They sell dreams: Netagiri & Marketing

“Gareebe Hatao”!  

“Yes we can”! 

“Acche din aane wale hain”!

“Make America Great Again”! 

“Change we need”!

“Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” (One people, one empire, one leader)

“There is no Alternative”!

All the above mentioned slogans were not just words, they were something more. They were a dream. They were means to change. A change for a brighter future. A change of destiny itself. These certainly are some of the finest examples of effective marketing campaigns. And all of them were and still are a case studies in their own right. These were excellently articulated messages. Messages that challenged the way our political establishments worked. Messages that stormed the gates of political complacency and became peoples’ movement.

The political messaging has taken various forms & has always complemented the change in technology. The medium of marketing of ideology has changed but the idea & philosophy behind the messaging has more or less been the same.

Modus Operandi

The political marketing has always followed an approach of what I call 3 P’s of marketing: “posture, position & plough”. The leaders tend to posture themselves according to the whims & wishes of the followers. These may be some signals that one gathers from grass root level and tries to mold the message according to the popular perception. The leaders then position themselves firmly on a specific agenda and create a pro people image. After having sown the seeds of hope and prosperity they plough the field of public sentiment to reap dividends.

 This is evident from the effort of Narendra Modi, during 2014 Lok Sabha elections in India, where he rode a huge wave of anti-corruption & pro development issue (Acche Din/ Vikas) to overthrow the UPA 2. Adolf Hitler reaped the anti-jews sentiment & rose to power, which pushed the world to one of the most devastating war mankind has ever seen. And Donald Trump, challenging the status quo on behalf of middle class in US led a relentless campaign to over throw the charades of politicians and compulsions of geopolitics to “Make America Great Again”.

The surveying done in structuring these campaigns is unprecedented. These mavericks knew the nerve of their customers (followers), and therefore spearheaded a relentless and successful campaign. Indira Gandhi was well aware of the hardships of poor, their hunger and their desperate need for hope. They found their “Durga” in her and rest is history. Mrs. Gandhi could overcome all odds and even the dominant “Congress Old Guard” with people on her side. This is one of many examples of a successful surveying & knowledge of one’s target audience.

It’s Tech stupid…

The political campaigns have kept abreast with the change in technology. Throughout the history every change in technology was used by these charismatic leaders to usher in change. Like any business entity, these modern “netas” (with respect to each era) used the advancement in technology to reach larger audience with higher efficacy.

John F. Kennedy used the opportunity of first ever televised presidential debate to leave an imprint on the minds of the viewers with his suave. The case in point being that his opponent, Richard Nixon, was admired by the radio listeners of the same debate who did watch Kennedy’s charm live on T.V. No prize for guessing who went on to become 35th President of United States of America.

Barack Obama used specialized metrics monitoring to target specific lobbies and communities to channelize his approach towards them. The extensive use of social media monitoring and hard data crunching paved his way to being re-elected to the office of President of United States. Back home, the social media blitzkrieg, by the devoted social media cell of BJP during 2014, took the winds away from Congress’ sail. The emergence of niche role of social media campaign managers, in these cases Jim Messina & Eric Reis & Prashant Kishore respectively draws the parallel between the upcoming marketing roles due to advent of technology.

Ever wondered why..

In this age of constant surveillance, these leaders are always under scrutiny by their target audience. And like any responsible marketing company they, without fail appease their spectator day in and day out. Ever wondered what is the similarity between the “Hugomacy, long strolls, beating of drums “by Modi, “covfefe” faux pas of Donald Trump & Strong posturing of Vladimir Putin?

 “YOU”!! I mean “we the people”!!

The forceful hugs, firm handshakes, long strolls along the beaches & addressing of Indian diaspora across the globe are a trademark of Prime Minister Modi (apart from his love for abbreviations). Putin does what he does to keep Russia together with the feeling of patriotism (Ukraine, West case in point) as Russian history shows that mother Russia needs an outside enemy to keep its flock together. And President Trump has taken the “Twitomacy” to next level as he believes that all the major policy decisions must involve the citizens even at 3am in the morning. Walking out of the Iran deal, North Korea Peace talks, U-turn on climate change & off course Trump’s favorite and easy to win Trade wars are a case in point. All this just for us. For us to take a note of what they do. For us to know they are working for us. All this because “The Big Brother is watching”. Guess who is the big brother here.

The Czars & Czarinas of India

When it comes to technology the Indian polity has a more nuanced approach now. Our own External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has a dynamic twitter handle. “Help is always given to those who ask for it on Twitter”, so whether it is airlift from a foreign country or medical or legal aid in a foreign country, you know someone has your back, that too the External Minister of India. Same is the case with Railway Ministry. No matter who sits in the chair, you will get a meal or milk for a baby on the next station if you ask for it. Posturing has always been a part of Indian Polity. The “mahagathbandhan” of “like minded secular parties” to take on the Modi-Shah duo is a case in point. This posturing is supposed to change the fate of Opposition in India for 2019 General Elections. What fascinates me though is how will regionals parties transfer their votes to other likeminded regional parties when they are in different regions!! (UP being an exception)

The way our Government has gone about on a marketing spree, it deserves a “Cannes Golden Lion”. Surgical Strikes, GST, demonetization, Jan Dhan Yojna are all case in point. What this has effectively done is that it has made the citizens more aware of the know-hows of their own country. And for the ruling establishment it has reflected in successive successful electoral performances. However, be wary of the next time our PM comes on television at 8pm.  

These are some classical text book approach for effective marketing. And it does not end here. What makes me wonder is what it might look like in years to come when Artificial Intelligence takes the driver’s seat. We might even shake hands with Mr. President!!

But whatever may be the case our “netas” will always be the forefront marketers. Make sure that you award them with “Best Salesman of the Year” (do vote), because that’s the beauty of democracy, it is free entertainment. It is there for us to believe that someone cares for us and is chalking out a strategy to capture the market share.

Remember they are not pfaffing, they are selling a dream!!