Elections: What marketers and politicians can learn from each other

“Like marketing seeks to differentiate brands, political parties can learn much from marketers about how to differentiate themselves,” says Dr Elaine van Wyk, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at the IMM Graduate School. The IMM Graduate School is a distance learning provider serving the marketing, supply chain and business disciplines in Africa. 

According to Van Wyk, the domains of marketing and politics both revolve around the art of persuasion and meaningful engagement with people to achieve specific goals.  

“Politicians excel at persuading voters to support a cause. Marketers can learn from their techniques, tailoring messages to resonate with their target audience and drive action. By understanding the target audience and tailoring one’s messaging to address their needs and aspirations, marketers can create a powerful connection that drives action,” she explains. 

“Successful politicians are skilled storytellers, understanding that their narrative leaves a lasting impact. Marketers can harness this power by weaving compelling stories around their brand, telling a story that creates emotional connections with consumers.” 

Just as politicians cultivate their public image, marketers should focus on personal branding, Van Wyk says. 

“Trust, authenticity, and relatability matter – whether you’re running for office or promoting a product. If they are to win over voters, politicos need to be seen as approachable, trusted, and reliable – a person able to advocate the constituency’s concerns in a larger forum like national or local assemblies.  

“Marketers can apply this same principle – establishing a clear and consistent identity for their brand that resonates with their target audience.” 

What marketers can teach politicians 

On the other hand, what can politicians learn from marketers? Top of that list, Van Wyk believes, is the use of independent research to understand consumers or voters. 

“Most marketers make good use of research tools like focus groups to mine consumer insights and track changing behaviours and attitudes. While many politicians believe they understand their voters’ minds, they are often blinded by their own biases and political mandates that paint a rosy picture. Third party research is more accurate,” she emphasises. 

Important to politicians and marketers alike is consistency in communication and messaging, Van Wyk notes. 

Political messaging is often diffused and inconsistent as they run ‘blind’. This is especially the case with populist politicians who simply parrot what their followers want to hear.  

“Brands specialise in tight messaging and clearly articulated guidelines with clear and inviolable campaign collateral. This approach to messaging should become part of a politician’s dossier,” she advises. 

Marketers frequently conduct A/B testing and experimentation to test variations and so refine their strategies and tactics. Politicians can apply similar methodologies to test different campaign messaging and policy proposals to determine what resonates best with voters. 

Concludes Van Wyk: “Politicians can learn from marketers the importance of objectively measuring success – not just in terms of votes, but in terms of socio-economic impact and long-term outcomes.  

“By setting clear metrics and goals, politicians can assess the effectiveness of their policies and make informed decisions for future actions. Losses need to be analysed objectively, beyond standard introspection via committees of like-minded cadres.”