'A huge political experiment' - exploring the political brand positioning of political parties in Jersey from an internal-external perspective

Pich, C.; Reardon, J.; Armannsdottir, A.

Abstract

A political brand aims to project a differentiated and identifiable position in the minds of voters. However, there is limited understanding on the envisaged and realised positioning of political 'party' brands particularly in under-explored contexts. Therefore, this study investigates the brand positioning of four political 'party' brands from an insider (politician) and outsider (voter) perspective in the context of the British Crown Dependency of Jersey. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with politicians-candidates from all four political parties in Jersey and focus group discussions with young voters 18-24 years. Thematic analysis was adopted as part of the analytical strategy. It was revealed internal stakeholders created clear positioning for their political brands grounded on values and visual identity cues rather than grounded on distinct policies. However, the brand positioning of the three of the four political party brands were largely unclear from the standpoint of young voters. The study has implications for academics-practitioners beyond politics. More specifically, this study presents 'the Political Brand Positioning Toolkit'. The toolkit developed from existing theory and empirical findings represents a systematic framework, which provides guidance on how to position new or existing brands and strategically manage a brand's envisaged and realised position.

Citation

Pich, C., Reardon, J., & Armannsdottir, A. (2024). 'A huge political experiment' - exploring the political brand positioning of political parties in Jersey from an internal-external perspective. Journal of Marketing Communications, https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2024.2361657

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 27, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 13, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 13, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Marketing Communications
• Print ISSN: 1352-7266
• Electronic ISSN: 1466-4445
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2024.2361657
• Keywords: political branding; brand identity; brand image; brand positioning; marketing communications; Jersey
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/36303025
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527266.2024.2361657