POLITICAL CO-BRAND IMAGE & POSITIONING – A MIXED METHOD STUDY

Abstract

While co-branding is an inherent feature of contemporary politics, designing, developing, and evaluating the combined potential of image and positioning of a political co-brand is still a challenge for candidates, political campaign managers, and political strategists. Despite being a crucial aspect of connection with the electorates, researchers have overlooked the development of frameworks on political co-brand image and positioning. This paucity of research on the development and management of political co-brand image and positioning indicates the need for more research. Also, the available literature gives unsettled results regarding the negative spillover effects between the party brand and candidate brands. Therefore, there have been calls for scholarly enquiry. Research was therefore needed to deconstruct and operationalize the concept of co-brand image and positioning; to identify key elements that are sensitive to the voters. This sequential exploratory mixed method study has tried to fill these gaps by exploring and examining the political co-brand image through the lens of positioning concept from the external stakeholder’s perspective. Revisiting an existing framework, this study contributes to the stream of literature on the political brand image and positioning. Revisiting aided in evaluating an already existing framework’s strength and applicability in a different setting, context and for the concept of political co-brand image and positioning. It also helped in presenting a critical perspective and in making a viable contribution to the body of knowledge regarding the limited research available on political co-brand image, positioning and the negative image transference between co-brands and corporate brand. Qualitative study explores political co-brand image, positioning, and negative image transference. The analysis of the data collected from a sample of political analysts resulted in the development of an all-encompassing framework, named as the Political Co-brand Image and Positioning Framework. The quantitative strand is built on the qualitative study’s findings. With the introduction of a new construct (political brand positioning and political marketing, PBPM) to the body of knowledge, this strand not only offer a way to measure political brand image and positioning but also confirms the capability of the newly developed framework, with a different set of respondents (sample of electorates). It is expected that the insights this study offers will help researchers, political campaign managers, political strategists and public policy makers with a focus on improving political marketing strategies, in in formulating appropriate marketing and public policies and in fixing co-brand image alignment by comparing desired and actual positioning.