Relational political marketing communication

Political marketing communication has developed beyond simply selling a product, with a greater strategic focus on relationship building between politicians and the public. As Andre Turcotte and Vincent Raynauld suggest, e-marketing can be combined with other aspects of political marketing – such as segmentation, targeting and internal marketing – to create powerful volunteer support-building mechanisms on key political issues, which might be used by parties, interest groups or movements. There are at least four common job roles related to relation and interactive political marketing communication: communication advisors, digital advisors, public/community engagement officers, and government relations. One job relating more specifically to the public relations side of political marketing is that of a public or community engagement officer. The chapter explores more relational forms of political marketing communication, including e-marketing, public relations and reputation management by political leaders, political parties and governments. The democratic implications of relational political marketing communication depend very much on how it is used by political elites.