The wisdom of the war room : US campaigning and Americanization

This article explores the prospects of American influence on electioneering worldwide. Its starting point is US campaigns themselves and, through an examination of trade literature, it focuses on campaigning knowledge and the ideas which underpin US campaigning strategies. This approach suggests that `professionalization', commonly regarded as the hallmark of US-style campaigns, is problematic and has been overestimated. US campaigning knowledge remains dominated by `political folk wisdom'. US campaigning is an evolving business, with some fledgling signs of professionalism, but what it now represents is the commercial rather than professional paradigm. This helps us to understand why US influence abroad may be limited, because the less `professional' the knowledge, the less likely it is to transcend the specifics of the US situation. However, it also helps identify practices, stemming mainly from marketing, where US practice shows signs of professionalism and is more likely to be influential

Political brands and consumer citizens: the rebranding of Tony Blair

It has become commonplace to speak of political parties and brands. This article looks at the rise of the brand and explains how branding has become the cutting edge of commercial marketing. It examines how the brand concept and research techniques are used in politics and focuses in particular on the rebranding of Tony Blair in the run up to the 2005 U.K. general election. More broadly, it argues that branding is the new form of political marketing. If market research, spin, and advertising were the key signifiers of marketed parties and candidates in the 1980s and 1990s, “branding” is the hallmark now. It will argue that the brand concept has analytical value. It is not simply a convenient and fashionable term for image. Furthermore, it is a demonstration that we are moving from a mass media model to a consumer model of political communication