DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0001 Political Branding Strategies
Palgrave Studies in Political Marketing and Management Series Editor: Jennifer Lees-Marshment, University of Auckland, New Zealand Palgrave Studies in Political Marketing and Management (PalPMM) series publishes high quality and ground-breaking academic research on this growing area of government and political behaviour that attracts increasing attention from scholarship, teachers, the media and the public. It covers political marketing intelligence including polling, focus groups, role play, co-creation, segmentation, voter profiling, stakeholder insight; the political consumer; political management including crisis management, change management, issues management, reputation management, delivery management; political advising; political strategy such as positioning, targeting, market-orientation, political branding; political leadership in all its many different forms and arena; political organization including managing a political office, political HR, internal party marketing; political communication management such as public relations and e-marketing and ethics of political marketing and management. Political management is practised around the world and taught and researched at a wide range of universities. At its core, Political Marketing and Management is about how politicians and political staff use marketing and management tools and concepts to help them achieve their goals. Scholarship is drawn from a range of disciplines and fields, and covers how political organisations and actors strategize, lead, organise and market, as well as intersections between these aspects such as the organisation of political marketing research in government department; the importance of leadership in changing how a party is organised; the organisational structure of volunteers within an NGO; strategic communication in political movements; resource management in political offices; and the strategic organisation of fundraising in campaigns. The Palgrave Pivot format shorter, more quickly published will also enable hot off the press political marketing and management perspectives on major events such as elections. Combining academic and practitioner contributions, this provides a rich, topical yet reflective and informed perspective on major events. The series editor is advised by a dynamic and expert advisory board of international colleagues drawn from a wide range of academic disciplines and areas who contribute to the quality of books and overall direction of the book series. For further details see https://leesmarshment.wordpress.com/pmm-book-series/. This ground breaking series will stimulate and support the growth of research in political marketing and management and forge a productive relationship between academia and practice. Titles include: Lorann Downer POLITICAL BRANDING STRATEGIES Campaigning and Governing in Australian Politics Palgrave Studies in Political Marketing and Management Series Standing Order ISBN 978 1 137 53734 8 You can receive future title in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England. DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0001
Political Branding Strategies: Campaigning and Governing in Australian Politics Lorann Downer The University of Queensland, Australia DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0001
political branding strategies: campaigning and governing in australian politics Copyright Lorann Downer, 2016. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978 1 137 58028 3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500 New York, NY 10004-1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN 978 1 349 84558 3 E-PDF ISBN: 978 1 137 58029 0 DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library
DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0001 For Mark for everything
Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements vii ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Understanding and Evaluating Political Branding 6 3 Crafting and Crashing Kevin07 52 4 Desperately Seeking The Real Julia 91 5 The Lessons of Branded Politics 129 6 Afterword 139 Mike Kaiser Index 145 vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0001
List of Illustrations Boxes 2.1 As voters turn away, parties turn to branding 8 2.2 Authenticity in political branding 10 2.3 From asset to liability 11 2.4 How branding works in our memories 13 Figures 2.1 Strategic Brand Management Process 17 2.2 Steps in the political brand management process 21 2.3 Stages in the Australian federal electoral cycle 21 3.1 Summary of the key branding components of Labor s 2007 campaign 55 3.2 Visual and verbal representations of branding components in nine Labor television commercials and 44 ABC television news stories during the 2007 federal election campaign 72 4.1 Summary of the key branding components of Labor s 2010 campaign 94 4.2 Visual and verbal representations of branding components in nine Labor television commercials and 36 ABC television news stories during the 2010 federal election campaign 109 DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0002 vii
viii List of Illustrations 5.1 Lessons from Labor s branding campaigns for practitioners, researchers and citizens 130 Table 2.1 Brand-Oriented Party Model 18 DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0002
Acknowledgements Thanks, first and foremost, to the editor of this series, Jennifer Lees-Marshment. Jennifer is an absolute powerhouse in the political marketing field, and still finds time to generously support the works of others. My thanks and gratitude. Thanks also to Palgrave Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to write about one of my passions. In particular, I am grateful for the advice and assistance of Maddie Holder and Liz Barlow. Thanks to Dr Ian Ward, Dr Rae Wear and Associate Professor Frank Alpert from The University of Queensland for their valuable advice in the early stages of this project. Thanks also to Professor Kevin Lane Keller from Dartmouth College for generously giving time to discuss my early ideas, and for giving permission to use Figure 2.1. Strategic Brand Management Process from his book Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity (Pearson Education Inc). The School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland, and many colleagues there, provided much-valued support. Special thanks go to the current and former Australian Labor Party campaigners David Feeney, Tim Gartrell, Bruce Hawker, Nick Martin, Cameron Milner and John Utting who agreed to be interviewed and shared insights about their work. While they may not agree with all my conclusions, in discussing their work they have added greatly to our understanding of contemporary campaigning. DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0003 ix
x Acknowledgements Thanks also to former Australian Labor Party camp aign practitioner, Mike Kaiser, for sharing his perspectives on political branding. Drawing on three decades in politics, his contribution is perceptive and punchy, as always. Thanks to my extended family especially Pam Downer, Bob Lafebre, Jill and Colin Kennard for their interest and encouragement. Many friends offered advice and support. In particular, thanks to Anna Bligh, Colleen Clur, Tim Grau, Susan Hornbeck, Luke Humphreys, Simon Kelly, LJ Loch, Ben McMillan, Mary North, Graham Perrett, Nicole Scurrah and Brendon Strong. My husband, Mark Kennard, and our beloved Poppy, Max and Sasa provided loving companionship and encouragement throughout. I couldn t have done it without you. DOI: 10.1057/9781137580290.0003