How NPP lost: A marketing Case

This is neither a political commentary nor an attempt to engage in partisan discourse.

Instead, as a brand strategist, I would share a few observations on where I believe the NPP fell short in its political marketing during the recent elections coupled with some suggestions.

?This piece is purely educational and informational, dissecting the issue through the lens of branding and strategy.

In my view, the NPP lost because of three critical factors: flawed product development, a weak PR strategy in managing crises, and the impact of TikTok on the Free SHS campaign among its original demographics.

Bad Product Development.

In marketing, the concept of "product" varies depending on the context. In politics, policies are often seen as the product being sold. While this holds some truth, the actual product is the candidate—the person whose name and face appear on the ballot. Their personality, history, character, and likability attract the voters. The political party serves as the vehicle for delivering this product.

Today’s marketing landscape demands that products be developed with a clear understanding of the target audience. This is especially true when the product—here, a political candidate—is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Unfortunately, the NPP’s approach appeared to disregard this principle.

The primaries present an opportunity to identify a candidate who resonates with the populace. With 240,000 delegates representing a microcosm of the Ghanaian electorate, the process is expected to yield a product that can be effectively marketed to the masses. However, allegations of vote-buying, abuse of incumbency, and interference marred the NPP’s primaries. Observers such as the Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) and the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) reported these issues, while candidates like Alan Kyerematen and Kennedy Agyapong publicly criticized the process.

This undermined the integrity of the primaries, resulting in a product that lacked the backing of an empirical process. By prioritizing short-term wins over a robust product development approach, the NPP inadvertently set itself up for failure.

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Lacking in PR

There are some cases where bad products sell. But nothing pushes buyers (here, voters) back more than bad PR and failed advertising. However, I believe NPP’s advertising and promotions did great, except that they disregarded a key platform/strategy which will be later discussed in this write-up. Their PR however was not the best, especially in the face of crisis.

I suggest that the recent economic struggles characterized by the ever-depreciating cedi, high inflation, etc., the accordion of corruption reports and cases coupled with reports of abuse of executive powers, and more, the NPP was looking at a crisis. Unfortunately, there was no clear response to that crisis. The NPP decided not to acknowledge the facts and rather maximized advertising. And this was consistent across all their communications.

My first law of PR in crisis management, especially when you know you are at fault is to take responsibility. NPP’s communication did not seek to do that at any point in their corporate communication.

After taking responsibility, seek to understand and align with the reports, and suggestions of the constituents and then promise to do better through a comprehensive, and tailored communication plan which progressively feeds into the overall corporate communication plan. Your communication must be clear, honest, and consistent. Consistent as in cohesion in communication but also consistent with subsequent acts.

The denial of the fact by not developing and executing a proper crisis management strategy to reduce dissonance is the reason there is a widely suggested reason of apathy being a significant reason NPP lost.

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Tiktok Killed Free SHS

My sub-topic may seem funny but give me a minute to discuss it.

According to Statista, TikTok had a worldwide usage of about 1.9 billion as of 2023. Over two-thirds of TikTok users are under 34 years old. 67% of teens use TikTok, and nearly half of Gen Z use TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google.

In Ghana, TikTok moves to third place, behind WhatsApp (1st) and Facebook (2nd) in the most used apps in 2024 with 90% of these users being 34 years old or younger. According to start.io users between the ages of 18-24 years make up 30% of the user population.?

Now, Free SHS. The populations who benefit from Free SHS are 40 years old and above (the parents) and 24 years old and below (current and past beneficiaries of the policy in the past 8 years). For the parents, other pressures such as the economy, governance, etc. contribute to their decision-making. This is because they are mostly in the working class (formal and informal sectors). The 24-year-olds and below are either newly graduated or still in school (university and SHS) and thus would have the FSHS as a significant consideration when voting.

Unfortunately, these 24-year-olds take all their information on TikTok where NDC did all the job.

For the NDC, Kelvin Taylor played a pivotal role in driving their narrative, supported by organic videos from various “masked accounts” that spotlighted the shortcomings of the incumbent government. The emergence of figures like Malik Basintale, who gained traction through concise, frequently updated content, also bolstered their efforts. These tactics effectively neutralized the popularity of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy within its target demographics by consistently presenting counterarguments, regardless of their veracity. Interestingly, the TikTok videos didn’t focus on promoting President-Elect Mahama directly but instead employed relentless “pressure tactics” to undermine their opponents.

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Conclusion

The NPP missed the mark from the onset, which necessitated an increased reliance on advertising later in the campaign. If a product is not carefully developed, more resources must be spent on marketing—a costly trade-off. Looking ahead, the NPP has an opportunity to select a leader—a well-defined "product"—through an empirical process in their primaries. It is crucial to let the systems function as intended.

While the NPP ran an impressive advertising campaign, they fell short on public relations. The resulting cognitive dissonance was poorly managed, contributing to voter apathy. The solution is straightforward: acknowledge the struggles of the electorate, take responsibility, make genuine promises for improvement, and, most importantly, follow through on those promises.

Additionally, TikTok is rapidly becoming the new Facebook in terms of influence. Both political parties and corporations must begin crafting comprehensive strategies to leverage the platform's unique demographics, much as they currently do with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—the traditional pillars of social media strategy.

It is worth noting that these are just my observations and not an exhaustive list of the factors behind the NPP's loss.

Thank you.