<font color="#ff0000">Guest Article: </font> Anisha Motwani on the marketing eye on elections

Anisha Motwani writes on political parties, campaigns, elections and the common man caught in the middle of all these

As the campaign dust dies down, it is time for some introspection, especially for the marketing and communications wings of various political parties which have drowned us in rhetoric over the past couple of months.

From a marketing communications perspective, it was interesting to see how positive messages won the day. Electoral alliances and political agendas aside, there was something about the Congress campaign that caught the public imagination. Its campaign tune, Jai Ho, matched its central slogan – Aam admi ke badte kadam, Har kadam par Bharat buland – and offered optimism, inclusion and association with all.

Negative campaigns rarely yield results, least of all in times of recession. Every situation presents problems and opportunities ― a branding exercise focuses on one of the two.

‘Aam Aadmi’ (common man) is a phrase that works each time, every time, in a country where the common man’s loudest expression of his views is the pressing of the (EVM) button. The Congress’ marketing revolved around talking to the common man about his issues in the sharpest manner possible. The result was communication which people could relate to.

Congress zeroed in on identifying specific target segments within its overall audience, identified issues that had immediate appeal to these segments and projected a number of credible leaders. The messaging about youthful leadership and young India was fresh, sincere and credible.

On the other hand was Dr Manmohan Singh. The country saw him as proactive in dealing with the Mumbai attacks and the global recession, and it was impressed with the way he dealt with what is commonly seen as the constant carping of the Left.

What sharpens the contrast is the communication strategy of the main opposition parties. The BJP was present everywhere but didn’t seem to make the right pitch to the right person. Was India looking for a ‘neta’ (leader) who is strong? Yes. Does the country view the government as crucial? Of course it does. These are things that the electorate takes for granted from its leaders. The common man identifies with a government only through knowing what it will do for him.

Further, the ‘Majboot Neta’ rhetoric was an open invitation for the Congress to remind people of the Kandahar incident, where Mr. Advani’s leadership was shown to be not quite strong enough.

The BJP also seems to have missed the lessons of its debacle in 2004. It remains unsure of its target audience, presuming a popular obsession with religion over livelihood and terrorism over sustainable development. Its campaign on strong leadership, governance and security zeroed in on terrorism and insufficiently addressed development.

Projecting Narendra Modi as a future head of state would not have gone down well with the vast majority of peace loving Indians, who view him with suspicion after the Gujarat riots of 2002. No brand would want to have brand ambassadors who have a grey cloud hanging over their heads.

Further, any publicity is not good publicity – as shown by the Varun Gandhi episode. Compare BJP’s defence of Varun Gandhi’s reported speech with the Congress’ strategy of withdrawing Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler almost immediately after protests about their candidature.

The Left’s campaign was no more than a series of complaints and cribs over the nuclear deal, Nandigram and other issues. The Left took the ‘high’ road, failing to explain and even failing to understand people’s concerns and interest. It lost its audience even before the election campaign took off.

While the Congress reminded people about opportunities seized and offered, the BJP and the Left talked about problems. At a time when the economic crisis was at the top of everyone’s minds, such messages fell far short of expectations.

Running an election campaign is about gauging the pulse of the electorate – just like creating a great marketing campaign. The brand which has its ears to the ground always wins.

(The author is executive vice-president, marketing, Max New York Life)