1. Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 7
Electoral campaigns
Gianpietro Mazzoleni
La comunicazione politica
Chapter 7

2. Why are electoral campaigns important?
Elections are essential in all democracies
All politics is concerned by permanent campaign

3. The evolution of the electoral campaigns

4. Different types of electoral campaign
Position campaign vs. conquest campaign
Party-centered vs. candidate-centered campaign

5. What is ‘professionalization’?
Nationally coordinated campaigns
The creation of campaign units within parties and the use of consultants
The use of market intelligence
Communication focused on the media
Narrowcasting
The permanent campaign

6. Why professionalization?
Professionalization is fueled by three conditions:
Political secularization (=end of ideology)
The growing availability of media resources
The professionalization of politics in general

7. Phases of the marketing 1

8. Phases of the marketing 2

9. The main tool of the electoral marketing The survey
Benchmarking, to assess the probability of entry
Tracking, a panel to assess the ups and downs of the public opinion along the campaign
Quick response, to assess the impact of a given event
Focus group, not a true survey …

10. Other tools for the marketing
Traditional techniques
Interactive: canvassing, meetings
Unidirectional: press, leaflet, gadget
Audiovisual techniques
Direct use of the TV: spot
Indirect use of the TV: debates, talk show
New media
Microtargeting
Fundraising
Political consultants

11. Candidates’ and leaders’ imagine
Launched vs. perceived image
Three dimensions of the image
Personal
Political
Performative

12. What is a spot? The spot is a: Televised message
Lasting at most one minute
Assertive and unproblematic
Presenting an example
Simplifying political reality

13. Negative campaigning
A candidate goes negative when he attacks the competitors rather than discuss his issue position
Is this strategy remunerative? It is not clear …

14. Do campaigns matter? Yes, they are the main tool for winning elections
Yes, they are quite important, disregarding how they are run
Yes, they matter, but only is they are run properly by professionals
No, they do not matter at all