CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Political Branding in Turbulent

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Mona Moufahim

Abstract Over the past twenty years, branding theory has gained
currency in helping shape and manage the political products offered by
politicians, political parties, movements and governments. This introduc-
tion chapter briefly highlights the relevance of branding concepts and
frameworks in political markets. A reading list is provided for those who
seek to familiarise themselves with core branding concepts and frame-
works. The rest of the chapter is dedicated to introducing the other
chapters of the book.

Keywords Political brand(ing) · Branding practitioners · Brand

research · Unstable environments · Reading list

At the core of how parties and candidates are conceptualised as brands

is the pervasiveness of marketing logic in the political realm. Advocates

M. Moufahim (B)
University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
Copyright 2022. Palgrave Macmillan.

e-mail: Mona.moufahim@stir.ac.uk

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2022
M. Moufahim (ed.), Political Branding in Turbulent times, Palgrave
Studies in Political Marketing and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83229-2_1
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 2 M. MOUFAHIM

of the introduction of marketing principles and techniques in politics

have suggested that, as the citizen is treated more as a consumer and
main focus of decision-making processes, a stronger relationship is more
likely to develop between citizens and political institutions. Consequently,
marketing now plays a significant role in the marketplace testing ideas and
messages, shaping platforms to align with public attitudes, spearheading
campaigning innovations and driving political branding efforts.
Simply defined, a political brand is a combination of signs, symbols,
a name and design used to communicate the values, vision and person-
ality of a political entity, i.e. a politician, a political organisation or even
a nation. A political brand is also a cluster of impressions, associations
and images held by the public towards such entity.1 Brands simplify
consumers’ decision-making (see, e.g., de Chernatony & Dall’Olmo
Riley, 1998; Needham, 2006) in commercial settings and in even more
so in political contexts (Guzman & Sierra, 2009). Brands have been
shown to be useful as ‘shortcuts’ to make complex electoral decisions
(Guzman & Sierra, 2009; Pich et al., 2019). Such markers of identity
help minimise voters’ efforts in differentiating one political representation
over another, in untangling sometimes very complex political programmes
(i.e. the brand would act as ‘summary’ of what the party/candidate stands
for), and in satisfying the public’s need to ‘know’ a party or a candidate’s
policies (Van Steenburg & Guzmán, 2019). Assuming this widespread
brand logic, strategists are urged to develop the political brand iden-
tity and image as well as leverage the brand to establish a competitive
advantage and gain votes (Cwalina & Falkowski, 2015).
If brands are ‘simplifiers’, the task of developing, managing and
growing brands is anything but simple, in often overly complex and
unstable political environments. This is further complicated by the
volatility of contemporary political contexts. Indeed, political uncer-
tainty and instability characterise many regions around the world and,
increasingly, can be observed in what used to be considered more estab-
lished democracies. Scholars have already discussed the challenges facing
those democratic countries (see, e.g., Merkel and Kneip’s 2018 book
Democracy and Crisis), including citizens’ disenchantment with liberal
democracy, their lack of trust in political actors and institutions and
the frustrations with the failure of mainstream political parties in deliv-
ering solutions to issues facing the populace. Uncertainties in the political
environment, including the aftermath of the Brexit referendum in the
UK, international tensions and conflicts, the persistent threat of global

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 1 INTRODUCTION: POLITICAL BRANDING … 3

terrorism, alongside the proliferation of autocratic, chauvinist or at the

most extreme fascist forces around the world, all contribute to turbu-
lent political times. Such environments certainly constitute tremendous
challenges, but also opportunities for scholars to engage and fruitfully
contribute to an understanding of processes in the political market, using
the lens of political branding theories.
In contexts characterised by a fragmented media environment and a
highly competitive market with fickle voters (the so-called floating voters
with no ‘lifelong attachment to one party’, see Lilleker, 2005), political
brands must ensure that they clearly define their core values. This means
identifying a brand identity and related promise, selecting relevant and
innovative modes of engagement and producing a desired brand image
amongst their target audience by delivering what they set out to do.
Inspiring trust is a key objective for electoral success. Failure to deliver
on a brand promise can be costly at the polls, or in the worst cases, result
in long-term damage to the brand. The various cases studied in this book
show the importance of understanding and engaging with voters, and on
the critical importance of quickly adapting brand strategies to reflect rapid
changes in market conditions.
Academic and practitioner literature is replete with analysis and recom-
mendations about strategic brand management in turbulent commercial
environments and in times of crisis. Existing scholarship on political
branding adapts models and frameworks borrowed from the commercial
world to political contexts (not always without controversy). This creates
significant opportunities for developing and testing ad hoc theories of
relevance for political actors in these particularly unstable and uncertain
times. The topical and provocative content of this volume focuses on
recent political events and phenomena in the political arena. This should
appeal to researchers, branding practitioners and members of the public
seeking to deepen their understanding of political branding and current
events studied using a branding lens.
This book provides commentaries and analyses of brand and branding
processes in various national contexts (Indonesia, India, the UK, the USA,
Italy, Poland), all characterised by tensions and significant challenges.
More specifically, these chapters can also be broadly classified by their
principal focus on individual personal brands (see Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5) or
political party brands (see Chapters 6, 7, 8). Contributors to this book call
on their various disciplinary background and expertise from Law, Social
Psychology, (Political) Marketing, Politics, Media & Communications.

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 4 M. MOUFAHIM

This multidisciplinary overview enriches existing, emerging, theoretical

and empirical knowledge on political branding. Additionally, each chapter
provides a set of recommendations for political branding practitioners.
Chapter 2 by Chris Pich and Guja Armannsdottir offers a useful entrée
to the field of political branding by providing a review of key branding
concepts and frameworks. These authors explain how political brands are
created, communicated and perceived by various internal and external
stakeholders. They then explore the proposal that political brands repre-
sent a complex ecosystem of inter-related yet often distinct sub-brands.
They proceed to their case study analyses focusing on: 1) the creation
and development of the political brand identity of politicians from the
British Crown Dependency of Guernsey and 2) the brand image of two
prominent Italian politicians: Deputy Prime Ministers Matteo Salvini and
Luigi Di Maio.
In Chapter 3, Ken Cosgrove and Nathan R. Schrader provide a detailed
commentary of the branding processes at play during the gripping 2020
American presidential election, focusing particularly on the brands of
candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The chapter analyses their
respective campaigning strategies and shows that, having individual politi-
cians’ brand themselves, instead of running a coordinated campaign on a
single party brand, can produce mixed results. The emotive and personal
branding employed by Trump and Biden have attracted some voters while
repelling others, who become susceptible to pitches by the opposition
candidate and party.
Chapter 4 by Gunaro Setiawan and Giri Ahmed Taufik studies personal
branding in the context of Indonesia. These authors focus on the devel-
opment of the anti-corruption brand of Jokowi and his subsequent brand
transgression. They show how Jokowi built a successful brand based on
his humble origins and dedication to fight systemic corruption, as well as
how his brand contributed to his two consecutive successful presidential
campaigns. However, during his second term as president, Jokowi trans-
gressed the anti-corruption core value and promises of his brand, which
was subsequently damaged in the eyes of the public.
Pranjali Sharma and Varsha Jain focus on online political brand
building in Chapter 5, focusing on India’s controversial Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. They show that Modi has been very strategic in his use
of celebrity endorsements and social media influencers. This approach
helped him reach wide audiences and to expertly craft an image of a tech-
savvy, responsive and effective leader. Their chapter also highlights the

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 1 INTRODUCTION: POLITICAL BRANDING … 5

anti-brand activities deployed by citizens and political opponents of the

divisive Brand Modi.
The focus of the remaining of the book is on different dimensions
of political parties as brands. In Chapter 6, Jenny Lloyd addresses the
critical question of whether branding is a useful way of conceptualising
British politics. She focused her attention on the divisive campaigning
that took place prior to the 2016 EU referendum in the UK. She analyses
the positioning strategies of the major UK political brands and explores
the factors that impacted upon their relative success, both in the refer-
endum campaign and beyond. Importantly, she provides a discussion of
the impact of such deleterious environment on the main British political
parties’ brands.
The 7th Chapter by Jon Bertilsson, Andrea Lucarelli and Gregorio
Fuschillo approaches political brands as ‘platforms’ around the Five
Star Movement, an Italian digital political party. Studying a digitally
platformed party, with its particular use of digital and information tech-
nologies, provides fresh insights into the framing of political branding
strategies. Authors aptly illustrate how brands may serve as the organ-
ising vehicle for social movements and how brand-coordinated activism
expands the range of democracy by helping consumers achieve political
change goals.
In Chapter 8, Wojciech Cwalina and Milena Drzewiecka focus their
chapter on the concept of party brand promise in their Polish case
study. After reviewing different types of brand promises (functional,
symbolic and experiential), and how these are delivered to consumers,
these authors show how the ruling right-wing populist political party, Law
and Justice, successfully builds relationships with voters. More specifically,
they examine voters’ responses to both the party’s brand promises and to
their opposition parties. They illustrate that solely focusing on critiquing
competitors’ brands, would lower voters’ trust and damage the brand.
The book concludes with Chapter 9 by Darren Lilleker and Mona
Moufahim who address a number of issues in relation to the future of
political branding and the importance of ethical considerations for polit-
ical brand management. They reflect on whether the actual practices of
political marketing and branding lack an ethical anchor and thus has
the propensity to undermine the democratic processes which give it a
purpose. Takeaway lessons for practitioners close the chapter and the
book. Readers who seek to deepen their understanding of political brand

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 6 M. MOUFAHIM

concepts and frameworks can consult the recommended reading list at the
end of this chapter.

Reading List
This short list provides a good starting point for readers who seek to
enrich their understanding of the field of political branding.

1. Ahmed, M.A., Lodhi, S. and Ahmad Z. (2017) “Political Brand

Equity Model: The Integration of Political Brands in Voter
Choice.” Journal of Political Marketing 16 (2):147–179.
2. Cosgrove, K.M (2007). Branded Conservatives: How the Brand
Brought the Right from the Fringes to the Center of American
Politics. New York: Peter Lang.
3. Lilleker, Darren. 2010. Key Concepts in Political Communication.
London, UK: Sage.
4. Lloyd, J. (2006), The 2005 General Election and the emergence of
the negative brand, In Lilleker, D.G. Jackson, N.A. and Scullion,
R. (2006), The Marketing of Political Parties: Political Marketing
at the 2005 British General Election, Manchester: Manchester
University Press.
5. Marland, A. and Flanagan, T. (2014), Brand New Party: Polit-
ical Branding and the Conservative Party of Canada, Canadian
Journal of Political science, 46 (4), 951–972.
6. Phipps, M., J. Brace-Govan, et al. (2010). “The Duality of Polit-
ical Brand Equity.” European Journal of Marketing, 44(3/4):
496–514.
7. Pich, C. and Newman, B. I. (2020), Political Branding: More
Than Parties, Leaders and Policies, Routledge, Taylor and Francis
Publications.
8. Reeves, P., de Chernatony, L. and Carrigan, M. (2006). “Building
a Political Brand: Ideology or Voter-Driven Strategy.” Journal of
Brand Management 13 (6): 418–428.
9. Speed, R., Butler. O. and Collins, N. (2015) Human Branding in
Political Marketing: Applying Contemporary Branding Thought to
Political Parties and Their Leaders, Journal of Political Marketing,
14:1–2, 129–151.
10. Scammell, M. (2015), Politics and Image: The Conceptual Value
of Branding, Journal of Political Marketing, 14 (1–2), 7–18.

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 1 INTRODUCTION: POLITICAL BRANDING … 7

Thanks and Acknowledgements I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude

to all authors and reviewers of this book. Their hard work, patience and dedica-
tion during these hard times we have collectively experienced are recognised and
deeply appreciated.

Note
1. For more definitions of core political marketing concepts see: http://www.
political-marketing.org/.

References
Cwalina & Falkowski. (2015). Political branding: Political candidate positioning
based on inter-object associative affinity index. Journal of Political Marketing,
14(1/2), 152–174.
de Chernatony, L., & Dall’Olmo Riley, F. (1998). Defining a “brand”: Beyond
the literature with experts interpretations. Journal of Marketing Management,
14, 417–443.
Guzman, F., & Sierra, V. (2009). A political candidate’s brand image scale: Are
political candidates brands? Journal of Brand Management, 17 (3), 207–2017.
Lilleker, D. (2005). The impact of political marketing on internal party democ-
racy. Parliamentary Affairs, 58(3), 570–584.
Merkel, W., & Kneip, S. (Eds.). (2018). Democracy and crisis: Challenges in
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