this thesis, is concerned with the potential transference of American methods of political campaigning to the UK. It was undertaken as a progression of previous research by the same author in the area of marketing planning (see Baines, 1996). The research attempts to build on the notion that organisations can adopt and utilise the principles of marketing management in the running of their election campaigns. Because American campaign methods are so highly regarded, the intention of the research was to provide UK political campaign organisations with an understanding of which aspects of US practice could be adopted in the UK context with or without modification, and which could not. This chapter concludes the research study. It summarises the major differences between political marketing practice in the UK and the US, and provides the reader with an overview of the campaign management process models developed for UK and US political campaign organisations. The objectives of the research are considered individually with an attempt to illustrate how they have been met. Key recommendations for the further professionalisation of the UK political campaign function are suggested. This stems from the premise that political campaign organisations in the US and the UK expend greater resources on the process of product development than on any other components of the services marketing mix. It was not the main objective of this research to provide a model of the services marketing mix for UK political campaign organisations; the objective was to determine the marketing management processes associated with US and UK political campaigns. To investigate the process of political campaign management further, however, it is suggested that future research studies focus on determining the applicability of the services marketing mix construct in political campaigning. The limitations of the present research are acknowledged and a possible research agenda for future investigation is suggested. The contribution of this study to marketing academia is to map out the US campaign process through the conduct of qualitative research and to demonstrate where it can be used to improve UK political campaigning practice. Thus, a comprehensive model of the UK political campaign process has been derived, which is based on best practice in the US and documented practice in the political marketing, campaign management and political science literature. 7.2 Campaign Management and the Political Marketing Literature Previously, in the political marketing and political science literature, there has been little discussion of the process of political campaigning from the perspective of the campaigning organisation. Figure 7.1, earlier introduced as Figure 2.6, provides a first comprehensive process model. In producing such a model, the author provides a model that serves as input into the determination of the UK campaign management process model, together with the model of US campaign management (see Figure 7.1) and the data collected from the Phase III interviews.

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Figure 7.1 The Generic Campaign Management Process (UK/USA) Electoral Law, Culture and Political System Campaign Strategy and Agenda Setting Organisational Development

Volunteer Programme

Research and Polling

Political Communication

Fund-raising

Constituency Campaigning

Post-election analysis Electoral Law, Culture and Political System Source: Derived from the political marketing literature by the author. The generic model of campaign management illustrates the importance of a number of key aspects of the process. These include campaign strategy and agenda setting, fundraising and the volunteer effort, research and polling, political communication, constituency campaigning, post-election analysis, and organisational development. The model also provides for the impacts of electoral law, culture and the political system. The political science and political marketing literature provide an indication that the process of marketing for political parties and candidates in the US and the UK incorporates many of the same practices. However, from the literature, it is also clear that whilst many of the same processes are used (e.g. direct marketing, research and polling), the purposes for which they are used are different. The model illustrated in Figure 7.1 serves to provide a point of reference for the UK model developed consequently. The primary data collected in the first phase of the research provided the basis for the determination of a US political campaign management process model. The latter two phases of the research were designed to determine the differences in political campaigning in the UK and US political systems. 7.3 Research Objectives: A Consideration of US and UK Campaign Processes Comparing and contrasting the processes of political campaigning in the UK and the US was central to the research study and encompassed four main research objectives. The study adopted an approach whereby the marketing techniques used by US political consultants in their political campaigns were investigated in depth. Following this, a 179

small number of “expert” respondents were questioned in a second phase, to determine the extent to which American methods have transferred, or could be transferred, to the UK context. This set of interviews were intended to be used to allow the researcher to narrow the focus of the investigation to those marketing techniques that were capable of the greatest application in the UK. A third phase of interviews took place in order to explore the UK context of political campaign management, with a discussion of a number of US marketing methods and their implications for UK campaigning. These methods include opposition research, media strategy, direct marketing, message development and polling and research. Because of the importance of news management in the UK context, respondents were also questioned about its characteristics. The four objectives, outlined in bold, were: I.

To gain an understanding of how marketing techniques are applied in US political campaigns (see Chapter Four).

This research objective was discussed initially in Chapter One, where both UK and US political campaigning were covered from a political science perspective. A picture of US political campaigning was provided in which the campaigns are seen to be: frequent; of a long duration; operating in a first-past-the-post electoral system; highly professionalised; staffed by highly specialised political consultants; financed principally through largescale direct marketing efforts; promoted through broadcast (television and radio) and narrowcast (direct marketing) media; negative and use material that is highly critical of other candidates through the use of opposition research; and are supported by an evergrowing political marketing industry. The interviews reported in Chapter Four supply evidence of these opinions and activities. In addition, these interviews provided: a model of the US political campaigning process (see Figure 7.2); a discussion of individual elements of the US campaign process (e.g. opposition research, direct marketing); a discussion of incumbency and voter apathy; an outline of the difficulties of using US campaigning methods in other countries; and a consideration of the ethical and regulatory implications of the use of these methods. As the industry has enlarged, it has professionalised, bringing an increasing need for greater financing. Because of legal restrictions imposed on donations after the Watergate scandal, the Federal Election Commission has been criticised in the media for not undertaking to reform the system of political donation. Special interest groups, which in some cases are party front organisations, are derailing the democratic election process through largescale expenditure in favour of specific candidates and issues. II.

To produce a marketing planning model for US political campaigns (see Figure 7.1). The model of the US political campaigning process reproduced here as Figure 7.2 was introduced earlier in Chapter Four as Figure 4.1. US political campaigning centres, primarily, on the use of negative, opposition research-fuelled, broadcast television advertisements that are developed, and then tracked, using qualitative and quantitative voter research activity. Campaign strategy focuses on message development, focus, dissemination and repetition. In order to facilitate this, campaign committees use quantitative research to test a message’s reception with the American people. This process corresponds broadly with the product development process in commercial 180

service markets70. However, further research is necessary in order to determine the applicability of this construct in the sphere of political campaigning, in both the US and the UK. The finance required to communicate the political message in the US is generally raised by the candidates and their campaign aides through telephone fund-raising by targeting friends of friends and political action committees, and through lobbying activities. This has produced considerable moral and ethical dilemmas, as candidates can become beholden to special interest groups who have significant financial means. Political marketing activity in the US is highly organised, systematic and has been extremely effective in the past. Because of this success, it has become a model of best practice throughout the democratic world as other campaigns seek to emulate and adapt the techniques used. Thus, US political campaigning operates in a highly commercialised environment where there is a high degree of voter-orientation. Figure 7.2 Model Depicting US Political Campaign Management Process Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations Campaign Organisation

Political

Competitive Analysis

Campaign Finance

Marketing

Communication

Industry

Campaign Strategy

Research

Source: Based on Phase I interview data

70

Policy development, from a UK perspective, is considered in Section 7.4 Recommendations for UK Party Policy Development.

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III.

To determine the problems associated with transferring US political marketing methods to UK political campaigning (see Chapters Four, Five and Six). Problems associated with transference were covered initially in Chapter One, from a political science perspective, and from the interviews conducted during the three phases of the study. The debate in the literature focused on whether or not political campaigns in other countries were professionalising in their own right or whether or not they were Americanising. Structural differences in the media and political systems, and differences in the socio-political culture affect the extent to which US political marketing methods can be transferred to the UK. US campaigns operate in a fully commercial media system, a candidate-oriented electoral system, and a culture of voter donation and freedom of speech, whereas their UK counterparts operate in a partly public media system, a partyoriented electoral system, and in less of a culture of public argument. Political parties in the US have decentralised their campaign marketing functions to individual candidates, bringing about the development of a class of professional political consultants and a supporting political marketing industry, in a way that has not occurred in the UK. In the UK context, it could be argued that the socio-political culture, and legal and regulatory considerations, ensures that most American methods of political campaigning are of limited application. This does not deny that there has been transference of expertise from the US to the UK or that there can be in the future. The suggestion is merely that American expertise needs to be adapted for use in the UK. Direct marketing methods, and specifically telemarketing, are used more abundantly in the US than in the UK. However, such activity requires a plentiful supply of appropriately skilled labour. In the UK, telemarketing has not yet risen to prominence in the way that it has in the US. Whilst the telephone is the main method used in the US for the conduct of market research interviews, perhaps because of the topographical nature of the country, the personal interview is still the modus operandum in the UK. The telephone has not yet been adopted as a marketing instrument to the same degree in the UK as the US. UK candidates cannot afford to use direct marketing methods in their own constituencies for fear of contravening the law on election expenditure. Instead, their use is largely confined to the national parties who either install their own telephone call centres or sub-contract this function to direct marketing agencies, with limited success so far. Whilst political communication in the US operates in a fully-commercialised media system, the public service ethos of UK broadcast “political advertising” has resulted in comparatively less political communication to the British public, and far less need for campaign finance. In the UK, broadcast message diffusion occurs principally through publicity (earned media) in the broadcast and print press. US campaigns also use opposition research to make claims about opponents and to counter claims made by opponents. In the UK, opposition research feeds into news, both press and broadcast, but has not traditionally fed into party election broadcasts in the same way. This is principally because the unit of opposition is the party in the UK rather than the candidate, as in the US, and so there is a much greater variance in views and statements made in the US. Another factor affecting the use of opposition research in the UK is the lack of access to public information on specific candidates. In the US, such information is more readily available under the auspices of the 1966 Freedom of Information Act (see Cutlip et al, 1994:185-186). Currently such a bill has been proposed, at the time of writing, in 182

the UK but received considerable opposition in the House of Lords. It required amendment before resubmission for consideration by the House of Commons. In any case, the UK Act does not go as far as the US Bill in making the process of disclosure of public information open. The format of UK political broadcasts is thought to be unsuitable for the production of either an advertisement or a short play, although parties are increasingly trying to use formats that depict mini-dramas or news bulletins. Parties are also increasing the pressure on broadcasters to allow them to locate the broadcasts at times when greater numbers of the electorate are more likely to be watching television. Election broadcast production is comparatively expensive for UK political parties and so they have typically been produced to a formula that allows easy reproduction for use by other broadcast networks, by other media (e.g. radio) and in other languages (e.g. Welsh). Recommendations concerning the further professionalisation of party election broadcasts are made in Section 7.4 - Recommendations for UK Party Policy Development. UK political parties can borrow heavily from US political marketing expertise associated with the following processes: ♦ Direct marketing – specifically, use of the telephone for get-out-the-vote efforts, and fundraising, ♦ Media production and placement – in the design of party election broadcasts - and, ♦ Opposition research processes – in the analysis of opposition policy and rapid rebuttal. However, UK parties have less to learn from the design of the content of these methods. Thus, the style of adversarial and negative argument used in US political advertising copy is unlikely to be tolerated when used in the UK. This stems from the American obsession with freedom of speech. This is unlike the UK, where such legislation does not currently exist. The process of policy development is also more producer-led in the UK than in the US. The higher degree of market-orientation in the US is partly a function of the American brand of representative democracy and partly a function of the Watergate reforms, which led to greater use of political consultants. In the UK, political parties are still the champions of policy, and ideology is held at a greater premium than political pragmatism, although this could be said to be declining. Thus, to some extent, UK political parties tend to try to maintain the moral high ground more than their US counterparts by refusing to endorse negative campaigning styles. UK-US differences occur principally in the areas of direct marketing, research and polling, opposition research, media strategy and product development. These differences are not essentially in the prevalence of the different marketing functions, for they exist in both countries, but in the way that they are used. For instance, direct marketing centres on the use of the telephone for fund-raising and get-out-the-vote in the US, whereas it centres on direct mail in the UK. Researchers in the US make less use of focus groups and greater use of quantitative research. The latter is used to test messages and identify voter groups for segmentation and positioning purposes. Opposition research is generally used to provide negative, and often personal, information about the opponent in the US. In the UK, the function is more focused on the opposing parties and their policies. In the UK, media strategists focus on the use of press and billboard advertising compared to 183

television advertising in the US. In the UK, party election broadcasts are broadcast less frequently and have a greater degree of regulation placed upon their content than their American equivalents. In the US, because of the greater market-orientation in political campaigning, voters have greater input to product development, whereas in the UK party policy is more producer-oriented and controlled by senior party politicians. The American system of political campaigning does, however, share a number of similarities with its British counterpart. They both have the same first-past-the-post, electoral system. This ensures that procedures used to segment and target the voting population on a geographic basis in the US can also be used in the UK. It also allows the concept of co-ordinated constituency campaigning to be transferred, although this transference is more from Britain to the US since American campaign organisations are more fragmented from their parties. In both countries, market research is used to identify the concerns of the voter and advertising agencies are used to deliver the message. Both rely on volunteers during campaigns, but to differing extents and for different purposes. Campaign committees in both countries focus their strategy discussions on the development and communication of the political product rather than the development of other areas such as distribution, or a determination of the cost (or price) of voting. Thus, both are limited in their application and understanding of the services marketing mix generally, although US campaign committees spend more money (although probably not time) on the product (message in the US, policy in the UK) development process. IV.

To derive a UK political campaign management process model (see Figure 7.3) based on the US political campaign management process model (see Figure 7.2), the Phase III interviews and the generic UK/USA marketing planning process model (see Figure 7.1).

This objective was central to the contribution of the thesis to the political marketing, and marketing, academic literature since only three political campaign process models (see Newman, 1994; Maarek, 1995; Baines, Lewis and Yorke, 1998) were available. In the first two cases, the models are hypothetical and, therefore, have not been tested; whilst the latter case is a deductive contribution based on a very small number of depth interviews and relates only to co-ordinated constituency campaigning. Thus, the present study aimed to produce the first empirically-derived process model, based on a relatively large number of qualitative interviews with key political consultants and party decisionmakers in the UK and US. The UK campaign management process model (see Figure 7.3) was produced based on the US model (see Figure 7.2), the generic model derived from the literature (see Figure 7.1) and the Phase III interview data. It encompasses the following areas: moral, ethical and regulatory considerations; the marketing industry; party and constituency campaign organisation; policy development and competitive analysis; campaign finance; research; communication; and campaign strategy. The UK model of political campaign management differs from the generic campaign management model and the US campaign management model in a number of ways. The colour code is used to indicate which processes differ most significantly from their US counterparts, e.g. campaign finance is coded red to illustrate that the process used in the US to raise funds is significantly different from the process used in the UK. A 184

comparison with the US model of political campaign management71 reveals that there are major differences between the following processes: ♦ US “competitive analysis” and UK “policy development and competitive analysis” – in the US competitive analysis incorporates personalised opposition research attacking candidate’s personality and principle whereas, in the UK, the competitive analysis incorporates opposition research into candidate and party statements but from a policy, rather than a personality, perspective. ♦ “Campaign strategy” – in the US, campaign strategy incorporates product development, with quantitative message testing and communication planning whereas, in the UK, campaign strategy generally comprises product development using qualitative research and more limited communication planning. In both countries, strategy does not incorporate distribution planning or other aspects of the services marketing mix. ♦ “Campaign finance” – in the US, where the level of finance required to run political campaigns is significant, sophisticated telemarketing techniques ensure a constant cashflow. In the UK, such fund-raising techniques have not been used to the same degree, and where they have, they have not generally been as successful as when they have been used in the US. ♦ “Communication” – the limited range of media available in the UK, due to advertising restrictions, ensures that communication planning is a more simple process. In the US, where the range of media is less limited, there is a greater opportunity to be more precise in the targeting of voters. In addition, there are also more minor differences between the following categories: ♦ Supporting industries - the “political marketing industry” in US comprises a large number of firms that offer specialist services (purely in some cases) to candidates and their campaign teams. In the UK, there is no such comparable industry. Many of the same functions are either performed by sub-contracted firms from the marketing services industry or are conducted by the parties themselves. ♦ The moral, ethical and regulatory considerations – the differences between the US and UK stem from differences in the legislation surrounding the conduct of election campaigns. For instance, in the US, because of the freedom of speech doctrine, campaign organisations have greater freedom to communicate with the electorate, unlike in the UK where political advertising is banned on television and radio. ♦ UK “party and constituency campaign organisation” and US “campaign organisation” – in the UK, the organisation of the political party and its ancillary constituency parties is likened to a franchise operation with the national party providing specialist research, training, and computing expertise. In the US, the arrangement between political parties and candidates can be likened to a licensed distributor where the 71

For a detailed consideration of how the model compares with the generic campaign management model see Section 6.8 A Model of UK Political Campaigning.

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freedom of operation is considerably greater. Thus, US candidates control their own message in contrast to the politician in the UK, where attempts are made by national parties to keep their candidates “on message”. Figure 7.3 Model Depicting UK Political Campaign Management Process Moral, Ethical and Regulatory Considerations Party and Constituency Campaign Organisation Marketing

Industry

Policy Development and Competitive Analysis

Campaign Finance

Research

Communication

Campaign Strategy

Source: Based on Phase III interview data and Figures 2.6 and 4.1. Notes Research

Campaign Finance Campaign Strategy Competitive Analysis

The box with black text represents processes that do not differ significantly in principle from their US counterparts. The box with red text represents a process that differs significantly in principle from its US counterpart. The box with blue text represents processes that require modification from their US counterparts but which do not differ significantly in principle. The box with dark green text represents processes which currently differ in principle but which may not in the future (dependent on draft legislation).

The policy development and competitive analysis process is particularly different in the UK from its US counterpart. The types of information that US campaigns incorporate into their statements made and political adverts are different from UK campaigns. This is because the opposition research process is less capable of being transferred to the UK. The personal type of information collected by US campaign organisations would not be as useful in the UK, where campaigns tend to be more focused on policy than personality. Despite this difference, the development of policy in the UK could benefit from an adapted form of opposition research. If details of opposition policy were to be analysed based on statements made to the press, as in the US, there would be a greater 186

understanding by UK parties of how to position party policy vis-à-vis their competitors. This would aid in the positioning and differentiation of policy. Campaign committees in the US do not generally undertake the formulation of detailed policy when campaigning. Message development in the US concentrates more on the framework and the general ideas that can be used to develop policy once in government. In that sense, US politicians are not committing themselves to making specific appeals. In the UK, because parties are expected to make concrete policy proposals (if they do not they are subjected to considerable media scrutiny), there is an enlarged role for the use of rapid rebuttal and opposition research in the scrutiny of a party’s own policies and those of its opposition. Political communication is also substantially different in the UK because of the different nature of the media system. However, modification of US techniques associated with telemarketing and direct mail, and the use of opposition research in the formulation of party election broadcasts, could lead to further professionalisation of the campaign function. In the US, campaign strategy focuses mainly on product development, the determination of the message and the media by which it is disseminated. In comparison, in the UK, since there are fewer media outlets available, and the message is more complex, campaign strategy focuses more on policy development. In the US, research plays a stronger role in the development of the types of messages used to persuade the electorate. In the UK, although focus groups are used, they tend to be used to test the wording of policies, rather than aiding in their formulation. There are also major differences in how campaign finance is raised and spent. In the US, campaigns raise finance from individual voters, generally using telemarketing techniques, and from political action committees. In the UK, most finance is raised using direct mail rather than telemarketing and there is no equivalent to political action committees. When American-style telemarketing methods have been used in the UK, they have tended to fail, indicating that the British electorate probably requires a different approach. The level of finance required for a British general election campaign is considerably less than that required for the conduct of an American presidential election campaign. 7.4 Recommendations for UK Party Policy Development Adoption of US message testing techniques, such as the use of people-metering and more sophisticated quantitative polling, could lead to party policy in the UK which is more voter-oriented than producer-oriented. Currently, senior politicians develop party policy rather than party executives. Whilst a party is in government, feasibility studies are carried out by the civil service, in consultation with the relevant interest groups, when formulating policy. Whilst in opposition, some funding is made available for policy development72, although the party’s ability to test policy is comparably less than that of the incumbent ruling party. Opposition parties have access to sympathetic think tanks but have less access to the civil service, and the departments of state and the infrastructure for which these departments have authority. This includes, for example, the Department

72

Known as Short money for policy development in the Commons and Cranbourne money for policy development in the House of Lords, after the politicians who first proposed them. It is suggested that, under the Elections, Parties and Referendums Act 2000, these funds are increased.

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of Health, which has ultimate authority over the National Health Service, the medical and dental professions, hospitals and pharmacies, and the health of the population in general. Six processes are outlined in Figure 7.4. Each of these processes, if implemented by UK political parties, could serve to professionalise the political campaign function further, from a product development perspective. One campaign innovation in the UK would be greater use of people-metering to determine voter reactions to party broadcasts (Process 1). If such broadcasts were designed to be more informative about the choices presented to the electorate, in terms of the different parties’ policies and stances, people-metering would offer a useful way of determining how the public was receiving those stances. People-metering can also provide an insight into the language that should be used to persuade voters to adopt a party’s particular stance. This is a particularly useful method where policy has not yet been fully developed, e.g. European monetary union. Presenting the voter with informed policy choices would be the remit of professionally conducted opposition research (policy analysis) inserted into party election broadcasts (Process 2) and into rebuttal material fed to the broadcast and print press (Process 3). The use of someone else’s argument to reinforce one’s point, as a method of persuasion, is now being used in consumer goods marketing. Recently, the Rover group placed full page advertisements in the Daily Mail73 incorporating a Daily Telegraph headline that outlined the government’s campaign to reduce UK car prices and another earlier headline in The Times outlining Rover’s policy of large discounts on car prices. This style of advertising mimics that of US political advertising, although it uses a print rather than broadcast medium. More recently, in the London Mayoral Election in May 2000 the Tory candidate, Steve Norris, copied this style of campaigning by using his opponents’ statements against them in press advertising to strengthen his own argument. Opposition research (policy analysis) could be used to determine systematically and scientifically, where possible, the effects of a particular party’s policies. This would enhance the political debate by ensuring that arguments over policy between parties were fully informed and should ensure the production of more competitive policy offerings. People-metering could also be used to determine how voters interpret particular stories when news networks report on policy announcements and political events (Process 4). Further professionalisation of the UK policy function could occur with analysis and testing, using either focus group or quantitative market research, of particular opposition policies (Process 5). Because publicity (earned media) is so important to UK political parties, it is imperative that political parties monitor the print and broadcast media. In the former case, this would allow a party to determine which newspapers, journalists and editors are sympathetic to their causes and enable the party to target and distribute their press releases better. In the latter case, monitoring the media would ensure that the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Television Commission maintain a balance in the broadcasting of political material, as is required under UK broadcasting regulation.

73

See the Rover advertisement in the Mail on Sunday, August 4th 2000, p.38.

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Figure 7.4 Improving the Policy Function Policy Input

Research

Policy Output

Policy (1)

Development

(4)

(1) (2)

Party Election Broadcasts

(generally (4)

(2)

News Management

controlled by Opposition Research (Policy

senior (3) (5)

politicians)

(3) (6)

Source: Adapted from Figure 6.1 Notes to Fig. 7.4 The following numbered processes represent: (1) The use of people-metering to determine voter reactions to party broadcasts (2) The insertion of opposition research / rebuttal information into party broadcasts (3) The feeding of rebuttal information to the broadcast and print media organisations (4) The use of people-metering to voter reactions to news broadcasts (5) The analysis and testing of opposition policy (6) The media monitoring process

7.5 A New Political Marketing Research Agenda? The research conducted in this study is limited in that it uses a single cross-sectional design in the US and UK. It considers only the role of “marketing” personnel in both countries and does not take into account the role of the politicians who have substantial, yet different, influences in both contexts. The study concentrated on mapping, and outlining, the processes of political campaign management in both the US and UK. Thus, the research focuses more on a consideration of the relationship between the different components of the process rather than on individual components of the process per se. The US campaign management process model was designed based on a relatively large number of interviews with political consultants from a range of different marketing occupations. The US campaign management model was drawn up based entirely on a consideration of the interview data. Thus, the generic model developed in the literature review was not input. This ensures that the UK model developed subsequently is based on two independent models, one from the literature and the other from extensive Phase I interviews. The UK political campaign management process model (see Figure 7.3) was developed based on the US model (see Figure 7.2), the generic campaign management model derived from the political marketing literature (see Figure 7.1) but, in addition, incorporated interviews with UK respondents from Phase III of the research study.

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The study started from the premise that American campaign techniques, e.g. opposition research, direct marketing, rapid rebuttal, message testing, etc., are applicable in the UK context and respondents were asked to evaluate their potential application. Nevertheless, the researcher did determine that US political marketing practice is not always applicable in the UK. This includes the content of much political advertising, especially for direct marketing methods and party election broadcasts, and the techniques used for fundraising which differ considerably in the UK. The UK political campaign process model benefits from the fact that it is constructed from the literature and from empirical qualitative data. Thus, the model has been produced deductively. This ensures greater validity since the model is produced from more than one source of data. This research study used qualitative data to construct the US and UK campaign management process models. The research was exploratory, as the processes under investigation were not tested across a wider representative sample of the political campaigning population in either the US or the UK. However, further testing of both the UK and US models should now occur, amongst both political consultants and politicians in the US and amongst party executives, media executives and politicians in the UK, using a quantitative methodology to provide more conclusive findings. Further mapping of the political campaign management process could help campaign committees to evaluate their service offerings and might be a useful area for a future research project. What has emerged from this research is an understanding of the superior product development process in US political campaigns in comparison with their UK counterparts. A future research study could be designed to investigate the impact of the incorporation of opposition research material into party promotional material, and its impact upon the news management process. Another study could aim to determine the effectiveness of the use of research in designing party promotional material. This might use tracking studies to measure awareness before and after tested and untested promotional material. However, this research study focused on the campaign management process generally and, so, further consideration of the applicability of the product development process, as used by organisations in the consumer services sector, is advised in order to determine the extent of its applicability to political campaigning. Political campaign organisations in the UK have not, traditionally, conducted research into areas of the services marketing mix other than product development. It is perhaps in aspects of the services marketing mix, other than product development, that campaign committees can make the greatest advances in professionalising political campaigning. Table 7.1 provides an indication of how the services marketing mix might be applied to UK political campaigning. Applying the services marketing mix allows the delineation of the different functional areas of political marketing. Campaign committees would then be free to develop each aspect of the marketing mix for the different segments of the electorate that they are targeting.

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Table 7.1 The Services Marketing Mix for UK Politics Marketing Aspect Basic Customer need

Application to UK Politics Voice in government, parliamentary representation

Target market

Electorate (comprising numerous segments)

Product

Party policies, personality and principle (O’Shaughnessy, 1999), and information on government and governance Policy implications for voter livelihood (Egan, 1999), effort of political participation (1) Publicity, (2) press and billboard advertising, (3) direct mail, and (4) personal selling (get-out-the vote and voter identification) News (press and broadcast) through press conferences and releases, direct mail, party manifestos (on- and off-line), websites, party conferences Not just during election campaign, policy development and testing should occur outside election cycle, further marketorientation through voter policy forums, most marketing functions conducted in-house except advertising and polling Candidates and party, manifestos, provision of spokespeople outside election cycle (opposition parties especially) for news items Candidates, training provided as a basis for recruiting volunteers, structured career paths in party positions ensuring transferable skills outside politics, candidates should be well-informed of policy and trained in communication techniques

Price Principal Promotional Tools

Distribution

Process

Physical Evidence

People

Source: Adapted from O’Leary and Iredale (1976), incorporating Egan (1999) and O’Shaughnessy (1999). In the UK (see Table 7.1), the product could also include an information service component for the electorate with advice on government and governance outside election time, as in the US. Butler and Collins (1999) talk of the candidate and the party itself as components of the product, although the candidate could be regarded as part of the product and part of the people component of the services marketing mix (see Table 7.1). In the UK, the candidates are, perhaps, best represented as physical evidence and people. Egan (1999) argues that price could be the implications of the policies, e.g. it could be paying higher taxes, or having a lower quality public service. It could also be the effort expended in going out to vote and bothering to listen to the arguments. The lack of agreement in the political marketing literature on what the price component of the political marketing mix is, makes price an important area for future research since it could well precipitate an understanding of how to motivate and persuade voters. Political marketing is concerned with the marketing of ideas and policy for the governing of countries and the experiences of the electorate. As such, it is an ephemeral service product. There is a lack of understanding of the relationship between distribution and communication in political campaigning demonstrated in the political marketing and political science literature, either in the UK or the US. The services marketing literature may well provide a greater understanding of how distribution and communication are interlinked, from a consumer services perspective. Essentially, the communication and 191

distribution are intertwined in political campaigning but there are also clear demarcations between them. This study has demonstrated that in the UK, publicity is regarded as the most important method for message dissemination. The distribution of this message occurs through news reports controlled by third party media organisations. Nevertheless, these are affected to some extent by the style of the press release and the press conference, which is controlled by the campaign organisation. The second most important medium for political communication in the UK is, possibly, press and billboard advertising. Yet, parties in the UK do not systematically research which media are most useful for disseminating which types of messages to particular target segments. Other distribution outlets include direct mail, websites and party conferences, which are particularly important for the internal market. In the UK, physical evidence includes candidates and manifestos, and outside the election cycle, the provision of spokespeople for news items. In the services marketing literature, physical evidence is regarded as the means by which an intangible service can be “tangibilised”. In this context, research could demonstrate how this construct could be further applied to make politics more “real” to the electorate. The people component of the services marketing mix illustrates the link between marketing and human resource management as consumers are involved in the service production and its delivery. In “consumer politics”, it could be argued that they are consumed at the same time as they are distributed, demonstrating the link between communication and distribution. However, the political product is not necessarily consumed at the same time as it is produced. This places a premium on internal marketing and the training of both constituency party and national party executives. Because services are usually offered by individual party employees and Members of Parliament, and are often highly customised (e.g. different spokespeople on different areas of policy), there is a greater degree of variability in the service offered. This places a premium on the setting of quality standards to which every party employee and Member of Parliament should aspire. Some understanding of how the electorate perceives the service offered to them would provide the party with an understanding of how to make the service more efficient and effective. The process component of the services marketing mix is important as, potentially, it provides an opportunity to engender voter loyalty. Process mapping, demonstrating how the electorate currently receive, and would wish to receive, their political information could be extremely useful in fine-tuning the services offered by political parties. Political parties in the UK need to realise that the process of engaging the electorate does not just occur during the four weeks of the election campaign, or even one year prior to a general election. Research should be conducted continually into areas of the services marketing mix other than product development and communication. The main reason that this has not yet occurred is because of the limited marketing budgets that UK political parties currently rely on. However, if the Elections, Parties and Referendums Act comes into force for the next British general election, it could be argued that the cost of research conducted into policy development would not count towards election expenses. This would allow parties to improve their service offering under the rubric of policy development. In this way, UK political parties could offer a more efficient and effective service; spending more on marketing research into individual services marketing mix components rather than simply on market research into the electorate and its various segments. This should 192

enhance the process of political campaigning and also ensure a more efficient product offering. Further research might also adopt a service quality framework and could investigate those areas that interface with the electorate. Using such a design would allow researchers to identify service quality gaps. Other studies might well investigate market orientation in political parties around the world and its impact upon the democratic process. Throughout this section, a number of suggestions for future research have been suggested. These may be summarised as follows: ♦ A quantitative investigation to validate the US and UK campaign management processes and incorporate any missing items. ♦ A quantitative investigation to identify degrees of market orientation in different UK and/ or US parties, possibly using an adapted version of the MARKOR market orientation measuring instrument (see Kohli et al, 1993). ♦ A qualitative investigation into the product (policy and message) development process in the US and/or UK, to determine the process’s characteristics and its similarity to the traditional service product development process. ♦ A quantitative investigation into the effectiveness of different media in the UK and/or the US, possibly including their impact upon the news management process (in the UK particularly). ♦ A qualitative investigation to determine the applicability of the service marketing mix construct in UK and/or US political campaigning followed by, ♦ A quantitative investigation into service quality gaps in political campaigning, possibly using SERVQUAL (see Parasuraman et al, 1988) or some other service quality-measuring instrument. 7.6 Conclusion US political consultants have earned themselves a strong reputation as innovators in political campaigning world-wide. The efficiency and effectiveness of the techniques that they employ stem mainly from the frequent and extensive nature of their elections. The result is a highly specialised campaign consulting industry. The extent to which US methods can be incorporated into British political campaigning is limited because of considerable differences in the style of public political communication and level of campaign finance. In both areas, there is potential for further use of American processes but there is less room for the use of the content of American political communication. By this, it is suggested that British political parties make use of opposition research, direct marketing, rapid rebuttal, quantitative message-testing and so on, but do not use the American style of campaigning to produce negative advertising copy. It is less likely that British campaigning would use such a negative, personality-based, style of campaigning anyway because Britain places greater regulation on freedom of speech than in the US. The key difference, in marketing terms, is a considerable difference in market-orientation and its subsequent impact upon product development. Whilst the US product is more message and personality oriented, its UK counterpart is more policy and party oriented. The use of opposition research and people-metering techniques provide US political consultants with a strong understanding of how to position their statements to the American people first and the media second. In the UK, the media serve to filter the 193

party’s message and, so, techniques aimed at improving policy and an understanding of the voting public would help to ensure that political organisations are able to put across their arguments more effectively. Thus, material obtained through opposition research could be used to formulate press releases and press conference statements, together with the messages that are incorporated in party election broadcasts, in addition to other party promotional material. However, parties in the US and in the UK, particularly, commission research into the market rather than their own, or their opponents’, marketing activity. The UK model of the campaign management process, derived from the US campaign management model and the generic model of the political marketing planning process, emphasises the importance of policy development in the UK context. This has considerable implications for the further development of the UK policy-making function (outlined in Figure 7.4). The UK model also illustrates the importance of research, which does not differ in principle from that available to UK political parties. Recommendations include the greater use of opposition research, and people-metering techniques to inform party election broadcasts and news broadcasts, and the analysis and testing of voter reactions to the oppositions’ policies. Inclusion of the results of these types of research would engender the type of competitive analysis that is commonplace in the US, and could encourage political parties to differentiate themselves more effectively from their opponents. The negative approach adopted by US campaigns would not be so appropriate since the type of personal information used in US political advertising is not as available in the UK. There are also different laws and regulations governing its diffusion into the public domain. The UK model emphasises the considerable differences in the way that campaigns are financed, although the UK interviewees indicated that techniques associated with American direct mail, as opposed to the development of copy, offered strong potential for fund-raising purposes. Adapted telemarketing methods might also be useful in collecting mass donations from interested segments of the electorate. To further professionalise the campaign function, a greater understanding of how the services marketing mix applies to political campaigning, is necessary. In addition, an understanding of how market oriented parties are, and the level of the quality of the service they offer, would be particularly useful in making political parties more accessible to the electorate. Finally, an understanding of how effective different media are in communicating political messages, and their impact upon the news management process, would serve to ensure that parties make the most efficient use of resources possible. Such a re-orientation of focus to the voter instead of the party itself, which the use of marketing techniques would facilitate, may enhance the UK voters’ understanding of the political process and, perhaps, re-ignite their interest in democratic participation.

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Appendix 1 Direct Mail Fund-raising Letter Sent to Potential Donors (Text) Dear Mr. and Mrs Godwin: I am writing to you today to alert you to a radical Big Labor takeover in the schools in your community. The National Education Association (NEA) - a union second only to the Teamsters in size and power - is about to seize total control of public education in America. Unless you and I take IMMEDIATE ACTION on this EMERGENCY situation, the NEA will succeed in pushing legislation through Congress that will force compulsory unionisation on every public school in the country. The threat to America’s public schools and to our children is so serious and so IMMEDIATE that I am determined to do everything I can to fight the NEA’s radical agenda. That is why I am asking you to support STOP THE NEA, a special project of the Heritage Foundation. As part of this project, several other senators and I have asked Heritage to prepare a national survey on Big Labor and Education..... I must ask you TODAY to send $25, $50, $75 or even $100 TO STOP THE NEA TODAY .... I’ve already enclosed a special reply envelope for your use. So please send your answered survey TODAY. IT’S URGENT THAT I HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BELIEVE ME YOUR HELP IS NEEDED MORE THAN EVER. Sincerely Steve Symms U.S.Senator

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Appendix 2 List of Questions Asked by Interviewer of US Political Consultants (Phase I) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What business are you in? What is your “product” or service? Who are your customers? What do you understand by the term - political marketing? How do you use political marketing in your work as a political consultant? What political consulting techniques are currently used in political consulting in America? 7. Which political consulting techniques would you consider contribute most to a candidate’s success? 8. What political consulting techniques could be applied to the European markets? 9. What political consulting techniques could be applied to the UK market? 10. What are the ethical boundaries in this business? How should the market be regulated? 11. How does campaign finance affect electioneering? Should it be reformed? How could it be reformed? 12. How do you research your clients’ needs? Do you rely on quantitative or qualitative research? 13. Do they conduct research into their competitors’ services and how do they do it? 14. What are the most salient issues in political consulting today?

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Appendix 3 Example Fax (email used same format) sent to American Political Consultants Requesting Interview (Phase I)

FAX MESSAGE To: [Political Consultant] [Organisation] From: Paul Baines Middlesex University Business School Date: 2nd December 1997 Re.: Research Interview I am a university professor at Middlesex University Business School in London, England. I am faxing you to ask if it would be possible to interview you for around three-quarters of an hour when I visit [PLACE] between January [DATES]. This interview will be on the subject of political consulting and the subject matter generated will be used for research purposes only. Anonymity is assured and a copy of the transcript interview will be provided. I would be grateful if you could give me a response as soon as possible so that I can plan my route. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Regards Paul Baines Tel.: 011-44-181-362-6114 Fax.: 011-44-181-202-1539

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Appendix 4 List of US Interviewees (Phase I) Interviewee Consultant A Consultant B Consultant C Consultant D Consultant E Consultant F Consultant G Consultant H Consultant I Consultant J Consultant K Consultant L Consultant M Consultant N Consultant O Consultant P Consultant Q Consultant R Consultant S Consultant T Consultant U Consultant V Consultant W Consultant X Consultant Y Consultant Z Consultant AA Consultant AB Consultant AC Consultant AD Consultant AE Consultant AF Consultant AG Consultant AH Consultant AI

Date of Interview 9th January 1998 13th January 1998 16th January 1998 19th January 1998 20th January 1998 21st January 1998 21st January 1998 21st January 1998 23rd January 1998 29th January 1998 7th January 1998 14th January 1998 15th January 1998 21st January 1998 22nd January 1998 26th January 1998 5th January 1998 12th January 1998 12th January 1998 12th January 1998 15th January 1998 29th January 1998 6th January 1998 7th January 1998 13th January 1998 16th January 1998 22nd January 1998 12th January 1998 15th January 1998 15th January 1998 16th January 1998 26th January 1998 8th January 1998 19th January 1998 26th January 1998

Type of Consultant (main areas) Media Consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant Media consultant General consultant General consultant General consultant (retired) General consultants Direct Mail / General consultant General consultant / Media consultants Direct Mail consultant Direct Mail consultant Direct Mail consultant Direct Mail consultant Direct Mail consultant Direct Mail consultant Targeting and polling consultant Polling consultant Polling consultant Polling consultant Polling consultant Fund-raising consultant Fund-raising/Finance consultant Fund-raising consultant PAC Director - fund-raising consultant Fund-raising consultant Opposition Researcher Opposition Researcher Attorney specialising in political campaign law

Area Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Chicago Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Austin, Texas Austin, Texas Chicago Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Chicago Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Austin, Texas Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Washington DC Chicago Washington DC Austin, Texas Chicago

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Appendix 5 Example Transcript of Interviews (Phase I) Interview with Consultant U. *PB: Can you describe for me please, the business that you're in? *U: My company is a Republican political consulting company that specializes in direct marketing, that's print advertising, both fund-raising mail and also mail design and print advertising design to persuade public opinion. *PB: What would you say your products or services were then? *U: The product in particular is; print advertisement, direct mail advertisement, brochures and advice. Principally what I'm known for is the production of brochures and print advertisements. *PB: What is the profile of your customers? *U: I was the director of the print advertising campaign for the "Dole for President" campaign. I was almost the exclusive vendor in the primary and the leader of the team in the general election. I did work for Oliver North, I do Speaker Gindrichs' advertising in his district. I do work particularly for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the House of Representatives campaign committee for the Republican Party. I do a large number of the critical races for House of Representatives. Some senators including Senator McGowan who is now the chairman of the campaign committee for the Senate. So, mainly federal races and obviously including presidential. *PB: What's the difference in your product between a congressional race and a senatorial race? *U: It really depends on the nuances of the district. For instance in the special election that occurred on Statten Island last year, where TV advertising is almost prohibitively expensive, direct mail was the advertisement of choice. So in congressional races where T.V advertising is prohibitively expensive, then direct mail becomes the predominant tool for advertising. In a state-wide race, like Senator McGowans' for instance; it was targeted to certain coalition groups; veterans, people that lived in certain geographic areas, in some states often both parties target senior citizens with special information aimed at Social Security, Medicare, pension issues. Democrats usually accusing the Republicans of wanting to destroy it and Republicans explaining that we don't. So in a state-wide US Senate campaign, direct mail becomes much more of a support mechanism for targeted audiences. Where as in a race for the House of Representatives it can become a critical component. Similarly in the Presidential campaign; where in the primary process we are only worried about Iowa and New Hampshire, it has a much more important role. But by the general election its role is greatly reduced to broad programmatic activities. *PB: What about at the Presidential level? What would the difference ….? [Interrupted] *U: As I mentioned, the real difference in the presidential is the primary versus the general. In the primary election process, because the nominations for president are influenced by a fairly small group of people; there were I think about 160,000 Republican voters in the Hampshire 1996, that's a group that you can put your hands around; obviously in a presidential race where you're counting 40 million, it's prohibitively expensive to send direct mail to everybody, so in the primary process you can do an 199

awful lot with it, to target constituencies to people who have particular views on the 2nd amendment of the US constitution, the gun issue, abortion; there are various ideological coalition groups that you could direct mail as uniquely qualified to communicate to those people because you can segment the electorate. In a general election, the resources of the party, because we're limited on what can be spent here, how that's done is it principally shifts to party advertisements; because if you mention the candidates' name specifically it can't fall under the federal expenditure limit rules. Those rules changed all this and because of all the scandals that were going on, the loopholes that were actually originally designed into .... those allow volunteers to distribute; so literature that a volunteer hands out at someone's door or outside a grocery store does not fall into those expenditure limits. So you build some of those kinds of programmatic activities. Both parties also do things in the general election, to a much greater degree, targeted to get people to go vote; to vote absentee through the mail, some states have very lax laws on absentee; some restrict it to only senior citizens or disabled, but with direct mail you can actually send them the forms for them to do that. So in a general election it becomes a much more infrastructure type activity, where primary message in a presidential campaign, even in a primary, but not to the same degree, is carried by really what the candidate says or comes across through the media. *PB: What do you understand by the term "political marketing"? *U: People can use that to mean a whole lot of different things. There's really a number of different definitions of it. Whether it's used in the more academic sense, the definition of how you advertise someone; a lot of people use that to describe the concept of how you position a candidate on issues to attract voter interests and votes. *PB: What might another definition be? *U: A person in the media would use political marketing to describe anything that was an advertisement that came out from a candidate. From how a candidate dresses to get a knock on a door, to the advertisements. It's a flexible term; I don't think it has a true meaning to anybody except for those specifically interested in it. *PB: If you take the definition of political marketing as being "..the use of marketing tools in promoting a candidate" How would you use political marketing in your work? *U: I happen to believe in particular that there are a lot of tools and science available that we have developed through the direct marketing, direct response industry in the US. A lot of research has been done in the commercial world, how people read advertisements, how people absorb information, what it's like if you get a response. In politics there's an amazing number of people who practice politics, who don't understand that there is research out there that tells people how they react, how they look at an advertisement, where their eye looks first. One of the things that stands my company apart from other companies is some of those rules that are there. It's much more pronounced in the direct mail fund-raising part of politics, where we know for instance that a live stamp, or better yet multiple live stamps on an envelope, and the more personalised an envelope looks and the less it looks like it was created by a machine, the more likely it is for the envelope to be opened and read; and how you write the copy; the fact that PS [postscript] is the second most read part of the letter. There's actually a good deal of science there when it comes to the marketing of that. Where the marketing in the commercial world falls down entering the political arena is that what political consultants are asked to do is to take a product that often has zero percent real market share, although once you have a party label it does have a 30% market share, and in a month move that market share to 51%, with budgets that are minuscule compared to commercial 200

marketing. So what you need to do to make that happen requires in some areas a different kind of thinking than you do in the commercial world. Brand identification etc. the rules are somewhat different; you don't have time to build that because everything is very new. So there are a lot of tools that can be brought over, but I think one of my pet peeves in American politics is actually there's a huge disconnection between the science or academic understanding of marketing techniques and the use of that in politics. Neither group wants to understand the other and so they tend not to cross-pollinate, which is a big problem, and that's actually one of the things that I've gone and spent some time doing and I think that it makes my product better and therefore hopefully will allow my clients and candidates to win elections. *PB: What political consulting techniques are currently used to promote candidates? *U: Literally everything under the sun, back to the modern equivalent of probably how the Roman Senators used to round up votes to win election to the council… *PB: ..What bribery and extortion? *U: …Yes, and undoubtedly there are always cases that take place and most notably Chicago, New Orleans and parts of New York. One of the things that people don't understand about political consulting is that it has gotten to the level of sophistication in US it's like you're going to a doctor;-but what does that mean? Are you going to a Orthopedic Surgeon who specialises in the patella, or an Orthodontist for the teeth, or an Optomologist and there's literally political consultants that have more specialities, things that you wouldn't even imagine were special. There's a lot of techniques from direct mail, print advertising, to organisation; how you organise volunteers and knock on doors, to paid or volunteer phone operations where you're calling people on the phone trying to either gain information about the voters opinions for advertising purposes, then there's scientific survey research, there's television advertisements, there's people that specialise in the press and earned media and basically all those techniques if you will are ideologically neutral; they're like technologies, some parties or individuals may be better at one or the other, but in reality those are very transferable. Fundamentally what people often forget and what is clearly the case in American politics right now is the lack of the glitz or the noise of politics. People forget that what really wins elections is what your candidate stands for, the message that voters are hearing and the people who understand that tend to do much better in political campaigns. *PB: How do you tie in these different techniques that you've just mentioned along with an understanding of the voter? *U: There's an old saying "know yourself, know your enemy" and to know the terrain, know the community and literally when you get involved in a campaign you need to assess what it takes to achieve that, and just like any other profession if you're going to try and mine coal, you need to first understand; is the coal buried a mile underground in granite or is it on the surface and you use different techniques. Clearly the American reflex now in politics is how much money do you have and how much television time can you buy and then people try and figure out now we've achieved that what else do we have the resources or time to be able to figure out. That's the simplest way, but often if you can't achieve that critical mass of a campaign, you will be defeated by a campaign that's doing that plus other things. I happen to go through a process of what I call developing a message tree. Which is very simply identifying what is the best message or messages that will help attract people to my candidate, and then I figure out what is the most likely course of action for the opposition, what they will say about themselves, and then from there the other two (there are four quadrants, those are two quadrants)then the remaining two are what each side will say about the other side; and you can guess if 201

you're smart and you want to spend some time studying your opponent, what they're going to do or what they would do if you were in their shoes, and then what would be the best course of action. Once you know what cards you have to play then you can decide how to embark on a campaign; and the answer is it's very different but there's general rules of thumb. If you are a challenger to an incumbent office holder of any kind the first thing that you've got to be able to explain to people is why they should not re-elect the person that they have been re-electing for 10 years, and if you can't achieve that threshold you've got a serious problem. Then if it's an election where there's no incumbent office holder, then often it becomes; what are credentials that are going to best help you in attracting people to your cause, and that will probably be the first step of the campaign. So, often what it is, is figuring out who's got the leg up on the ladder and figuring out whether that means you run up the ladder quicker or do you try and knock the other person off. *PB: Can you give me an example of a particularly successful campaign that you've been involved in, and can you tell me why you think it was successful. *U: Overwhelmingly the best success stories that I've been involved in are campaigns that for one reason or another we have found a persuasive message to deliver to voters and it is persuasive either because it attracts people to the candidate that I'm working for, or it repels people from the candidate that I'm working against, and that it touches a raw nerve with people, and that in my judgement is you get the science to get close to that but the art of deciding what that message is .. once you've got that message, delivering it becomes a mechanical process that doesn't take a great genius. One instance on a local level in Pennsylvania they had perks and privileges, the members of the state legislature in Pennsylvania; one of them is that they get a car paid for by taxpayers, they get auto insurance paid for by taxpayers, they get a salary that is about 30% above the average of Pennsylvania, they get mileage when they drive the car and they get expenses when they go somewhere. *PB: ..And a job for life! *U: Yes and in ten years their pension I think is fully invested. What I found in one campaign is I had a guy that I knew, he was a friend actually that was running and he had next to no money, almost zero, and he was running against other candidates who had ingredients, one had organisational support, one had invested in making sure that they had signs to have their name over, and his slogan was basically to take a car horn and honk it and literally to say "this is a perk, this is what's wrong with our legislatures, they're worried about these privileges for themselves and they're not representing the people." We talked and he said .Well, I've got this policy back here and he had all sorts of other very intellectual arguments why he would be a good candidate and I said we don't have the time to communicate intellectually with everybody, even if they would listen and that's a whole separate discussion, we don't have the time or money to communicate with them. So we would just deliver this message and get their attention and be clear that we are the candidate that is going to be different from all the other politicians, that was a very persuasive case. In that case it was all about him, it was an open seat for the state legislature, so to the extent that he was running against his opponents, he was daring them to agree with him and not accept this perk; and that was the great failure potentially is that if they adopted the same position, we wouldn't have very much of an issue because then everybody agrees. Well the other candidates thought they were going to win and of course wanted to protect this perk for themselves. So it became a real dynamic issue and a real difference and it was taking a lesser issue and elevating it; and that was a very persuasive positive issue. In 1992, when I did the advertising for a guy named Rick 202

Larzio against the then congressman Tom Downey in Long Island. We came up with a very disciplined approach; we would save our money till very late, the campaign would be entirely about the incumbent, we would spend probably less than 10% of the space we had available, not even the money, the space we had available on our print advertisements, to mention our name, and the rest of the campaign, which pretty much amounted to 9 pieces of direct mail advertising targeted to ( and we thought very carefully about who we would target in the district) and all the direct mail was about the abuses of the what was then termed the Imperial Congress, the perks and privileges of congress, and on election day, Rick Larzio won with 51% to 49%, Larzio had a campaign that was not well financed, I think we were outspent 5:1 but because of the discipline of the message and of the mechanics of what we did there were a whole lot of things we could have done, but by concentrating our resources we in effect achieved a resource parody amongst a very small segment of the electorate. Fortunately for us we picked the right segment of the electorate, and spent some time thinking about who we were targeting to do that, and that was very successful, but what was also successful about that was the focus message; and again and again you have stories of a focused message overcoming an unfocused campaign that is in some ways tactically more proficient. Because people still want to believe in candidates, and even though they say they don't believe in them, when one comes along and there's some sort of emotional resonance, that becomes a very powerful tool. *PB: OK. Carrying on with it and since it's part of your company's title, it'll probably be useful to add to it as well, how do you actually go about targeting the voter and how do you determine the issues that persuade that voter? *U: It's a big subject. One of the advantages in the US is that we have not only the development of computers that are out there, the lists that are available, but the compilation of lists in both the political and non-political sectors of the economy is gigantic. You can almost pick any subject that you can imagine and there's a way to get a list of people who have a preference. Now some of those are of less interest, like people who subscribe to running magazines, or outdoor sports magazines that probably has very little political utility, but to begin with what you do in a campaign is you analyse the past voting patterns of the district, of the constituency. You look at each of the individual polling locations in the constituency and you see how they behave. You'll find there's always a polling that is predominantly for one party or another and you need to know why that is, but if it's overwhelmingly for the other party you just ignore that polling location and most voters there you don't want to contact. And it's a beginning process, what I describe very simply as the third, the third, the third. Roughly speaking in America, 1/3 of the people are behavioural Republican voters, they're going to vote for the Republican candidate no matter what, they don't even care how the Republican spells their name. There's a third that are basically behavioural Democrat for whatever reason. Their union affiliation, in the US certain minority groups like blacks are overwhelmingly Democrat. Korean Americans are very Republican in California, so there's other breakouts. So you can look at that; we spend a lot of time geographically finding out where the voters are in a district. We know demographically a lot about voters. You can overlay survey research information where with a poll- the biggest mistake that people make in polls is they care who's ahead on the survey- in fact the survey is in some ways the least valuable part. What's really valuable is the cross-tabs, what people think about different issues. So you can find out that for instance, in the State of Oregon, if you are a Republican and you know the persons' age you probably know their ideology. Republicans over the age of 45 in Oregon tend to be much more moderate; they are the 203

traditional sort of Rockefeller Republican part of the party. If they are under 45, they're much more likely to be socially conservative. So we know that through survey research but I don't need to do another survey in Oregon to know that that's true; so I can start to overlay all this plus one of the things that's very critical is lists of registered voters. In the US basically every county or municipality maintains a list of registered voters that's available to candidates. Depending on what that county or municipality has decided, you will have available in addition to the person and their address you may know their party registration. In California, that's almost 100% of the people are registered in a political party, and 92% are registered I think in either the Republican or Democrat party; the rest are in the Greens or the Peace and Freedom or basically the insignificant parties. But in some jurisdictions like in the State of Ohio they don't maintain that party registration, but obviously knowing party registration and knowing the history of how that party behaves in that state can tell you a lot. Generally speaking in the U.S people who are registered Republican- and particularly if they were registered Republican in the 80's or 70's would stick with the party under most circumstances, and both parties were really competing for (if you didn't know what to do you registered as a Democrat back then)now in a lot of places that's changed, in the last 15 years the South has gone through a massive realignment, including party registration. You also often know if they votednot who for - but if they actually voted in the last election. That means that if you're in an election where the turnout is critical, you can generate lists of who is less likely to vote or who is more likely to vote; and obviously if you know someone is very likely to vote, you want to make sure that they're going to agree with your candidates, you're going to target them. If your strategy is you need to increase turnout, then you target the people who are less likely to vote, and by communicating them, by calling them on the phone, sending direct mail, having volunteers knock on their door they're more likely to vote on election day. You can get age information out of this. In some states you have your drivers' license file, the list of automobile licenses is available and you can match that versus registered voters. In most states of the US, a drivers' license is almost universal. *PB: What would that tell you then? *U: Well, it will chiefly give you age, in case the county didn't maintain it; it can also give you race, that's sometimes available to that. Now a lot of states have begun to restrict the commercial uses of that information. There's also every time if you've ever looked at a magazine and they say we'll give you three free issues if you fill out this questionnaire, and they ask things like; what's your household income, are there children present, well, for 30 years there have been companies that have been taking that information and compiling it into a national data base. So you can actually go and get information, for example are there children present in the household. This is actually very important, education is an important issue, the difference between the candidates; the fact that there are children in that household probably means that that is the household that is more concerned with education, as opposed to the 65 year old single male who is probably more concerned about his taxes or social security. The challenge of a campaign is to sort through the clutter of that information and find out what's politically useful. Clearly party registration is the most valuable. But there's other things that we've learned, that there's other characteristics out there that are guideposts to behaviour. So there's a huge amount of information that's available, but principally the most valuable is how that polling location has behaved in the past, and often that's a subset of 600 voters. Then you have the list of registered voters, so if you know that a polling location splits from year to year; let's say it might have voted for Dole and it also voted for Clinton in the last presidential election, but it voted for the Republican candidate for Congress. You know 204

that that's a battleground polling location. So what you would do is look at that and say; first I'm going to look at the voter file of the people of those areas and the people who vote in the Democrat primaries, they're behavioural Democrats almost certainly, so they're never going to vote for the Republican so I can throw them away-I'm not going to bother to talk to them. The people who are behavioural Republicans, I want to make sure that they go and vote, but I probably don't need to persuade them. Then I now have a subset that's somewhere between 40-60% of who's left; I've now narrowed my universe and that's the amount of time or money I can spend to communicate to that remaining portion. Then I might have a survey that says generically in this district, the issue of crime plays very well to people under the age of 50; and property tax is very important to people over the age of 50. So what I might do is split that remaining universe and talk about crime to that segment and taxes to the older segment, to try and convince them to support my candidate. You can go into quite a bit of detail, and that's probably comparing to other places, although the U.K is probably one of the next most similar countries on having that kind of quantity of data available. I've done work in the Ukraine and lists of registered voters is a new concept in that country that's just arrived, and so that is one of the colossal differences; but the fundamental principal of the third, the third, and the third in the middle- and whatever those actual percentages are in that particular district- is the critical part of a campaign, and campaigns that don't figure that out might be wasting a lot of time talking to the wrong people. *PB: Thinking about a situation similar to the one in the Ukraine, where lists of registered voters are new; but what about perhaps- many of the things and the information that you talk about, much of that information is pre-established- what would you do in a situation where such information, such databases and mailing lists didn't exist? *U: What I suggested, and Eastern Europe is a great example, where suddenly they have an election- and I did some work in South Africa, where literally they had never cast a vote for anything in their lives; but there's things you know, for instance, find out where's your opponents' base is and ignore it. Find out where your base is and make sure of supporters and make sure that they're going to be there for you; there's some ways you can find out for instance, in Eastern Europe, one of the principal issues is the older parts of the population are much more insecure nowadays than they were under the communist regimes. Because the Communists made sure that the pensions got paid on time, there wasn't an inflation problem to the degree that they have sometimes had, and so generally speaking the pensioners in the large parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union represent a critical core constituency for the parties that advocate order and discipline and are the Communist or the Neo-Communist or the Socialist or even the Neo-Nationalist parties that are there. Whereas the young people (and there the definition of young is often under 45)but the younger you get, the more Western oriented they were culturally even before but especially now, they know that they can gamble on the free enterprise system. So you can just look at a crowd and sort of, you know, if you've got grey hair it's probably less of a target for a Liberal Democratic party than a younger audience, similarly with large industrial cities, well when the factory's no longer working, you don't have to have any politics to be upset that you're no longer working and getting paid. So the blame in a lot of those places was placed on the change, so you go to the big industrial cities and they tend to be more oriented towards the socialist parties. In some of the areas that are very peasant oriented, because of the cultural things that even predate the Communists. In Romania there is a Peasants Party and it's very powerful in the rural areas; obviously it doesn't exist in the cities; and the Peasants party has great following in 205

the rural areas and it's platform is it wants to give the land back to the people who've been working it; well this has been a slogan for peasants for several hundred years. So there's some things which sort of naturally fit together there for targeting. *PB: How would you-and I'm going to be specific and I don't know how much you know, so that could cause a problem-just say for example, you had the limited resources the Liberal Democrats have in the UK. What would be your strategy there? *U: There's a couple of different things, like there's sort of two campaigns and I have a good but limited knowledge of the U.K system. What they would in that situation isfirst of all, is it going to be a national campaign and you have to wage the national party campaign just to be credible when you're competing for seats and that's sort of the minimum threshold you need to get across, not just the percentage rules but also you need to achieve that, but that's going to be the national structure; but to actually win an individual parliamentary seat, what they're probably going to have to do is go down and say, well where are the areas where there are the opportunities. What is the profile of a supporter. So they would probably have some sense of who their supporters are. Clearly right now, what they would probably want to do is target ex-Tory territory that has fallen to Labour recently. Those are seats that Labour does not deserve to have, but has because of the rout in the last election of the Tories; and that's probably where there's an opening for the party of a- almost by definition those are more sensitive seats- they probably know something about the general supporter or potential supporter of the party; I think or my guess would be is it's an upper income, upper educated person… *PB: The Liberal Democrats? *U: Yes *PB: It's kind of a mixture. *U: Whatever it is it's actually probably is just like here. The Republican party means something-a Republican from New Jersey is not the same as a Republican from Alabama; they may share a common banner but to hear them both talk they would be in different parties. And so the same is probably true, but what they would have to do is go through and look at the seats where there were prospects for victory; obviously at this point for them to compete in a Labour stronghold is a foolish waste of their time, because Labour is not going to collapse anytime soon, but where there are opportunities, are the opportunities where the Tories are weak where the Tories should be strong; because there are people who are uncomfortable with Labour historically and that's where you can break the voting patterns, and so they would have to target those kinds of constituencies, and figuring out had the profile of who is a potential Liberal party supporter. *PB: What's the most innovative segmentation base that you've seen used-or you've used yourself? *U: Do you mean technically or just a group that was of mutual interest? *PB: Well, both really. *U: There's constant experimentation with what's the newest way and computers are obviously allowed to do some sophisticated modelling, that's sort of the new trend if you will, the new buzzword, it's become popular in the last couple of years. I was actually involved back in the 80's with a lot of the modelling and segmentation of voters; the irony is what you often find in doing that is the biggest predictor of behaviour is past behaviour, and so what your really doing is trying to find what characteristics predict who was a past supporter. So there's a lot of computer stuff doing; one of the most common techniques that started in the 80's was to call voters, ask them over the phone what their views were; and sometimes it's what issues are most important to you, education, taxes and environment, crime; and whatever they'd say you would send them 206

mail on that. In fact I know actually, because I've got some samples somewhere of I think the last Thatcher campaign- they actually did a programme very similar to that. What I've found though, is if you are going to win the election on the issue of crime, there's not much you can tell the people on education; you want the people who are concerned about education to be concerned about crime. So you want to change their issue agenda; there's a flaw with that but there's still a lot of people who swear by that. One of the interesting things is often ethnic coding on files; America's the land of immigrants and there's all sorts of ethnic voting patterns; obviously black Americans are somewhere between 87% and 95% behavioural Democrat voters, but there's a lot of other ethnic groups. When you look at Irish voters in some of the older, more North-eastern states, if there was an upper income, it probably meant they were Protestant and therefore were what was sometimes called "lace curtain Irish", they'd be much more likely to vote Republican. If they were in lower or middle income areas, they were probably much more likely to be Catholic; the Catholic Democrat was if you will the target for the Republicans in the 80's, in the broadest definition a culturally conservative person; on taxes, on social issues, uncomfortable with the liberal leanings of the Democrat party; in many states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and so those were targets of opportunities. In Hawaii we know that Japanese Americans tend to be fairly Democrat; in California Korean Americans tend to be fairly Republican; in Chicago in the 80's, when basically the old white Democratic machine of Daley-Daley the elder, who's now dead; when it collapsed it was defeated in the Democrat party by the person who became mayor, a guy named Harold Washington-who was black. This created a gigantic ethnic and racial break through the middle of the Democrat Party in the city of Chicago and the immediate suburbs. So what you would do is, if you were opposed to the Harold Washington machine, whether you were a Democrat fighting in the primary or you were a Republican fighting a Democrat in the general election, you would target what people called stranded ethnics; which were people mostly of Eastern European descent (I think the largest Polish-American community is in Chicago) but it's Slavic-American, Russian-American, the Greek Orthodox Church actually, and you would do an ethnic coding of the voter file based on the last name; you would look at the ethnic spelling of the persons' last name, you would have a computer programme that would see it and if it for example began with an O it was Irish; if it ended with an I it was Italian; Chrisniac was probably an Eastern European name, therefore probably not a supporter of the Harold Washington machine and therefore a target of opportunity. So clearly one of the interesting discoveries of the time; and different communities income means different things, what for instance the mass movement in the South to the Republican party was fuelled predominantly by lower income voters, however, if you were targeting lower income voters in New Jersey you probably would not be targeting Republicans (unless for some other reason you knew they were Republicans) So there's some real interesting mixes that are out there. *PB: How do you evaluate the usefulness of different segmentation bases? *U: Most people, if they won the election and everything was a success and they should do it again. I spent some time actually going in after the election with postelection research and post-election survey research, trying to evaluate what happened; because I'd like to know, instead of just I think this is what worked, but it is tougher. Often one of the best ways to gauge processes is in a political campaign you're doing survey research a lot, and you begin to see demographic groups move. I was in a race in New Jersey where we were targeting Italian voters, both candidates were Italians. We could see in our survey research that we were beginning with from basically, I think technical parody to a significant advantage in about a month; a time of a lot of direct mail 207

advertising. We weren't claiming anything in particular about Italians, we were just targeting that ethnic group, because that needed to be part of the victorious coalition of whoever was going to win. Well my conclusion when I went back afterwards is the Italian Democrats were not targeted; my conclusion is that the Democrats had not targeted them. Maybe if they had simply communicated to them more, our success would not have been pronounced. So, survey research, and if you do some post-election studying of what works; that's another thing that's the great fall of politics is that if you win everything was brilliant, and if you lose then everything you did was clearly wrong and never both of those are true. *PB: You mentioned earlier, you talked about direct response; can you tell me something about that? *U: Direct response usually refers to getting a specific response through the mail or in the last 4 years or so it's also referred to telephones; where almost always it refers to getting somebody to send money back. It's often when we do campaigns for interest groups that want to lobby the legislative bodies; it means getting them to send in cards or letters to say; don't put the land fill in my back yard or cut my taxes. But most predominantly it (and in the commercial world it's buy this through the mail)is I'm going to write you a cheque for $12.32 in order to try and win and try and support your cause. It's a very advanced industry, we know there's always amateurs who are always trying to re-invent the wheel every year, but we actually know a lot of how people behave through that. *PB: What would you say the ethical boundaries were, in your business? *U: Personally or realistically? *PB: Both, because I think both are important. *U: I think they are too and it's actually one of the debates that is a…well there's no real debate going on right now in the political consulting community, but if there is one, that's the debate. My personal view is that if it's within the boundaries of the law and it's information that's available to the public, you're allowed to do it. There are some things that fall into that category that I personally won't do, or will only be forced to do by a candidate-and I'll be kicking and screaming the whole way. The reality unfortunately is, anything you want, unless you don't get caught; and the old saying was-and this was particularly true in the 80's, as politics became of more interest to the press-was do anything you want, just be prepared to deal with it if it was on the front page of the newspaper the next day. But in some ways politics is a near totally unregulated business in the US, particularly with the political consulting profession, but also with campaign profession; and my personal view is that there are excesses that are necessary for the survival of the system, and are guaranteed basically by the First Amendment of the United States; where freedom of speech and political speech is the most important and protected speech. *PB: What might those excesses be? *U: One of the things that's clearly talked about these days is negative campaigning , which is always the "ooh we don't like that" about politics and I get asked the question and even when it's being translated by 100 Ukranian translators, I understand the question even before it's completed; because it's a concern everywhere. The fact is there's a lot of ways to do negative campaigning or comparative campaigning, campaigning in any way that mentions your opponent in a clumsy fashion. It insults voters, it irritates them, it gets them angry, it gets them disgusted with the process. Most of the time that's usually because it's done in a clumsy fashion and the problem is because it's fashionable that the press talks about that in a national campaign, local consultants or local beginners 208

in politics who don't understand it use it very freely and don't understand the difficulties and what that can mean. Very often candidates will do things and say things that frankly, render it difficult for them to be not only elected, but to have any sort of public persona in their community for a while after that. That is the nature of the beast. The other thing is because politics is a very competitive business, both parties and everybody involved is almost obligated to do everything within the limits of the law to try and win. Most obviously stretching of the law, as the law clearly has built into it in the US several loopholes; and those loopholes have allowed both parties to do an awful lot of advertising in the last election, and over the last many years raised money to do certain activities. One I mentioned was that there was a provisional law that basically says if a volunteer is doing it he is not limited under the campaign expense laws. You still have to report it but it's not limited the same way. Well that allow some very aggressive operations to take place, but it usually requires you to have a couple of hundred people, who are not paid, to be doing this for free; handing out literature etc. and actually in the Statten Island special election last November, the Republicans, we had a giant operation. We had on any given day, 100-150 volunteers doing stuff; handing out literature, putting labels on mail, whatever it was, which also allowed us to take advantage and raise more money into that campaign. There are some people who think that's wrong-it is permitted expressly under the law. So that's clearly where it's being stretched. *PB: You mentioned two things, and I want to go back to the first. You mentioned independent expenditure, third party expenditure and negative campaigning; and you said that in many ways you disagreed with the concept, but it exists and that's what people do. So how do you run a good negative campaign? *U: Well I don't disagree with the concept of negative campaigning. If you go back to the papers written by James Madison on the theory of how it's supposed to work, the famous phrase is "faction must be made to compete with faction" and the way you keep people honest is by having somebody with an incentive to keep the other guy honest; and so that clash in a campaign is the critical component I think. So I don't disagree with negative campaigning; I think what's going on is that there are a lot of people who are very clumsy in what they do. For instance, one of the great stories that's always passed round is some last minute smear-somebody says that so-and-so is homosexual or so-andso has a secret deal, and that comes up the day before the election and that decides the election. Well, more often than not, not enough voters hear that to make up the difference, the election was still a 62% victory, 30% of the population did not listen to that and change their mind instantly, but there's always these myths that circulate about it. But what happens is people hear about that kind of smear and it's an unseemly part of the process, and so it's one more thing that reinforces the unseemly nature of politics, and discourages everyday peoples' participation; which then exaggerates the power of the people who are actively interested. *PB: But how do you conduct an un-clumsy negative campaign? *U: I think that's one of the reasons why there are the number of political consultants who are qualified, if you will, to do the job. They know how to deliver that information in a smarter way. Frankly the threshold is credible; if you take a piece of advertisement and give it to Joe on the street and they say is this believable, and if they say no, then you've got a problem. Because then all you've achieved is made it appear as if you're the usual politician, streaming or yakking about something that is not believable to an ordinary citizen. There are times when…for instance I was involved in an Attorney Generals' race last year, Republican primary; one of the opponents was a lawyer-a trial lawyer-he had been videotaped by one of his clients, while he was drinking and making 209

all sorts of lewd references and implying that she could get into Playboy magazine. To hear the story, it's the most bizarre thing; I mean which thinking person would allow themselves to be videotaped by somebody. Well, the client and the lawyer parted company in a very unfriendly way and this video was released to the press. It was such a sensational thing, our campaign made a judgement that we needed voters to be aware of this information, because that trial lawyer had got very wealthy and this information had become public, it had already been released to TV stations, it had got out, it needed to get out in our judgement, in order for us to have a chance to win the campaign. Realistically we knew it was a very long shot and so we thought how are we going to put this in an advertisement. The answer was anything that you did other than let this videotape speak for itself, risked making it not credible; and so we made the decision to use it. It totally destroyed the candidate who it was aimed at. Now people think that it destroyed the candidate that used it; the fact was, as our survey research told us, the ballot position was there were four candidates-we were in third place-the person who we would use this against was in first place. We would use this and that person would fall to fourth. Well what happened was that we had never been able to give people enough information to have an opinion of us; so we did change the ballot order but we didn't succeed in promoting ourselves. We just succeeded in taking somebody else out, so there's a credibility threshold. It was by many peoples' definition a very unseemly thing to see; because here you saw a guy who was slurred speech, pointing with a hand holding a glass of liquor with ice cubes in it, talking about this woman taking off her clothes. It was just unbelievable, and I knew it was a big risk but actually the day after we did it I was with a bunch of people who were not involved in politics and they suddenly started talking about this; and I just said well I guess we got their attention with this; they didn't know who really to blame, but they knew who to punish, they knew this guy should not be the Attorney General of the State of Virginia. So how you use that, there's a whole lot of ways to use this, but anything that didn't allow this guy to speak for himself risked making this look like a cheap smear; whereas it may have been a cheap smear, but it was credible when people actually saw this person for real, doing this. So, making sure that what you do is credible. *PB: Do you actually test your messages? *U: Whenever we can, survey researchers will spend a lot of time basically testing the theory; I'm going to ask you a question, what's your reaction to this question; are you more or less likely to vote for the candidate if you knew that he voted to raise taxes 22 times, and then you say, O.K we think this will work according to the survey or it won't. The difficulty in politics versus the commercial world where you have the ability to test it; often in politics is you have to throw it out there and see if it works, because you don't have the money to test it. If you tested it, you wouldn't have the money to run it after you found that it worked. Which is one of the reasons why political consultants that are good are in demand; because their gut tells them what works, what doesn't work. So in that situation we knew what might give us a chance to win and we had to take the risk, and my view is that you tell the candidate exactly that, this situation is very tough, if you want to, you probably won't win as things stand as they are, here's a scenario that might work; but in all honesty it might not and at the end of the day my personal view is it's not my name on the ballot, I'm not the candidate. The candidate has to live with the results of that decision; and I think actually that's very important part of the whole process, is making sure that the candidate, who's life you are really playing with in a campaign, is fully apprised of the major decisions and that they are responsible for them. Their career's affected by them; I've known people who have put candidates in debt, without the 210

candidate explicitly approving it and that is I think basically a criminal offence, but it happens all the time in politics, you have to give the candidate the option to say yes or no. And I've known candidates who've said-there's one guy who would be a Congressman today I think if he had been willing to take certain risks, but he said I'm not going to do that and I respect him for it and that's his decision not mine. *PB: Bearing in mind what you've just said, do you think consultants should be regulated? *U: Absolutely not. The worst thing in the world is any kind of certification, because I firmly believe in as I said earlier that faction must be made to compete with faction, and any kind of regulation, and even some of the loosest kind of regulations can only serve to curtail a candidates' ability to wage a political campaign, and the regulation that existsthat should exist- is that you can't violate the law. Enforce that and everything will be fine; but there's all sorts of discussions, there's the American Association of Political Consultants, which is a farce of an organisation. They have this ethics sheet that they want you to sign. Well, if you sign it and you take seriously what it means, there's lots of pollsters I know who've signed it, and one of the things it says is you will not discriminate on the basis of: race, gender, various demographic characteristics. Well, every pollster in America does that by creating cross-tabs and analysing how seniors think of issues versus others. So they violate that every single time that they do a surveybut that's not what it means, it just means that you're not allowed to use racially explosive language or whatever [sarcastically said]. Well what does that mean? You either believe in it and so the regulation of consultants, it does threaten democracy, and the mistake that I think people make is they don't understand really what a political consultant is. There are people who provide a technical service and sometimes there's campaigns where I'm asked to do something but they're not asking for my advice, they're asking for my company's' mechanical ability to complete a task for them. I'm not really a political consultant when I do that, I am just a vendor doing a job. There are thousands of businesses that do that for political campaigns, the people that print the bumper stickersthey're not political consultants, they print bumper stickers. Do they get regulated? And the thing is what people don't realise is that the other part of the political consulting world, the political campaign world is something that's been forever; there's always been an advisor who tells a public leader what they think would be the wisest course of action. That's what Machiavelli wrote in "The Prince", he was advising people on how to act; and it goes back to the biblical era, there were people telling the Pharaoh do this, don't do that; and to regulate it as a profession all you will do is there will be people who operate in the shadows and on the sidelines. People who will say I'm giving advice but I'm not getting paid by that person, I'm getting paid by the tobacco company, whatever it is. So that's not going to achieve anything. *PB: Let's look at this advice aspect of what you do. How does it affect the campaigning process? *U: It's a huge part of the campaign. That is a critical component. There's always somebody in a political campaign, often groups of people who are giving the advice to the candidate and to the staff and this is what you should do. Sometimes it's from mechanically, you know, this is how you target, to this is the issues that you should emphasise. There was a discussion in a political campaign in New Jersey when waste was washing up on the beaches; a candidate needed an issue to talk about that was proenvironment and he said that we ought to put something in the waste at hospitals so we can track it down; the people who came up with that suggestion had no technical expertise whatsoever, they were looking for a political issue. It was very valuable and 211

you know what? There's now a law called the Medical Waste Tracking Law and these things are put into hospital waste and it's actually very helpful now; but the people who invented it had no technical idea, it was done for political purposes, and that was actually good policy as well as good politics. *PB: What are the major strategic decisions that are made in a campaign? *U: There a couple of major ones. Obviously the most important one is; do you run, what do you say, the message component I talked about in the very beginning is a crucial component; probably the next biggest one is; when do you choose to say something less than flattering about your opponent, and when is that spent with advertising money; those are critical decisions in every campaign. If you can make those all the resource allocation follow those decisions and in many ways the secret of politics is common sense. It's all very simple to seek the truth but there's a lot of people with very little common sense out there, particularly when you spend every day meeting voters and you've got people telling you what a horrible person you are and people telling you that you walk on water; it's easy to get your judgement clouded, and having somebody who's professional giving you common sense, and who's been through this before is a big part of the process. *PB: Can you give me an insight into the relationships between different consultants that might be advising a candidate and the campaign manager and how it all works? *U: Again it's like, how many different interpersonal relationships are there. There are managers who go into campaigns who are there basically as the hand-placed person of one consultant, and that person is going to basically make that campaign able to execute what that consultant wants done. There are managers who bring in a team of consultants and use them to referee, and they function as a staffing process of ideas. There's campaigns where the consultant doesn't like the manager and wants to get the manager fired and get anybody else in, because they think that if that man stays in either the campaign won't win, or they will be fired. There are as many different.. you could almost take any Shakespeare novel and you could assign the characters to a political campaign; because there's just an endless variety of things. *PB: Who is the most influential in strategy development-the candidate or the campaign manager? *U: It depends, it really depends. I saw a candidate once at a campaign school once where-it was a three day campaign school- and the candidate was there, and a lot of candidates, and the candidate had a moustache and asked the question; what do you think about it and one of the consultants who probably hadn't met that candidate more than five minutes earlier said, people don't like candidates that have facial hair these days in the US, if you were thinking of running in the future, you should probably shave it off; and the next morning the guy came down without a moustache. His wife was shocked, his wife of 20 years had never known him without a moustache. So clearly that candidate's willing to do anything. There are candidates, I've had candidates say this is what I believe, but professionally you tell me how we fit my beliefs into a winning campaign. There are candidates who say, this is what we're going to talk about, this is what I'm going to do and you're only here grudgingly-I do think you offer some value but at the end of the day, they are really, really intimately involved in their campaign. There's managers who are.. when I was a manager I campaigned and one candidate basically delegated me total authority, I could do almost anything, and if I had a plausible explanation after the fact it would be OK. I've seen a lot of campaigns that are that way, and often there's a blimp. It also depends on the level of the campaign; usually the lower the political office, the younger the manager is and the more the candidate relies on people other than the manager. Someone running for US Senate often has a manager 212

who's a very much more experienced, probably older person that probably has a little bit more influence in how things are done. *PB: Who are the campaign managers? Is it just a lead consultant? *U: No, often the campaign manager-politics is a game for the young-it is a high stress, high burnout, you can go to almost any political consulting office in October of an even numbered year, in Washington at 11 o'clock at night and find a majority of the staff either present, or connected to their clients by phone. Managers there's a continual process, people usually don't manage campaigns for more than four years. They want security, they want a bit more stability, and often it's not a year round job; so you may go from one campaign to another for about four years but after then you've got to find a longer term life and so there's a constant stream, there's always someone. *PB: Where do they come from though? *U: They come from everywhere. Most of them come from somebody who's interested in politics locally. A lot of times they're just people who're the best friend of the candidate. They're brought in because the candidate wants one person that's loyal to them, they bring in the best friend, and they trust that best friend to work with the consultants and the professionals, but to make sure they're not getting taken advantage of. *PB: Would it be a general strategist? *U: In those situations, it also depends on the level of the race. The higher the office you go, the more experienced the manager is. You can in a US Senate race have a manager calling the shots of what the strategy is, almost dictating to the consultants what's going to be done, they'll listen to advice but at the end of the day they're going to call the shots. But then there's some managers who are very much a chief of staff in the administrative sense of the term, their job is to make the trains run on time and to make sure everybody's doing their job, but the actual strategic decisions are being given from somewhere else. In the 80's you had a significant portion of the political consulting industry that were what were called general consultants; they were the strategy directors. Well, what a lot of campaigns figured out was that a lot of people know strategy other than general consultants, and general consultants were expensive. What you have now is usually either the TV advertising consultant or the polling consultant, who are the main strategic thinking behind the campaign; those predominantly tend to be one of the two in Senate races. In Congressional races it's a bit more fluid who that combination is, there's races where I've had a history with the Congressman for a while, where even though T.V is the principal tool, I'm the strategic advisor for the campaign. Because he's known me and he's trusted my judgement for many years; but the principal form of advertising has been done by the person we've brought in to do the TV. *PB: Shifting again, how does campaign finance affect electioneering? *U: The fundamental part of any political campaign is how many resources do you have. What is my stack of time, money, volunteers and then how am I going to choose to spend those resources and money is incredibly important, it's very important; every campaign has to think about how does it raise money, and how those rules do that. Is your question the current laws, or the proposed laws? *PB: No, what I'm asking really is current, because a later question looks at that. *U: One of the strengths and weaknesses of political consultants generally I think is that they-and most by the way are very ideological and gone into the political business for very ideological reasons-but they have become trained pragmatists, how do I win and so the answer is this is the law, how do we maximise what we can do under the law; and it's raising the money to make that happen. *PB: Do you think that it should be reformed, for a start? 213

*U: Yes, but where I think it should be reformed and where other people think it should be reformed are probably very different things. *PB: Well just tell me where you think it should be reformed. *U: Our laws are basically from 1974, so the dollar limits are way out of date; we created this industry called PACS, that didn't exist before that, in order to record and channel the flow of money; well now people don't like PACS, it's an artificial creation; so my view is if you don't like PACS then change that law. I generally favour opening the rules allowing people to do more, spend more; but one of the things I think is incredibly weak under this system is the recording mechanism. You have to report certain expenditures etc. Those reporting laws could be increased, and the other thing that I think is very important is that it doesn't matter how you change the law, it will benefit somebody, and it will punish other people; and to say that there's too much money in Presidential campaigns, well there was more money spent on the movie "Waterworld" than was spent on the Presidential campaign. If you add all the money spent in politics in the US, combined, it's less than the money spent on toothpaste. So proportionally it has a very big impact on the country and the world; whether it's whether or not the landfill or the town garbage dump gets put next to your house or next to somebody else's house, or whether or not the President of the United States believes in an Arab-Israeli peace settlement, it affects a lot of things; and to say that too much is being spent on it when in fact, relative to what else is spent in our society, it's trivial, it's a mistaken belief. However you shift the system it's going to help or hurt somebody; if you decide to… right now labour unions have a tremendous advantage under the law. They've got a large concentration of the resources, they have a natural ability to concentrate resources because of how they exist and they've existed for many years; and they figured out it's a loophole in the law, but it's a legal loophole, you're allowed to do it; to spend money to influence political campaigns, well any change right now they have a powerful tool, any change in the law will probably restrict that, they will become less powerful; so whatever you do you're going to affect the power of the labour unions in the American political system; the same is true of corporations, they're not allowed to spend money explicitly to help a candidate. Any change in that law would probably-you know you can't limit below zero, so any change will probably increase the power of corporations to influence politics, but you know things that corporations do, even if they don't intend to are going to have an impact on politics; if you run an ad that-you're a bank and you've got low interest rates because the economy is doing wonderful, well people will say hey the economy's doing wonderful, they're more likely to re-elect incumbent politicians of every party. So there's all sorts of political consequences of things that people don't even understand. So if you tinker with the system, I favour that the changes are slow and moderate, because whatever you do is going to have a much more profound impact; or people will just find the new loophole in the law because people are smarter than the ability to write the laws. *PB: You mentioned when you first went into this, your own specific view, that you thought that you might be opposed to what was thought generally. *U: Right now on Capitol Hill, there's a bunch of silly politicians running around with ideas to regulate or limit the amount of money that's spent on politics; and the fact is that; A. They don't even understand what they're doing, one of the well intentioned-but still incredibly stupid ideas out there is a guy named Paul Johnson, who was a reporter who's now got the ideas that they will volunteer, or they will get TV stations to volunteer or force over free time for politicians; and this way you allow politicians to speak more in a longer format, which is allegedly going to be better for democracy; we'll see if it happens, 214

if it's better or worse, and what they will do is, they will limit the- on the other side of this equation they then by giving politicians is they help to limit the amount of money spent on politics. If the time you give the politicians isn't more than they have now, you're limiting the amount of speech that they've got, which means people are hearing less about where politicians stand on issues in the broadest sense, therefore we'll be less connected to them; but not only that, they thought about how to fix US Senate races and then they decided to apply this to a race for Congress. Any country in the world, the US is incredibly diverse; to say how you wage a political campaign on Statten Island is the same as Iowa is foolish. In Iowa, TV is inexpensive, small town communities have their own newspapers, there's a sense of community, you can wage a campaign, you can visit voter to voter, TV advertising is affordable for almost anybody. In New York, TV advertising is prohibitively expensive, their paper there is more interested in what's going on in Bosnia, than what goes on in the Bronx. Not only that there are 25 congressional districts, at least that get New York TV, if you give each of them all of this free TV time on the air, there's not going to be anything else on television, other than politicians talking; which even for someone who's interested in politics would be worse than a party political broadcast. *PB: How do you go about researching your clients needs? *U: Usually it starts off with a conversation, trying to figure out what's coming down the road, and generally it's starting with the experience of knowing what similar races that I've been involved in, what is important and just going through that laundry list of here's the things that I would be thinking about, and let's just go down the list of what they are in a campaign and I would go over this with the candidate or his staff or whomever; was the mechanism in place to raise money, all those different things; how well known is the candidate, is the candidate a current office holder, is it an office holder running for re-election or for a higher office, that changes what they are going to have to be doing. One of the awful things is what does the candidate stand for. It's amazing how many people decide to run and don't know the answer to that question; they think it would be neat. I think that it would be neat to be a powerful person too, but you know… *PB: Do you conduct research into your competitors services, so other people that are doing similar things to you. *U: I actually spend a good amount of time, less so on the Republican side I tangentially pay attention to what they do, because I've got two kinds of competitors; I have someone in my niche in politics who may bid for the same client that I want, so I'm tangentially interested in them; but in fact I'm on very good terms with a lot of my competitors, that's part of my decision, it's a big country, there's a lot of business out there and if someone doesn't see the obvious differences between me and somebody else, sometimes that person's right, sometimes I'm right. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the Democrats are doing, because they're going to be trying to knock my head in and knock my candidates head in; various consultants will both be on panels to an association talking about stuff, and I'm listening to what they're saying because it's often for both sides, a rehearsal for how we think about messages and issues in campaigns, so you've got to be thinking about that. *PB: How do you try and understand-besides what you've just mentioned-how do you try and understand what your competitor will do? *U: Well, back in the 1980's I was actually, there was a special election that we lost, we the Republican party lost, I was not involved in it but a team was put together to go in and perform an autopsy- it was a race we should have won, it was a race that we felt that we should have won, we didn't understand why we had lost it at the party and that we 215

needed to answer the question of why we lost it if we were going to take the majority; so we went in and we accumulated a lot of information, we got copies of all the advertisements they did, we took a fresh look at what they were doing rather than having the day to day reaction to the campaign, we tried to reassemble what they did and we spent a lot of time analysing it and we found out an awful lot; and because people like to brag about their successes, the other side talked at a lot of public forums about how they won this brilliant victory, and so we were able to attach and fit the pieces together; and so sometimes there's a very formalised process of how you go and try and understand why it happened the way it did; also interviewing the staff and literally conducting a detective story into what happened. *PB: What did you look into particularly? *U: There are election reports so you can see how they spent their money, and when you look at a report and you suddenly realise that your opponents spent 5 times as much money as you did on telephones; you see the vendor, you know that that's a Democrat party vendor that has an MO in campaigns that it does this kind of activity and you go wow, they've spent that much money on phones and we didn't hear about it; that means that our campaign was getting attacked, probably, or our opponent was turning out their vote and we had no field intelligence that it was occurring. So we then went back and tried to figure out, and then it was like, oh, we did hear stories that they were doing it, so we went back to process and said do you remember 4 months ago when you got this call, what was the kind of things that they were saying to you; and we would find bits and pieces, and adding that to their boasting in public we were able to say, now we know what they did, and drew some very interesting conclusions about how they waged that campaign; so the public information is often very critical. One of the things that I said at the beginning, know yourself, know your enemy; you can figure out what your opponent is saying; if you can't figure out what your opponent is saying, either your opponent's an idiot-which means your lucky-or your an idiot or you don't have enough information, so spending the time to figure that out; and a lot of campaigns don't do it, a lot of campaigns just quietly go out there and do stuff and wait till they're buffeted by the effects of what's going on. In the Dole presidential primary we went out with what we thought was our campaign, a lot of people thought that the campaign would come down to a Dole vs. Phil Gramm contest; we bumped into Phil Gramm and for other reasons as well, Phil Gramm just disappeared, and suddenly the battlefield if you will changed radically. Part of I think the weakness of the Dole campaign was the slowness in responding to that change; and then when it responded to that change and finally succeeded in defeating Steve Forbes for the Republican nomination, it had lost track of how it was going to compete with Bill Clinton and to a large extent never got back. *PB: Actually, in trying to secure-and it's the same with both parties obviously- but in trying to secure the nomination you will make a stance and you're really getting deep into ideology, because you're trying to differentiate yourself from the other candidate. Presumably then, when you come back to the general election, that will cause you problems.. *U: It very well can, there's a lot of problems that's been discussed quite a lot; I think that Richard Nixon has a phrase that in the primaries you run to the right and in the general you run back to the centre. Both parties ideological supporters are over represented in the primaries because they care enough to go and vote, because the people who are less passionate don't vote; so how you do that is a very critical component and to being able to veer back, and part of it is, a large chunk of a presidential campaign is what the press believes; because the press is really the ones responsible for telling the country 216

what's going on, and if the press believes you've become a right-wing nut or a left-wing lunatic in order to win your party's nomination and suddenly you're basically recanting, they're going to start embarrassing you in the news; in the local party contests, those contests tend to be much more silent; they tend to occur with a lot less fanfare and a lot less press attention, so the penalties are not as significant. *PB: What would you say the most salient issues were in political consulting today? *U: How to win. *PB: Besides that then? *U: It depends what you mean by salient issues.. *PB: What are the hot issues in political consulting? *U: It's a very pragmatic bunch; it is how do we win, how do we the Republican party keep our majorities in Congress and plot to take over the Presidency. The Democrats I'm sure are the polar opposite, how do we retain control of the Presidency and regain control of Congress. We are not debating in the political consulting community that education vs. whatever, and we're not debating the ethics of the political consulting profession; there are a couple of people that talk about it, they get together about every six months and have a meeting and a few drinks and then it's over; so there's no burning issues, I mean there's always a little fizzle here or there but it's nothing, often when I get together with other political consultants it's how's the wife and kids, how are we going to beat so and so, and that's really what's on their mind. *PB: Thanks for your time. End of Interview

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Appendix 6 List of Interview Topics (Phase II) • What are the major differences in the way American political campaigns and the UK political campaigns are managed? PROBE FOR DIFFERENT USE OF MARKETING TECHNIQUES • Why do you think these differences exist? • How could UK political parties benefit from using American political consultants? PROBE ON MAJOR TYPES.: POLLING, MEDIA, DIRECT MARKETING. • Do you think opposition research could be used more in UK political campaigns? Why? • Do you think UK political parties could use direct marketing methods more?

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Appendix 7 Sample Transcript (Phase II) Interview with Respondent F *PB: Can you give me some idea of the differences between the way American political campaigns are run and the way UK political campaigns are run? *F: The biggest difference is TV and paid advertising. Most state-wide races, and probably most Congressional races and certainly presidential races, devote a lot of their time to paid advertising. That’s the one case that you have control over to communicate your message. The media consultant, the political ad[vertising] agency, is also a very central figure in an American campaign. That is because of the absence of paid advertising and the very limited party broadcast time, media does not play the same kind of role. You also don’t get the same kind of levels that you do in the States. The constituency level is very much driven by the party voting. You don’t have separately tailored Congressional, Parliamentary campaigns as you do with congressional campaigns. That makes the party much more important to all this. *PB: Are you talking about campaign co-ordination? *F: Well, not so much the co-ordination. Most congressional candidates in the states run independently of the national party. They have no say over who’s nominated, what they communicate, whether they do or do not support the national swing, obviously in Britain it’s a much more coherent, unitary exercise, with the message and the leadership driven from the top. With the press conferences held, the parties will play a determinant role on the issues that are addressed at all levels. In the United States, it’s much more diffused because we have many more independent campaigns and candidates. All things considered, I prefer the British system compared to the American. It’s healthier for the voters and healthier for democracy. It’s much more coherent. *PB: How do you think the British media can be improved? *F: By media do you mean the press or are you talking about media as the campaign itself? *PB: No, I am not talking about message. I’m talking about how the message transmission process could be improved in the UK. *F: To be fair, I’ve been involved in one national campaign, so I’ve no comparison point to the Labour campaign. But the Labour campaign was very effective in communicating its message ... a lot of this is not organisational technique, it’s about the coherence of the party, particularly within a historical period. The Labour Party, having gone through the transformation process it did, was in a position to communicate coherently because it was a united party which was not true of the Tories in 1997 who were divided on a broad range of issues. You need to have a sense of direction that unifies the party in order to be as effective in campaigning. The difference in the States is that you can have a very effective campaign and a party, which is a shambles because the party … because the campaigns are independent of the parties but that’s just not imaginable in Britain; where all the individual campaigns are part of the whole. *PB: But some people have said to me that American voters still vote on the party label *F: Not to the same extent. In the UK, the party has more meaning. Parties are still the single, most important determinant of voting in the United States, but partisan identification doesn’t mean that the parties are effective as organisations, or that the constitutional structure facilitates coherence. *PB: That’s interesting because what that could mean is that in the long-term, they will 219

have no party identification whatsoever as parties continue to fragment. *F: Could be, it’s like half-lives in physics, a couple of hundred years before we get to that point. Party identification still plays an important … the fact that your ‘94,’96,’98 elections have been quite polarised. In the 2000 elections, the Republicans are hungry to retake the White House and the Democrats are hungry to retake Congress, you get a heightened party role. So, I’m not sure we’ll see it fading too quickly. There is an important age pattern. Young voters are not very committed to party and over time that will diminish party identification. But that’s also true in Britain. *PB: What about other ways in which American campaigns are run differently from UK campaigns? *F: It’s hard not to underestimate the impact of money. In American campaigns because they depend on paid television, and because there’s no public financing, you are required to raise a great deal of money. Which means that there’s a whole organisational structure within campaigns devoted to fund-raising and a large proportion of candidate time devoted to fund-raising in order to be able to have the kind of advertising [that] you need. That’s why I prefer to work in Britain. You are spared that. Fund-raising is a trivial portion of the time. You lose track of how big a factor that is in US elections and how absent that is in Britain which leaves the campaign free for more rational kinds of activities. *PB: That will probably change even more so … *F: Depending on the level of government you are dealing with, congressional districts include populations of six hundred thousand, you have a large number of seats in Britain and so they are small constituencies. These are manageable spaces in which to operate. Congressional districts could cover whole states, like Montana … very, very difficult. You are also dealing with much shorter campaigns in Britain which I believe again to be healthier. This last campaign was a long one, five or six weeks for the formal campaign. Whereas in the US, the campaigns take place over a year. As a consequence, governance and campaigning run together which I think is less true in Britain. *PB: But what impact …. *F: The questions have a theory … one of the things that you said you were exploring was the transference of US techniques … *PB: That’s right. *F: … campaign technology and culture to Britain whereas I’m tending to stress how different the two are. *PB: That’s what I want. *F: Well, a lot of this stuff just isn’t transferable. To me the most important thing that was transferable was not .. let me step back a second … one of the things that distinguishes a campaign organisation from other kinds of organisation is that it was organised to win an election on a given day. The organisation ends on that day, there’s no adjustment at some later point. The result is that campaigns need to assess where they stand prior to the election. They can’t wait for the result and make an adjustment. So campaigns tend to be feedback organisations that will have a theory of how they get to the winning point, take actions that will measure the effectiveness of your actions and try to get as close to your goal as possible on election day. What that means is that, in the States, your advertising people, pollsters will normally be part of your strategic team. Because campaigns stretch over a period, you are spending a large portion of your resources and time on fund-raising linked to advertising and getting that right is an overwhelming pre-occupation of a campaign. With advertising a particular issue or launching an attack, you need to judge its effectiveness, make adjustments and so the 220

campaign is very much organised around that kind of feedback activity; judging your strategic direction. While campaigns have that character in Britain, the cost of campaigns are shorter [is less] because there’s no paid advertising, because you don’t have to devote so much time to fund-raising. You don’t have the same kind of investment in getting every kind of detail readjusted. So the campaign has a very different character. The thing that I think is most transferable is not so much the marketing campaign, but from the Clinton campaign, was the notion that the left can be tough-minded, progressive, fast, flexible, they can construct an organisation that can give people confidence in the left’s capacity to govern. I think that’s what was at the centre of the Clinton model and I think Blair picked up a great deal of that. It’s not so much American campaigns as a whole. The Clinton experience, which was not just a campaign prototype, was a type of campaign for the left. *PB: What you are saying is that it’s evolving all the time, aren’t you? *F: Well, it’s evolving as part of an ideological context, the Clinton campaign had a project which was to overcome the failures of the Democratic party. Some of that was ideological and part of it was organisational. The left were seen as saps, as weak, as punching bags which happened in campaign after campaign. This was a function of the Liberal political culture, which was also true in Britain. The 1992 campaign, which had the War room, rapid response, very aggressive, suggested that the left could be selfconfident and run a tough-minded campaign. There was a lot of Blairites who were in and around the Clinton campaign in 1992 and I think a lot of that kind of culture did carry across the Atlantic. *PB: What about .. one of the things that you said two minutes ago was that the strategic team comprises of the media consultant, pollster, campaign manager and so on; what sort of links do you have in the UK with the strategy team? Is there a difference there? *F: Well, first of all you have to differentiate [between] the campaign or postcampaign. In the campaign, it was formally on for six weeks although Labour organised itself over a longer period. The Blair campaign had a campaign manager, Peter Mandelson, it had a general consultant, Philip Gould, and we worked together and I did the polling but the ad. agency, although it was important was not part of the strategic operation because advertising did not have that role. They also have a different kind of role for the politicians, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair led their own campaigns, they were not simply spokespeople. They were very much part of the campaign strategy which is not true for candidates in the United States. *PB: What sort of impact do politicians have in the States compared to the UK with regards to political strategy? *F: It depends on what time of the campaign you are talking about. When you get late into a US campaign, the candidate is scheduled on the road, at events doing appearances, doing interviews, doing debates, doing TV, whatever. Involved in the big strategic direction of the campaign, not normally part of the headquarters organisation. The candidate was not part of the day-to-day organisation of the campaign, which is not true of Britain. The lead political figures were part of the daily campaign? *PB: So what you are saying is that they are much more interventionist. *F: They are much more engaged, particularly late on in the process, because events are less of a factor. In the States, you have many media markets. So you are travelling from state to state to be in many media markets in the presidential campaign. Many states have a large number of media markets, so you are moving into multiple media markets in a day is very important in order to have a campaign presence. In Britain, it’s very 221

nationalised, the media’s nationalised, there is some regional media but it’s largely nationalised. So you don’t have the same sense of the candidate on the road. Prescott went out on his bus but you don’t have that kind of travelling for Blair and Gordon Brown. *PB: That’s a function of geography, isn’t it? *F: But it affects, in a fundamental way, how the campaign is organised. It’s very different. The candidate is very much the leader of their own campaign. *PB: What about the message development process. How is that different? *F: I’m not sure that’s so different. The party matters more. The party’s history that bears on the kinds of positions one can stake out. Ideology is more important, even the new Third way. The US will be much more issue-specific rather than ideological. In Britain, the campaign operates with greater constraints. You don’t have negative advertising. Negative advertising is a dominant part of American campaigns. There are very few campaigns that don’t, at some point, sink into attack on issues or the character of the opponent. *PB: Why do you think that is? *F: Probably because of the diminished importance of lots of other things that used to determine vote. As party weakens, as union identification weakens, people are watching politics without the kind of mediation that comes with association. I think in Britain, people are not quite so isolated but that’s changing. But you also have the opportunity because you have paid advertising in the States, which means you get direct communication between the campaigns and the public. In Britain, you can attack. Certainly, we attacked the Tories, John Major, but it had to be done partially through press conferences and filtered through journalists and, if journalists decided it was out of bounds, it didn’t work. You didn’t have control over your own unity. You had to be quite sure of your line of attack in Britain, whereas, the paid advertising is permissive for campaigns to, kind of, push the envelope on the kind of damage they can do to their opponent. *PB: So there’s a difference in terms of the press, the filter of the press over here. *F: The attacks on John Major were on broken promises, 22 tax hikes, VAT on heating, VAT on food … *PB: That’s pretty negative, though … *F: Very negative but very issue-specific. They were not an attack on John Major’s character. *PB: I think it is. It could be regarded as so … *F: Well his public character in the sense of whether he keeps his promises. We did not attack him on whether he paid his taxes on his cars that he had in the country, or taking gifts from lobbyists, or taking trips to Paris. Such stories have broken in the British press but they were not part of the campaigns against the principle leaders of the parties. *PB: I know what you mean. They were not a specific function. Opposition research still has it’s function in the UK, it’s just leaked instead of … *F: There’s a fundamental difference between opposition research that you have to go through the mediation of the press and opposition research that you are able to put on the air in paid advertising. A lot of the press in Britain are not particularly high-minded. I don’t have any particularly great [unintelligible – respect?] for them. There quite partisan. But it still puts some limits on what you can do. There’s also the ethics in terms of the public. I think the role of religion in the States, with the majority of Americans going to church every week, I think puts more focus on character issues, values than you get in Britain. I think that does have a bearing on the nature of the campaign and what 222

kinds of issues that they tend to raise. *PB: It probably does. What about rapid response, how is that different in the UK compared to the US? *F: I can’t speak for past campaigns. I think the Labour campaign was geared up for rapid response and moved as well as what I experienced in the Clinton campaign in 1996. One of the things that is transferable; the Clinton campaign created a culture around information. Information was everything and, therefore, controlling it and moving rapidly in disseminating it was central to winning. Having control over your fate. The role of IT in the United States has accelerated that trend in campaigns in the States, the centrality of information and, therefore, rapid response. I think that culture infused the Blair campaign. *PB: When you talk about IT, what specific techniques are you talking about? *F: I’m not talking about techniques, I’m thinking about a culture in which technology is presumed pervasive and, in practice, information is widely available for gaining information about candidates or events and information can be readily disseminated. *PB: So presumably you are talking about databases of both information and candidates and so, that’s the opposition research angle, I suppose. *F: It’s more than that. It’s the fact that telecommunications allows you to follow by satellite what your opponents are doing all day on a continuous basis. So that level of information input gives you the opportunity, if you’re not overwhelmed by it, to respond very rapidly. *PB: In my conversations with political editors [brief details given], they were saying that they didn’t think rapid response particularly worked in this country. It didn’t contribute much to political debate. So, when they received faxes from a party, usually the Labour Party, saying that the other party had made this statement but it was erroneous in some way, and the reason for why they were wrong, they really weren’t interested in that type of press release because they didn’t think it contributed much to the debate. It was just attacking each other and not really furthering anything. *F: Well rapid response is related to the nature of the news. The print press is probably not the most important audience for rapid response. Print reporters are more likely to report on the whole of the day’s stories and information and the faxes will be just one case of information they contribute. In Britain, you have a number of news cycle, you’ve got TV in the day, TV at various points in the evening and you have different news cycles for Sky. It is TV with reports on the course of the day that is more effective. *PB: But that’s what I was talking about, the political editors that I spoke to were both broadcast political editors and they just didn’t think that parties responding to one another’s statements and policies … *F: Well, I think you’ve got to take that case by case. You have to look at when an accusation is made, particularly at a press conference, because that sits there all day. If the charge is made and you are able to refute it, saying it’s based on misinformation, or lacks citation, or support; it diminishes the effectiveness of that morning’s press conference which does affect the news coverage throughout the day. So I would want to see it case by case here. I will say because you begin with a daily press conference, the press is in a position to ask questions at the press conference, it probably means that this is less important in Britain than in the States because the press doesn’t get that opportunity. You don’t have the daily press conference in the States where the press gets an opportunity to challenge. If Bill Clinton unveils his 100 point crime programme and does an event on it, the press availability [to] maybe 20 seconds along a roadblock, whereas, in Britain, the press can [criticise]. The press does the work for you. 223

*PB: Can you give me some idea of the ways in which American general consulting techniques can be used by UK political parties. *F: Well, I’m not an apostle for American [laughter]. So I’m not looking for ways that they can … I have to be honest, most of the techniques that have been cultivated in the United States are very closely tied to the amount of money that are part of US campaigns and, therefore, make them almost irrelevant to Britain. *PB: OK, let me reframe my question then. *F: [Laughter] *PB: How do you think British campaigning can be professionalised and improved? * F: I’m not gonna accept the bait [laughter] because I’m not sure that they are wellserved by making it more professional than they already are. There are some thresholds that have been crossed in Britain, which were important to cross. You need to take communication seriously and that means respecting voters. You don’t simply unveil your party programme to your party activists and consider that to be sufficient. Communication, based on a good democratic premise that voters need to be part of the process, you need to find ways of communicating that are effective. That goes from everywhere from content to style. I think Britain has crossed that threshold. But I’m not sure that taking it to the next step of professionalism would improve the campaign. I’m not sure what criteria for improvement is. If the criteria for improvement is increasing participation then we are using the wrong model. I’m not sure what the standard is. If it’s winning elections … Britain has its own traditions. It has moved up in the effectiveness of communication but I’m not sure that that needs to move to the next stage. End of Interview

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Appendix 8 List of UK Interview Topics INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS Opposition Research - Political Editors • Can you describe the process used by political parties and candidates to refute statements made by other parties and candidates? • How do parties and candidates collect the information required for the refutation of such statements? • What have been the changes in the way in which statements are refuted in recent years? • Why do you think these changes have occurred? Direct Marketing • What do UK political parties and candidates use direct marketing methods for? • To what extent do UK political parties and candidates use direct marketing methods for fund-raising? • To what extent do UK political parties and candidates use direct marketing methods for voter persuasion? • Have their been any changes in the way direct marketing has been used in recent British General Elections? • Could direct marketing be used more than it currently is? How? • DESCRIBE AMERICAN DIRECT MAIL - Could direct mail of this type be used in the UK for voter persuasion? PROBE RESPONSE TO DETERMINE WHY IT COULD OR COULD NOT BE USED Polling • How is polling used by British political parties? • How does polling contribute to advertising message development? • How are polling methods used for formulating election strategy? • Are you aware of any changes in the way in which polling has been used by political parties recently? What have been the nature of these changes? • What have been the major uses of focus groups in British election campaigns? Could they be used for other purposes? Media Strategy - Party Executives • Can you describe the media management process used by political parties and candidates? PROBE ON RAPID REBUTTAL • How do parties and candidates collect the information required for the refutation of negative statements? PROBE ON OPPOSITION RESEARCH / COMPUTER SYSTEMS • To what extent is opposition research used in the UK? • Could party election broadcasts be redesigned to appeal to the electorate in a manner similar to American political adverts? • Do you measure the effectiveness of your advertising? How? For which methods?

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Broadcast Regulators • What is the role of the organisation with regard to political broadcasts? • What rules must political parties comply with when designing their party election broadcasts? • What have been the major changes in the way that party election broadcasts are designed over the last two elections? • What would be the role of the broadcaster if party election broadcasts or political adverts were played over the Internet? • How do you see party election broadcasts changing over the course of the next ten years?

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Appendix 9 Phase III Interview Request Letter

FAX MESSAGE To:

[Phase III respondent]

From: Paul Baines Middlesex University Business School Date: April 1999 Re.: Interview I am a lecturer in marketing at Middlesex University Business School and am currently conducting the final phase of a large research project into [UK Political Marketing]. As a part of the fieldwork, I would like to interview a number of eminent practitioners in different areas (for example, political editors, directors of campaigning, US political consultants working on UK campaigns, and consultants attached to campaigns from advertising, marketing research and direct marketing agencies). I would like to interview yourself in person (or by telephone if necessary) and would like to suggest that this occurs sometime during June. I will be happy to provide you with a copy of the transcript of the interview and a copy of the results once they are analysed. Incidentally, I would also be happy to provide you with a copy of the report that I have prepared and sent out to American political consultants on the first phase of the fieldwork which involved interviews with over thirty US political consultants. Please let me know whether you would be prepared to be interviewed as soon as possible so that I can make the necessary arrangements. If you want to know more about the research, I'll be happy to answer any of your questions. You can contact me on 0181-362-6114 or by email at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you in due course. Best wishes.

Paul Baines

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Appendix 10 Sample Transcript (Phase III) Interview with Executive R *PB: One of the things that I plan to look at is the extent to which American methods differ from those of the UK and as you have already said it is hampered by the different systems and culture. *R: Particularly the financial limitations of the political parties. *PB: How does that affect campaign electioneering? *R: Well, it severely restricts the market for American political consultants which makes large fees impossible for them; and many of them do nothing else because they have every senate and gubernatorial and congressional race as an opportunity area. Here there are only two potential clients which makes the difference. The Conservative Party or the Labour Party. Surprise, surprise, the Liberal Democrats are poor. Des Wilson asked me to do their polling, I said "don't be silly, you've got no money." There is a deep abiding suspicion over a number of years of America, and Americana and particularly American political consultants. The ones that have been here during the past have done the genre no good because they flew in and flew out and didn't stay long enough to understand the political scene ... there was a horrible experience recently, this lot was set up, Stan Greenberg, NOP, and Carville, they invited a bunch of captains of industry and Carville clearly had not prepared, did not know his audience and the feedback I heard from friends who are captains of industry in this country was "don't ever let that guy through my door, it's more than your life is worth" because he talked about American politics he had no understanding of the British political scene. Greenberg, of course, over Monsanto has done the "genre" no good at all because it was a naive assessment of the British market. Secondly it was a naive solution. To what degree he was responsible for the advertising campaign, I know not. But it was clearly driven by Senator Wilson and Washington without any depth of understanding about anything that was going on over here. So these guys are obviously not doing themselves any good. But going back to the limitations, the Representation of the People Act, the application of constituency regulations, the embargo against political advertising on radio and television, means that we play amateur games by comparison, we don't play for big bucks. There's no leverage. There's no Bob Squier, these guys are world class, heavy hitters, big fee earners, who wrap their income up to 5/6/7/800,000 dollars a year and they come over here and say "yes, we think we can deal, we'll make a very good film for you for £50,000." Well these guys fall off their chairs, not Peter Mandelson. Nobody wants to know. *PB: To some extent the market is clearly limited, is there more leeway for greater research across constituency boundaries? *R: I am the one that draws a very distinct line. The media doesn't understand, they call Philip Gould a pollster. He's not a pollster. He's the first serious political consultant in this country. Anybody else whose being doing it has been playing games. Philip is serious about it, he manipulates research. He doesn't use research, he manipulates it. I understand that, he understands it. He's not a member of the Market Research Society, he's not about to be. I'm not about to be a political consultant. When I went to Berlin fifteen years ago to address the International Association of Political Consultants they asked me if I would like to become a member, I said "No, I'm not a political consultant" and Mr Callaghan, following my presentation to the Campaign Committee, asked me three questions … 228

*PB: OK, since you draw the distinction … *R: It is a common and perfectly explicable and clear distinction. *PB: It certainly is here, but I don't think it is in the States. *R: You are absolutely right. Very clear here and its heritage, for at least thirty years, I worked for Wilson in my first year here, in 1969. I started the negotiation in 1969 but actually was paid in the Spring 1970. I started telling you the anecdote of Mr. Callaghan and he asked me three questions, I answered two and I said "I'm sorry, Prime Minister, the third calls for a political judgement, I'm not paid to make those" and he said "you are quite right" and effectively from Callaghan that was an apology because I couldn't have helped the Labour Party as a client if I hadn't been extremely scrupulous in never ever offering political advice. *PB: OK. To what extent in this country do you think market research helps the message development process? R: Enormously. The techniques, qualitative techniques, pre- and post studies, concept testing, people metres from start to finish, the tools of market research can be used for the selling of the president. *PB: You were alluding earlier to people like Philip Gould who are interpreting the research, and using it to devise strategy, then to what extent do you think market research is getting involved in that process? *R: They can get involved if they want, but I never wanted to. I drew that line and that is why and I'm not a socialist. I have worked for the Labour Party now for 19 years and the Conservative Party for a year and a half, the Liberal Democrats a time or two and the Green Party for 15 years. I remember in the middle of an election campaign, I said "Oh, by the way Percy [Clarke], I meant to tell you [that] I've been working for other political parties. He said "What?", I said "Calm down, it's the Greens, my old buddy Jonathan wanted a couple of questions. He said "Oh, that's fine". [I worked for the] UK Independence Party, Referendum Party, Rainbow Alliance, that's about it. Is there anybody else? *PB: I'm sure there is. *R: I have never worked for the Raving Monster Loony Party, we are not that loony. *PB: You said you have never wanted to but presumably market research being a little closer to the "consumer", it is an opportunity that you have missed. Is it? *R: Missed, for whom? For what? *PB: For the political party and the extent to which they can communicate their message. *R: Not really. I began work as is well documented in lots of places, with David Kingsley, an advertising agency man of immense talent. His colleague, Peter Davis, a media guy of immense talent and Dennis Lyons, a PR man, both of extraordinary political nous. They were the so-called three wise men, they didn't need me to be told what to do with my data. They needed some absolutely straight up and down, no spin, objective systematic data. They would suggest, or I would suggest, or Donaghue or the rest of the people I worked with, particularly in the '73, '74 campaign …. Have you read my book? *PB: Yes. I have read bits of it. *R: Well, remember Mr. Wilson, the memorandi I did for Mr Wilson? Do you remember? *PB: No. *R: I think that answers your question. You make the judgement, you really ought to. *PB: I will. 229

[R shows copy of memorandum] *R: My confidential memorandum. What I didn't do is to say you take Barbara Castle, you take Reg. Prentiss, off Saturday night, you put for Monday night Barbara Castle because she's the Health spokesman. I didn't say you take the Mirror and let somebody else take the Sun. They have got media guys to do that and I don't want to do that. I don't want to be seen to do that, I don't want to be caught doing that. They are my clients. I work damned hard, 20 hours a day, 7 days a week. My responsibility is to my profession not the party. *PB: Yes, I understand that. What innovative methods are used by pollsters today? *R: Well, Dick Wirthlin was kind enough to look at the work I did for Harold Wilson in '74 and said it was fifteen years ahead of its time. *PB: That looks like cluster analysis to me. *R: It was a combination of factor analysis and cluster analysis. *PB: That's what I was going to say, that you had tied it in. *R: Target segments and issues. It is a matrix of cluster and factor analysis and the identification of swing votes, and the issues that would move them and with a researchbased estimate of how far you can move them and which ones not to pay any attention to. Then you go to the media patterns. Pollsters in this country are still not asking the media questions. It's stupid. How are you going to reach these people? You have national newspapers, you cannot reach them effectively on television. On balance, certainly not the undecided or the swing voters. Have you heard my 30/30/20 story? *PB: Yes. *R: The traditional core vote for the Tories, is 30%. *PB: Yes, ten million each side, 4 million undecided. *R: Who were the 4 million? The disinterested, the disenchanted, discouraged and disinclined to vote. And grey power? 4 times the power of young people, twice as many out there and twice as likely to vote. *PB: No, I haven't read that but it makes sense. *R: Oh yes, it stands to reason if you think about it. Why don't the parties think about it? Why don't they get the message across? Or is all this attention and focus on young people, cynical manipulation? *PB: One of the controversies is that if you are too populist, if you match too much the policies and the party with the people, you are charged with going down the populist route, what would you say to that? *R: You are charged with going down a populist route if you do, you are charged with not knowing public opinion, if you don't. This would all argued in the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln, this guy named McKinnon who I discovered. Did you ever hear of a man named Alexander McKinnon who wrote a book on public opinion in [1828]? *PB: No. *R: 96 years before Walter Lippman. I am just doing an academic paper on my proud discovery. He says there are requisites for public opinion to exist in a meaningful way; an expanding middle class with property to defend, a moral stance and communications; and it should be clearly differentiated from public clamour. What he was trying to do was head off the Reform Act. A Fellow of the Royal Society. I'd rather toss it aside, I answered it last night on Edwina Currie's show. I do staff attitudes, I don't follow the results of the staff attitude surveys slavishly but I know damn well that I do a better job of running this company in the knowledge of that than in the ignorance of it. I know damn well that politicians, people who are company chairmen, or for that matter charities 230

or trade unions will do a better job if they know what the consumers think, and take into account what the consumers think. If they take that into account when making their judgements. So it's a straw man. I get so bored with these journalists who think it's the first time it has ever been asked. *PB: I'm not asking that question per se. It's somewhere in the middle, using it too much and using it too little. *R: Who is using it too much? I haven't seen any evidence of that. The idea that on the basis of one focus group, 12 people … got that speech written and got it through is clearly deflection tactics, on the part of Danny Finkelstein for not having spotted that. That then smelled to high heaven politically as it passed through. Danny Finkelstein thinks he's too clever and he thinks he can get by being clever, you can get a long way by being clever, he's got a long way but he rumbled by not doing his homework. Too clever by half. Give me one example of a national health service which stems from politicians following their research. Here, I am in 1983, there I am out and ready, doing focus groups for the Labour Party with young moms, [they were] really pissed by the literature. What did they want? They wanted pre-school education for their children. In '97 they are getting it. I told them in '83. That's what these people want. They want to work, they want to get back to work but they have the kids on their hands, they wanted nursery schools and the Labour Party in '83 paid no attention. I was there in the campaign strategy meeting. I told them they were 14 points behind and what happened, they went banging on about unilateral disarmament. John Golding was there with tears in his eyes. John Golding wrote a book before he died. I've seen the manuscript, if you can get hold of it, it's gold dust. *PB: This is truly contentious now, you won't like it, someone once said to me you had stopped working for the Labour Party because, this is their point not mine, that you were trying to advise the party on politics, you were trying to strategise for them, what would you say to that? *R: I will tell you exactly what happened. In December 1996 Peter Mandelson, Patricia Hewitt, Brian Gosschalk and myself went for lunch. We were talking about the programme of research we had set up and then there were questions about party election broadcasts. He said "No questions about party election broadcasts". [I said] "you always ask questions about party election broadcasts." [He said] "no questions about party election broadcasts." I said "Peter?". He said "No questions." I said "Wait a minute, you want to know how the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives broadcast, you want to ask questions about how the Labour Party…". "No questions, its all going to be in the camp before the election ever starts and I want no interference with what I know is best for the Party in the next campaign." I was sat opposite Michael Cocks, Neil's at the table, Peter's on his right as the secretary of the committee, Roy's on his left. I finish my presentation and questions. Roy says, "what are you going to be doing at the general election?" I said "this, that and the other, but there seems to be a problem with party election broadcasts" and Neil was sitting there doodling and his head snapped back. I saw Peter's eyes narrow and I could see he was thinking "I'll get you, you son of a bitch." By the way there were questions about the party election broadcasts, Neil said "of course we want questions about the party election broadcasts." Do you remember the broadcast with Neil and Glenys walking hand in hand? *PB: Yes. *R: Well that was put back on as the fourth broadcast because my research showed that only 20% of people under 35 had seen it and it was the second best broadcast we'd ever measured. So that, and as far as the film being canned before the election began, they 231

filmed the final broadcast with Neil Kinnock in that chair looking out of the window in that final broadcast with Hugh Hudson, Patricia Hewitt myself in the room while they were doing it. It was crap, but it was absolute power hungry, power mad control by Machiavelli himself. Now two years later, Neil - then they had the review, they cut me out of the review. Peter controlling, Patricia as his ally and Charles Clarke. Neil calls me and says "we have decided to restructure your reporting relationship." I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "We want you to be a part of the Shadow Agency". I Said, "Neil, they're volunteers, I'm a hired gun. I've always reported to the Leader of the party." I said, "Are you the chairman of the campaign strategy committee" and he said, "No, Peter is". I said, "Well if you think I am going to give information to Peter and if you think you are going to get it reported accurately and honestly, more fool you." He said, "Well, I'm sorry that's the way it's going to be". So I said, "I'm sorry, I can't work with the party if it's going to be like that." He then asked me to do some work, it was 1989, just after the Euro elections, to do with the greens but they didn't want to pay for it and I learned that a deal had been struck between Charles and Peter that no research would be commissioned except by Peter Mandelson. Later, in a meeting in my office, Patricia Hewitt said, "the Labour Party no longer have a pollster, we're not having any polling done". I said, "Oh really?". She said "No, no we are not having any polls done" and I said "Patricia, I have to tell you that I'm in the middle of a study right now". Holy Christ! She was completely speechless. Typical Labour thing. Nobody told Joyce, the national agent, she's got a budget and she wants to know what the agents and candidates think so she commissions a study. It's not that way in Peter's Labour Party. So the thing is, even Butler and Kavanagh, I have been in meetings, seen reports in Butler and Kavanagh when things are attributed to people that from my contemporary notes were not in the meeting and yet history gets reinvented, regurgitated, so I don't know who told you, but it's certainly not contentious to me, it's just their stand. *PB: I didn't believe it, I just asked you because … *R: No, no, I would do the same thing in your position but why would I want that. I don't care whether they get elected or not. I just want to do my job. I've spent my life as a professional doing the most objective and systematic work that I know and making it as open as I can. Have you read Nick Moon's book? It's about the right spinning against the left and the left spinning against the right. *PB: To what extent do you think market research techniques can be used to develop strong messages? *R: Fine, it's transferring consumer marketing techniques to politics. *PB: Is it directly transferable? *R: Absolutely. I wrote that piece in the New Statesman after the '83 election. *PB: OK, so you think it is. *R: I don't think it is, I know it is. *PB: What about the use of focus groups? *R: Well, they are enormously useful, but they should be used in moderation and not inhaled. Making decisions based on focus groups is stupid. Making any decision that is not influenced them is equally stupid. I was frustrated beyond belief that I could never get Percy Clarke to spend some serious money on focus groups. He said he might just as well get the local constituency Labour Party and listen to what people were saying. Of course, most people weren't at the local constituency party which was part of his problem. He was the one who said that, in 74, one of the two most salient imagery items that would have been useful for them to communicate is that the Labour Party was a party that recognised all classes. You can't tell them that, we are working class. I would 232

do it anyway, because that's what the data was telling me. They didn't pay attention until 1997. I told them in 1974, what this country wants is a moderate party, that understands the problems facing Britain, that represents the views of people and their concerns and real needs and represents all classes. *PB: Does that mean when you conduct your segmentation research you are essentially trying to pull together a majority of those groups? *R: They were value-based segmentation groups. I think you are forgetting my 30/30/20 rule. *PB: Yes I am, but I am just asking the question. *R: The core support for the Labour Party is 30%. The core support for the Tories is 30%. I said that 15/20 years ago, and sure enough, John Major, the least popular Prime Minister, the least popular policies, the worse organisation. That line in Tony King's book that neither John Major nor Brian Mawhinney should be blamed the poor conduct of the Conservative Party campaign. I said to Tony (King) , "Tony, where were you? That grand strategist of the Conservative Party (Mawhinney) sent out a man dressed in a chicken suit to peck at the heels of Tony Blair". Focus groups are brilliant in their place, but their place is annexed to understanding the language people are using, to develop hypotheses, to test, to put flesh on the political bones and after you have got your data. *PB: Yes that is what I've heard. We tend to have more reliance on focus groups, what would you say to that? *R: There appears to be, but why? Because Gould is not a pollster. Mandelson invented them [irony]. Allegedly Gould invented the shadow agency. The Shadow agency started in my dining room, it used to be called the Breakfast Group. Robin Cook, Patricia Hewitt, Patricia was very good, Jonathan Powell, Brian Gosschalk and myself. We were the breakfast group, developed into the shadow agency. Focus groups are cheap. They can be done by volunteers. They were in the 1987 election. Deborah Mattinson, wrote in the Market Research Society newsletter of all places, that Peter Mandelson invented focus groups. What the hell was I doing with those housewives in '83? What was I doing with Labour Party agents and people at Blackpool at the Labour Party Conference, Labour Party activists in '75? Listen, if you want to look at all the memoranda that I gave the campaign strategy committee, memoranda on focus groups, memoranda of all that, it's all here, and it's all in the public domain. It's just that no scholar has ever looked at it. I think it's outrageous that that stuff, all the quantitative data is kept down at Essex for the last 25 years. Nobody is ever going to get it. The reports of candidates and agents, the aftermath, what they think happened, that will never be taken seriously. *PB: I think the point you made there about post election analysis, certainly. What about dial groups, an American thing, essentially having large groups supporting different people, watching adverts. *R: People-metering. Yes, how people feel, certainly I have got tapes on it. Did you know that we did it for the BBC in the '92 election on Sunday night? We got some software developed here. Wirthlin looked at it and he said "how much did we pay for it?" I told him and he said "I paid 150,000$ and it's not as good as that". It's absolutely ace style, dialing and buttons and all that. For testing PEB's and for reactions to party speeches. *PB: Do you think there will be more use of that? *R: I hope so. It's just one of the tools in your kitbag. If I were the party leader, I would have 4/5 set speeches and I would not go on with them until I had done them live to a people-metered audience. I took them once to my partner's away day and everybody wired up as I gave a presentation. 233

*PB: It seems to me from what you are saying that there are plenty of techniques that are possible and available, it's just there's a reluctance by parties to use them. *R: Yes. They don't want to spend the money, they think they know better. They hate for anybody like me to be seen, during the 1974 election, "If one word of this gets out you are sacked." One word! *PB: What other problems are there associated with the relationships. *R: A multi-headed monster. One election I counted, and I had 16 people the Leader, the General Secretary, the national agent, the head of the information sub-committee of the NEC, the chairman of the NEC, and on and on. I had one wonderful committee, I had John Cartwright, Shirley Williams, Dennis Healey, Alec Kitson and Tony Benn. They were the committee I was reporting to. If you haven't got the sublime to the ridiculous across that spread! Tony Benn saw this question about personalities, testing the impact Enoch Powell was making, and went bananas. He said "that is not what this party does!" *PB: They don't want to hear the bad news. *R: Exactly. "This is a party of policy, principle." Pull the other one! *PB: How do you think polling will change in the future? *R: It hasn't changed a great deal. There is a quote in one book that says "Why would we hire a market researcher to find out what happened last year and why, what we need to know what's going to happen in the future and how". He's quite right. Research isn't fortune-telling. I can't do that. *PB: What sort of things didn't they listen to? *R: Well that's pretty hard. I'd have to have advance notice of the question to answer it. *PB: Thank you for your time. End of Interview

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