Political brands: can parties be distinguished by their online brand personality?

This paper investigates whether or not five English political parties are differentiating themselves based on the brand personality they are communicating through their websites. The relative brand positions of five English political parties are analysed using Aaker’s brand personality scale. The text from each party website is analysed using content analysis and a dictionary-based tool. The results are plotted in relation to one another on a correspondence analysis map. We find that the two main dimensions on which parties' brand personalities differ relate to the trade-offs between communicating Competence and communicating Sincerity, and between communicating Sophistication and communicating Ruggedness. We find that parties' brand personalities are distinctive, with the exception of the Green party, and that the position of one party, the United Kingdom Independence Party, is particularly distinctive. Our research uses Aaker’s existing framework for thinking about brand personalities, rather than creating a new framework for politics. By using an existing framework, we are able to use tools developed in other disciplines, and show their usefulness for the study of political marketing

Voting turnout in Greece: expressive or instrumental?

The study analyses the micro-level determinants of voting turnout rates in Greece. In particular, we test for the effects of citizens’ socio-economic features, political participation, activism and trust as pointing to either an expressive or instrumental voting decision process. The analysis involves bootstrap logistic regression techniques and ESS data covering the 2002-2011 period. Evidence is found of instrumental voting in Greece as suggested by the effects of absolute and relative income and the effect of civic participation and trust variables. In addition, the profile of voters is differentiated in the pre- and during the crisis periods. The study makes a twofold contribution. First, the suggested analysis is unique for Greece, and thus it provides important information regarding citizens’ motives towards electoral participation. The second contribution relates to the study’s relevance to policy analysis and design. Results suggest that not only ideology but also the economic agenda might be an important predictor of electoral participation and consequently, legitimization and the quality of democracy in Greece

Voting turnout in Greece: expressive or instrumental?

Voting turnout is a core element of political democracy as it constitutes the so-called hard evidence of citizens’ engagement in the wider political processes. Thus, increasing voting abstention rates in the developed countries and the emergence of abstract types of political and civic engagement raise concerns over the ways in which participation evolves in modern democracies and the underlying socio-political mechanisms and dynamics that govern its development. Within this context, we analyse the micro-level determinants of voting turnout rates in Greece using ESV data for the 2002-2011 period. In particular, we test for the effects of formal and latent political participation, activism and trust as pointing to either an expressive or instrumental voting decision process. After controlling for the individuals’ socio-demographic and economic profile evidence is found of instrumental voting in Greece. Important policy level implications arise as a result of these findings

Exploring and consolidating the brand personality elements of the political leader

Purpose - This study aims to examine brand personality and its application to political branding. This study focuses on the brand personality of a political leader from the BJP Party brand (Bharatiya Janta Party). The development of a strong political brand personality is crucial for success at the polls. Little research has been dedicated to this phenomenon particularly beyond Western political and post-election contexts. Design/methodology/approach - The scope and development of the study required a qualitative approach. The theoretical frameworks of the study acted as the deductive base of the study. The insights of the respondents were the inductive base of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with external stakeholders [voters]. In addition, semi-structured interviews were also adopted to capture the branding activities used by internal stakeholders [BJP]. Findings - The brand personality dimensions such as sincerity; agreeableness, competence, energy, openness, conscientiousness and emotional stability were clearly associated with a political leader. Negative qualities such as dictatorial attitudes and arrogance affected the political leader’s brand personality. Religious partisanship was another strong negative trait affecting the brand personality of the political leader. Originality/value - The study has an actionable framework for political brand personality in the post-election context. It offers negative qualities to be avoided in the development of the political brand personality of the leader. It offers insights about the political brand personality of the leader in terms of young digitally savvy voters

Social comparison of young men : the role social media influencers

Dissertation (MCom (Informatics))--University of Pretoria, 2022.This study aims to highlight social media influencers’ (SMIs) role in social comparison, having young men as the target audience. Existing research published on SMIs and its impact are mainly focused on women. Studies focused on men and SMIs cover the topics of bodybuilding and body idealisation. This study’s main objective is to highlight SMIs role in social comparison. The researcher’s main goal was to thoroughly analyse both the positive and negative effects to conclude the overall impact SMIs have on young men. It has been determined that if current or known SMI trends persist in social media platforms, the impact may be more harmful than beneficial. This study attempts to carefully and appropriately evaluate the impact of SMIs and mitigate them to avoid adverse effects on society. The results of this research are essential and will be used to show the overall impact of SMIs on the day-to-day lives of many young men. For this study, the researcher opted for the social comparison theory as the study’s theoretical framework. This theory points out that people use the comparison process to create an effective benchmark to develop accurate evaluations (Guyer & Vaughan-Johnston, 2018). This theory process begins when individuals decide to learn about themselves by evaluating their traits, beliefs, opinions, and attitudes to others. The social comparison theory points out that people use the comparison process to create an effective benchmark to develop accurate evaluations. The underlying motivations for social comparisons include maintaining positive self-evaluation (downward comparison) and self-enhancement (upward comparison). The researcher discussed the existing literature on social media, the effectiveness of social media, drawbacks of social media, SMIs, and types of social media influencers and introduced the correlation between social media and young men. Regarding the research methodology for the current study, the philosophical paradigm followed was interpretivism. The approach to theory development chosen was the deducted approach. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach where 20 young men aged 18-26 years old, both from Mozambique and South Africa, were interviewed. For this research, the researcher opted for thematic analysis because it was the most flexible approach to generate mindful insights and concepts from the collected data. This study showed that young men with lower self-esteem are more likely to use strategies to boost their confidence and those with high self-esteem are likely to use strategies to maintain it. These results support previous studies that stated that people with high self-esteem are more likely to engage in self-enhancement as people with lower self-esteem avoid engaging in social comparison. The results also show that young men often used SMIs to push themselves to work harder. Data analysis determined that social media influencers influence participants according to their personal development goals and interests. The in-depth analysis also determined that appearance, purchase behaviour, and motivation were the most common answers on how social media influencers influence young men. The data collected showed that all study participants were aware of possible risks associated with SMIs. The participants believe that young men in today’s age can be easily influenced to promote or endorse dangerous political ideologies and beliefs. The study also determined that the unrealistic content created by SMIs might cause envy and depression due to exposure to desirable attributes. This is due to social pressure to follow the existing trends created by social media influencers. The findings of this research can lead to new lines of inquiry due to the limitations faced by the researcher. The researcher was also able to determine that future research should explore issues like how posts or images posted on social media platforms by SMIs may be less impactful to young men compared to women. Future research could compare their responses across all social media platforms and look at the possibility that young men are somewhat protected from any risks and effects of social media exposure regarding appearance. Future research should dive into these possibilities. Assessing the impact of social media influencers on young men’s lives focus on broader age gaps. SMIs impact must be carefully and appropriately evaluated and mitigated to avoid adverse effects on society.InformaticsMCom (Informatics)Unrestricte

Factors that influence behavioural intention on political party websites in South Africa

Includes bibliographical references.The underlying context of this research is a focus on political party websites and citizen usage behaviour. The background of the study investigates how the role of the party website has risen to growing prominence in the online campaign context due to the transformative nature of the Internet on modern communication, as a whole. As a result, evaluating website quality in the political arena is of strategic importance but lacks a strong body of dedicated research in the academic community. Rigourous evaluations can point to improvements in the way parties develop and use websites to engage citizens. At an aggregate level as a result of these improvements, more effective political engagement online may contribute to healthier democratic processes and more politically active citizenry. At an organisational level, for parties themselves, more effective political engagement online can produce benefits at large scale, such as expanded reach, better targeting and profiling of constituents, with significant cost-savings, increased voter turnout and improvements to public opinion

The influence of social media on the intention to vote for student political organisations in the Eastern Cape

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of social media on the intention to vote for students political organizations in the Eastern Cape. The main objectives included measuring the influence of predictor variables such as medium credibility, message credibility, tie strength with peers, identification with the peers, peer communication, user trust, information credibilit on the intention to vote. To measure these hypothesised relationships a conceptual model was developed for the study. Data collection was conducted in the Eastern Cape in which 381 participants were surveyed. To analyse the data the two stage structural equation modeling approach was adopted in which confimatory factor analysis and hypothesis testing was adopted. This was conducted ulitising Structural equation modelling. The main findings of the study were that all the proposed hypotheses were supported with the exception of that of peer commnication and tie strength with peers on the intention to vote. It was also important to note that identification with peers had the strongest impact on the intention to vote while the message credibility had the weakest. The implication was that users feel that the ability to identify with each other influenced their voting intentions however the message itself was irrelevant

Developing image based positioning strategies for retaining the political parties’ electoral bases : a new theoretical perspective

In the recent past, there has been an increasing interest in the topic of personal values and their influence on end-users’ behaviour in the context of both commercial and political environment. However, there has been little research aimed at linking voters’ value priorities, and the influence of these values in the formulation and implementation of successful organizational strategies.This dissertation is concerned with the area of personal values, how voters’ values influence both strategy process and its outcomes in the formation of competitive segmentation/positioning strategies within the political environment, and with the developing field of political marketing, in order the retention of political parties’ electoral bases to be achieved. The research strategy is based on a qualitative approach to discovering the value priorities of voter segments. Working on coding applications, throughout the voters’ value-behaviour spectrum, the reasoning and impact of personal values on voters’ political behaviour will be identified. Also, the identification of value priorities perceptions based on political image, since the leader’s image and party’s image are basic components of the political product offering, will be described. Finally, based on voters’ value priorities an image-based positioning strategy will be proposed.Rokeach’s, Schwartz’s, and Rohan’s theoretical background provide the main basis for understanding the topic of personal values. The qualitative method which will be used is based on Grand McCracken’s “The Long Interview” method which consists of the basic research framework. However, in parallel, the inductive approach for Ground Theory development has been employed for more solid elements for the Greek Voters’ electoral behaviour interpretation to be achieved. Moreover, for more reliability and support for the interview process and outcomes to be achieved, the Theory of Planned Behaviour from the field of Social Psychology is also employed. This will lead to a consensus of image-based positioning strategic directions. As a result, an approach showing the impact of personal values on strategy formulation for the retention of the political parties’ electoral bases is proposed