The world today shows an ever-increasing overlap between political marketing and the marketing of goods and services. Whereas, at some level, one is the selling of a tangible or intangible product or service, and the other clearly taking place in the realm of ideological and candidate-focused domains, they surprisingly do share very similar principles. Political campaigns engage potential consumers in the same ways as these successful marketing strategies previously employed business world strategies. Understanding and influencing consumer behavior—the essence of marketing—is virtually applicable as universally from one to the other. The consideration given to regular marketing principles align closely with the political marketing environment using well-established marketing theories. I will introduce political marketing in this post by explicitly using the 7Ps of marketing.

The seven Ps in Marketing for Use in Political Affairs:

Product
In commercial advertising, the term is used to identify the contents of an offer, either in a material object or a service. In political marketing, however, the word “product” denotes a political candidate, party, or campaign agenda. Every product brand needs to be configured with attributes that can be recognized by consumers.

Place
As their distinct meanings, goods are distributed via channels, whereas votes are distributed via platforms. Place in politics refers to where and how message content reaches the people on the ground—from rallies to block-to-block canvassing, from social media to airwaves.

Promotion
Certainly, promotion includes advertisements, public relations, and sales promotion. In political terms, slogans, jingles, TV ads, influencers, and memes are all part of the promotional scheme for making an impression on and attracting the attention of people—to turn the intended audience’s attention to the interest and inspiration for an action.

Price
Rather than denoting the actual amount in monetary terms that the consumer pays for a particular product/service as in usual commerce, in politics, price is psychological. The price that the voter pays—i.e. time, personal beliefs, and trust—assumedly in exchange for policies that he may disagree with but in hopes of securing the larger promises made.

People
For services marketing, people denote employees and customer service. In this case, politics, however, refers to all employees, campaign workers, volunteers—all who rub along with the candidate. The behavior and style of communication of customer contact employees is projected into the brand into voters, who rely on trust and loyalty.

Process
In the field of public service politics, process denotes the movement of the flow of services. In an organizational setting, process is about how policymaking and compliance with voter complaints are executed and made transparent. A well-kept process ensures higher credibility and satisfaction among the voters.

Physical Evidence
This is sometimes a tangible signal underlying a brand, such as its packaging or that office setting. Physical evidence as one of the 7Ps, for instance, refers to all those physical cues—the manifestos, campaign paraphernalia, media appearances, and debates in which the candidate has participated. Thus, they shape the voter’s perceptions regarding the candidate concerning his credibility and professionalism.

Marketing Theories in Political Strategy
There are many marketing theories that redirect consumer behavior, which are definitely relevant in the political market as well. Maslow’s principle for need theory applies in political messages starting from basic needs: security (work, security) glorified up to full realization (freedom, equality). Just like brands possess their establishment on such claims, their political replicas do the same, tilting the case to their respective claims outside proper understanding.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning STP: The market is segmented into smaller constituencies by political marketers based on demographics, geography, and psychographics; messages are then addressed to specific groups of people (youth, women, urban poor) in accordance with their needs. Positioning in the political arena between candidates intervenes when a candidate is seen as the best answer to that problem for a particular voter.

Diffusion of Innovations: An idea attached to Everett Rogers describes how political reforms or thoughts are introduced and accepted into practice from the new collection of ideas or demands by early innovators (youths, activists) are introduced.

Thus, Political marketing cannot be taken as very different from that of commercial marketing. It is thus an extension of commercial marketing practices. Then, it utilizes the sanctioning of like structures–from 7P’s to behavioral models-influencing public opinion and comportment of the voter. Inasmuch as public officials are becoming like brand names, so must one be able to come into possession of the efficacy of politicking through understanding these the traditional marketing principles for victory during elections. To both marketers and strategists, as well as academics, embracing this common understanding of the field causes a better understanding of both disciplines and allows for fresh perspectives into how people make choices-whether it is a product or a candidate.