By Amit Dholakia,
Elections as an occasion to celebrate the spirit of participatory democracy and voting as an act of moral obligation for civic engagement are now passé. An idealist would probably scoff at the idea of seeing a connection between the democratic and commercial domains. However, there are far too many parallels between the two to argue that politics has become a business of sorts today, and general elections have been reduced to a veritable marketplace. Political parties act as producers and sellers of products — leaders, ideologies, and welfare programmes — for citizens to consume, using almost the same psychological strategies that companies use to persuade consumers to pick products from the shelves at a shopping mall.
Backed by massive funds, India’s mainstream political parties are striving to retain their loyal voter base and attract new voters in the election campaign, using integrated marketing communications, combining a mix of communication tools and channels (social media, TV ads, direct mail, rallies, debates, and so on), to deliver a consistent message across all voter touchpoints. Much like the commercial firms strategising to retain or increase market share, election campaigns in most democracies today are executed based on core principles of consumer psychology that seek to influence perceptions, beliefs and feelings behind their purchasing behaviour.
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Segmented marketing is omnipresent in the election scenario in India. Leveraging survey data and peoples’ expectations, political marketers first segment voters based on caste, region, religion, age, language, economic status, and other demographic indicators and then influence their choices. Strategic positioning of issues and micro-targeting of segmented voters through customised promises (now renamed “guarantees”) is essential to winning an Indian general election. Emotional messaging that stirs voters’ fears, hopes, and dreams works better than logical and rational arguments in campaigns.
Building a strong, relatable brand around a national leader or a local candidate is crucial to electoral success. This involves creating an image and identity that resonates with voters’ expectations and is decidedly different from competing candidates and their brand value. Emphasising traits like incorruptibility, honesty, simplicity, trustworthiness, courage, and competence, even if absent in the leader’s personality, gel well with such brand-building efforts. Narratives constructed around personal stories of dynastic memories, suffering or valour, connecting through local attire in public meetings, and using experiences and anecdotes that relate to the psyche of the average voters significantly humanise a candidate and make her more relatable. Using taglines like “chaiwala”, “main bhi chowkidar”, or “Modi ka parivar” helped make the brand Modi personal and relatable. Most leaders of the INDIA bloc, except West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, have yet to succeed in creating personal brands through compelling narratives and stories.
The principle of “loss aversion” is fundamental to marketing. It suggests that when people choose from competing products, they are motivated more by the fear of losing something than by the attraction of potential gain. Marketers use this principle to highlight the potential losses that could occur if a customer misses out on the limited-time offer of purchasing a good or service. During elections, voters are more likely to support a candidate or policy when framed in a way that emphasises the potential losses of not supporting it.
Speeches of leaders and advertisements by parties in India’s current parliamentary election campaign use framing techniques to present the potential losses if voters do not cast their vote in their favour. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uses the loss aversion principle to tell the voters to stick to the “credible and strong” leadership of Narendra Modi and its perceived comforts. It rouses negative emotions by scaring people that their inherited wealth and possessions, including the emotively powerful mangalsutra of women and farmers’ buffaloes, would be snatched away from them if the INDIA alliance musters a ruling majority. Rotating one-year prime ministership, unchecked corruption, quotas to Muslims, and injustice to Hindus are the other fears that the BJP is highlighting as potential losses of the INDIA bloc victory. The INDIA coalition, on the other hand, stokes fears of loss of personal freedoms, death of democracy, fundamental alteration in the Constitution, and an uncontrolled crony capitalist policy regime as losses if the voters choose Modi as prime minister for the third time.
Robert B Cialdini identified “social proof” as one of the core principles of marketing in his seminal book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. He argued that people have an inherent tendency to be influenced by what others are buying or recommending. In elections, the non-committed voters are likely to look for safety in numbers and follow the crowd’s wisdom. “Ab ki baar 400 paar” is a slogan meant to influence voter psychology by telling them that an overwhelming number has already decided to give a majority to the BJP, and the game is now only for exceeding the highest level of seats. Social proof during election campaigns is also manifest in many other forms, including opinion polls and surveys of “most popular leaders”. Parties use the “halo and horns effect” — seeing a product or service as more desirable if it is associated with someone we like — through the endorsement of their leaders or ideology by film stars, achievers in the sporting arena, spiritual gurus or social media influencers. The fierce competition for followers and likes on the social media accounts of leaders and parties and the extensive use of influencers to spread the party’s messages are other indications of the use of influence marketing by parties.
Of course, it has to be noted that the extensive use of strategies based on consumer psychology and marketing commodifies vote as an item for buying and selling and lowers the legitimacy of the idea of consent that should be at the basis of political leadership and power. Such market practices take the focus away from the challenges to freedom, equality, and socioeconomic justice that such an election is required to deliberate upon and resolve.
The author is professor and head, Department of Political Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Reproducing this content without permission is prohibited.
By Amit Dholakia,
Elections as an occasion to celebrate the spirit of participatory democracy and voting as an act of moral obligation for civic engagement are now passé. An idealist would probably scoff at the idea of seeing a connection between the democratic and commercial domains. However, there are far too many parallels between the two to argue that politics has become a business of sorts today, and general elections have been reduced to a veritable marketplace. Political parties act as producers and sellers of products — leaders, ideologies, and welfare programmes — for citizens to consume, using almost the same psychological strategies that companies use to persuade consumers to pick products from the shelves at a shopping mall.
Backed by massive funds, India’s mainstream political parties are striving to retain their loyal voter base and attract new voters in the election campaign, using integrated marketing communications, combining a mix of communication tools and channels (social media, TV ads, direct mail, rallies, debates, and so on), to deliver a consistent message across all voter touchpoints. Much like the commercial firms strategising to retain or increase market share, election campaigns in most democracies today are executed based on core principles of consumer psychology that seek to influence perceptions, beliefs and feelings behind their purchasing behaviour.
Segmented marketing is omnipresent in the election scenario in India. Leveraging survey data and peoples’ expectations, political marketers first segment voters based on caste, region, religion, age, language, economic status, and other demographic indicators and then influence their choices. Strategic positioning of issues and micro-targeting of segmented voters through customised promises (now renamed “guarantees”) is essential to winning an Indian general election. Emotional messaging that stirs voters’ fears, hopes, and dreams works better than logical and rational arguments in campaigns.
Building a strong, relatable brand around a national leader or a local candidate is crucial to electoral success. This involves creating an image and identity that resonates with voters’ expectations and is decidedly different from competing candidates and their brand value. Emphasising traits like incorruptibility, honesty, simplicity, trustworthiness, courage, and competence, even if absent in the leader’s personality, gel well with such brand-building efforts. Narratives constructed around personal stories of dynastic memories, suffering or valour, connecting through local attire in public meetings, and using experiences and anecdotes that relate to the psyche of the average voters significantly humanise a candidate and make her more relatable. Using taglines like “chaiwala”, “main bhi chowkidar”, or “Modi ka parivar” helped make the brand Modi personal and relatable. Most leaders of the INDIA bloc, except West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, have yet to succeed in creating personal brands through compelling narratives and stories.
The principle of “loss aversion” is fundamental to marketing. It suggests that when people choose from competing products, they are motivated more by the fear of losing something than by the attraction of potential gain. Marketers use this principle to highlight the potential losses that could occur if a customer misses out on the limited-time offer of purchasing a good or service. During elections, voters are more likely to support a candidate or policy when framed in a way that emphasises the potential losses of not supporting it.
Speeches of leaders and advertisements by parties in India’s current parliamentary election campaign use framing techniques to present the potential losses if voters do not cast their vote in their favour. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) uses the loss aversion principle to tell the voters to stick to the “credible and strong” leadership of Narendra Modi and its perceived comforts. It rouses negative emotions by scaring people that their inherited wealth and possessions, including the emotively powerful mangalsutra of women and farmers’ buffaloes, would be snatched away from them if the INDIA alliance musters a ruling majority. Rotating one-year prime ministership, unchecked corruption, quotas to Muslims, and injustice to Hindus are the other fears that the BJP is highlighting as potential losses of the INDIA bloc victory. The INDIA coalition, on the other hand, stokes fears of loss of personal freedoms, death of democracy, fundamental alteration in the Constitution, and an uncontrolled crony capitalist policy regime as losses if the voters choose Modi as prime minister for the third time.
Robert B Cialdini identified “social proof” as one of the core principles of marketing in his seminal book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. He argued that people have an inherent tendency to be influenced by what others are buying or recommending. In elections, the non-committed voters are likely to look for safety in numbers and follow the crowd’s wisdom. “Ab ki baar 400 paar” is a slogan meant to influence voter psychology by telling them that an overwhelming number has already decided to give a majority to the BJP, and the game is now only for exceeding the highest level of seats. Social proof during election campaigns is also manifest in many other forms, including opinion polls and surveys of “most popular leaders”. Parties use the “halo and horns effect” — seeing a product or service as more desirable if it is associated with someone we like — through the endorsement of their leaders or ideology by film stars, achievers in the sporting arena, spiritual gurus or social media influencers. The fierce competition for followers and likes on the social media accounts of leaders and parties and the extensive use of influencers to spread the party’s messages are other indications of the use of influence marketing by parties.
Of course, it has to be noted that the extensive use of strategies based on consumer psychology and marketing commodifies vote as an item for buying and selling and lowers the legitimacy of the idea of consent that should be at the basis of political leadership and power. Such market practices take the focus away from the challenges to freedom, equality, and socioeconomic justice that such an election is required to deliberate upon and resolve.
The author is professor and head, Department of Political Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online. Reproducing this content without permission is prohibited.
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Renowned filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali makes his online streaming debut with Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, a Netflix collaboration set in 1940s Lahore’s Heera Mandi. The series follows the lives of courtesans amidst India’s rebellion against British rule. With a budget of Rs 200 crore, the ensemble cast includes Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Richa Chadha.
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