The New Face of Political Advertising & PR in Election 2019

Marketing and branding is the name of the game this election year in India. It played a pivotal role in the ruling party’s landslide win in 2014. This was the first time that the role of marketing and PR, in the Indian elections, was brought to light. This year India is gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections and the parties are once again at loggerheads to come to power. The stakes are high and so is the budget of their marketing campaigns.

Movie-goers can see Congress party’s sledging campaign at PVRs. Your screens have been flooded with news, articles, videos, and even music videos, that are driving political agendas. The election is the trending national topic and campaigners are doing everything they can, to reach all voters. Let’s take a look at how every digital medium is being stretched this election year.

Content Is King

Content plays a primary role in elections, be it speeches, brochures, leaflets or any other medium. No matter what the marketing tactic, content remains the focus. But a new face of content has emerged. Political movies, ads on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter — packed with hard-hitting content to grab attention. This content is promoted on social media or by influencers & PR agencies directly or indirectly.

The Digital Ad FOMO

Political parties are aware that India has more than a quarter billion active social media users, and they are trying to leverage it. Parties and their contestants are active on their social media handles and engage with their voters daily. They are targeting voters using focused campaigns via digital marketing, and are drawing a huge number of followers.

Furthermore, every constituency in India will have an average of 1.49 Lakh first-time voters. This figure is larger than the winning margin in 297 seats in 2014 elections. Ergo, first-time voters could hold the key to 282 seats in this election. This is another reason why parties are focused on digital media for ad and PR; as they are aware that young voters can be influenced through social media.

Partnering With Influencers

Many parties are collaborating with social media influencers to promote their campaigns and to reach out to voters. It’s hard to miss how your social media feed is flooded with posts from your favorite handles, hinting towards which party they are going to vote for. These influencers are popular among millennials and have turned into another medium for outreach.

Ads For The Masses

Ads are the most effective way to reach both rural and urban masses. According to the Indian Transparency Report on polls released by Google, some political parties spent nearly 33% of their campaign budget on ads. Television, print, radio and digital media — no medium has been spared.

Mobile Advertising — For M.Ad Reach

Customized PR campaigns through text and WhatsApp messages is another medium being utilized by campaigners. Customized in regional languages, these messages highlight the strengths of the parties or flaws of their rivals. Imagine the reach of mobile marketing — with approximately 750 million mobile users and nearly 200 million WhatsApp users. The way this data is being used to reach the masses is ingenious.

Direct PR

In the 2014 elections, we saw Modi interact with voters through public campaigns like Chai Pe Charcha and Mann Ki Baat. He used it as a medium to talk about what the party is doing for the people, highlight their agenda and also hear from people on what needs to be improved. This kind of personal engagement is appealing to all voters and drives engagement. This election season, you can witness all parties use this form of engagement to speak directly to their voters.

Live Interviews and Debates

Face-to-face interviews and political debates on television, allows voters to hear the thoughts of their leaders and form an opinion. This is another medium where an increasing number of party representatives and contestants can be seen, trying to reach out to the voters.

Evidently, the face of PR is evolving in tandem with digital media. No stone is being left unturned to reach every demographic and get maximum reach. I am not sure about the outcome of the elections, but as a marketer, I have certainly learned a lot watching political parties get innovative with their marketing and PR.