Keywords

1 Introduction

“…Political communication is changing, but it is not clear how the changes relate to concerns about inequalities in the media sphere…” [1]. Accordingly, the method by which academics frame the field of political communication clarifies that the field is not broadly static, but rather something that changes and grows in response to changing social trends and the fluid changing socio-economic and behavioral environment [2]. In regard to Greece, Greek voters discredit the parties, the general system and politics in general. On the contrary, we see the parties, in any way, legitimate or illegitimate, trying to keep themselves at the center of the whole process, using a straighter network of political marketing and treating the voter as a consumer. In this respect, the specific paper attempts to explore how the political marketing mix of political parties are perceived and consumed by the potential voters and therefore to examine the impact of political marketing upon the behavior and the electoral actions of Greek voters. Accordingly, in order to accomplish the projected research in an appropriate and effective manner, it has been considered as essential to identify in an investigative manner the vital research principle. Therefore, the following sections aim to specify the research aims and objectives and to make an introduction to the required theoretical background, as well as the data gathering and analysing methods that have been used towards the accomplishment of the research and therefore to discuss the findings and to stress the implications of the research.

2 Literature Review

2.1 Political Marketing and the 4 Ps

As it is acknowledged in relevant research works, “political parties and candidates have used marketing tools, especially the 4 Ps, and strategies to gain elected positions [3,4,5]. Political events also appear to be equivalent to mainstream marketing conditions [4] and therefore, in political marketing terminology, political parties are synonymous to businesses, whereas candidates are similar to other commercial goods [3, 4]. An earlier study [3], categorizes the wider notion of political marketing mix into 4P's and more specifically: product (party platform, past records, personal characteristics) place (publicity from staged events, debate), price (economic cost, psychological cost, national images) and promotion (posters, signs, ads, personal appearance, volunteer program). In a similar manner with [6, 7] resented a 38-item nine dimensional statistically valid structural model of political mix for a developing country. Moreover, the following paragraphs give some particular references in regard to each of the 4 PS of Political marketing, as they appeared in previous research.

Product/Candidate. It is well documented in the political literature that candidates are considered as products [4, 8]. Previous research [3] highlighted characteristics such as past political records of the candidate, personal characteristics, and their stance against corruption. An earlier study [9] emphasised “the image as a popular leader and social person, the candidate’s level of education, and persuasion ability. Literature [10] mentioned the importance of a candidate’s professional background, level of education, commitments made before the election, and voice [6, 7].

Price. Price as it is perceived by the electorates is the mixture of the costs that the voters have to accept if the candidate wins. Previous research [6] stated both economic (such as an increase in tax and fees if elected) and psychological costs to the electorates.” Consequently, whether selecting a candidate would diminish the national image is vital as well [6, 7].

Place. Place strategy contracts with the methods by which a candidate can contract electorates in a particular manner. Literature [11] preferred maintaining relationships with grassroots workers, door-to-door activities, and being available in the area throughout the year. Previous research [10] suggested strong public relations, organizing press conferences, and more frequent public appearances [6, 7].

Promotion. Promotion has always been viewed as the key marketing tactic in political marketing irrespective of the type of election (local or national), as previous research [10] suggested that campaigns with personal appearances, use of the media, especially TV, and customized speeches are useful in politics. A previous study [8] mentioned showcasing the achievements of the candidate and party, using local language in speech, and sending direct mail to the voters, literature [12] suggested telemarketing, internet communication, and radio and billboard promotion [6, 7].

In this manner [7, 13, 14] a research model was created “about the effect of political marketing mix (politics product, political price, placement and politics promotion) on the decision to select candidates and political parties. This study is a theoretical study to disclose the connection between the study variables in the context of legislative elections.” Accordingly, rendering to theoretic studies, it can be argued that theoretically a political product, placement, promotion politics and political decisions are connected to the voter’s choice, whereas the political price is not.

3 Methodology

3.1 Problem Statement

The paper attempts to investigate how political marketing of Greek political parties are produced and adapted through the pre-electoral period communication campaign, in order to attract and keep their voters. Moreover, the projected research aims to clarify how, in what perspective and why the average Greek voter and its electoral behavior is affected by the particular marketing and communication mix and its 4Ps. The research question/hypothesis is associated with the impact of political marketing mix upon voting behaviour. Each element of the political marketing mix/4Ps has a certain level of impact upon shaping the perceptions of the voters and thus influence their electoral motives, their electoral behaviour [6] and their electoral actions.

3.2 Primary Research Design

In order to meet the requirements of the proposed research objectives, it has been considered essential to deploy certain research methods and tools. Accordingly, primary research is the only way through which the organisation could take some answers relevant to its own situation. As it is acknowledged in relevant research works, “political parties and candidates have used marketing tools, especially the 4 Ps, and strategies to gain elected positions [3,4,5]. Political events also appear to be equivalent to mainstream marketing conditions [4] and therefore, in political marketing terminology, political parties are synonymous to businesses, whereas candidates are similar to other commercial goods [3, 4].

Survey’s Sample and Population. The survey occurred electronically, with the use of a convenient sample, with 605 Greek citizens with electoral right and a nation-wide geographical coverage, in order to be representative to the research population (Greek citizens with electoral rights). In the specific case researchers preferred convenience sampling as allowed them to generate a relatively large sample within a rather short period [15]. More specifically, the answers were given between the 27th of June and the 11th of July 2023, just after the two subsequent electoral contests. The particular timing was preferred, in order to obtain the reflection of a clear electoral output and therefore to attain the monitoring of a transparent impact of the political marketing. Beyond the favorable timing, another reason for which the Greek case was preferred, is the fact that there is a favorable ground for the particular field, and the specific research is likely to contribute to the existing research gap, by focusing on the impact of political marketing produced by the Greek political market.

4 Research Results and Discussion

4.1 Perceptual/Electoral Impact of Political Marketing

As it has already been mentioned, the survey involved 15 items/elements and examined the impact of Political Marketing Mix, as it has been indicated in Literature Review and as it has been addressed by previous scholars [6, 10]. Therefore, the questionnaire measured, the political marketing mix, in a manner similar to the approaches that have previously been used by other researchers [6, 7, 16, 17] upon electoral behaviour and consists of 4 sections, each responding to each of the 4 elements (Ps) of political marketing mix (Place, Product, Price, Promotion).

Place. Accordingly, the general outcome that drives form the findings is that the element of “Place” as it is presented in Table 1, with mean values (2,49; 2,9; 2,9; 3,18) as a component of wider political marketing mix, with an average mean vale of 2,89, appeared to have enough impact upon the vast majority of the respondents. However, it lies behind the elements of “Product” and “Price” which indicated an even higher impact upon the voting behaviour of Greek voters. As it is reported by the given results, “The Frequent public appearance of the candidate” (2.98), even the fact that it presents a mean value higher than average, appears to be the weakest point of the wider element of “Place”, while “The availability of the candidate in the area” (3.42) appears to be the strongest point of the wider element. This fact suggests that the Element of “Place” does not present an actual weakness. However, its actual strength is placed around the availability of the candidate in the area, and thus, the concentration around local interest, rather than a general public appearance. Nonetheless, the latter also appears to be relatively important as a campaign element.

Table 1 Political marketing mix
Full size table

Product. In a comparable way, the general outcome that derives from the particular findings, is that the element of “Product” (See Table 1) as a component of political marketing mix, with mean values (3.31; 3,51; and 3,87), with an average mean vale of 3,56 presents an even stronger impact upon the voting behaviour of Greeks Even though, “the previous political records of the candidate” (3,31) demonstrated a relatively high impact upon voting behaviour, it lies behind “the image of the candidate as a leader” (3,51) and “the image of the candidate as a social entity” (3,87), a fact that suggests that both the leader and the social figures should be the major priorities of parties and candidates in regard to the element of “Political Product”.

Price. In a very similar manner, the general outcome that derived from the particular outcome, is that the element of “Price” as a component of political marketing mix, with mean values (3,7 3,75; 3,73), seems to be the most influential element of the wider Political Marketing Mix, with an average mean vale of 3,73. Moreover, the results contradict the findings of Widagdo, et al. (2014) who claim that “Product”, “Place” and “Promotion” are connected to the voter’s choice, however price is not. Even though “the financial cost if the candidate is elected” (3.7) demonstrated a relatively high impact upon voting behaviour, it lies behind “the psychological cost if the candidate is elected” (3.75) and “the candidate’s perspective on both genders” (3.73), a fact that suggests that both the social and the psychological cost might need slightly greater emphasis rather than the actual economic cost in regard to the element of “Political Price”, as an element of “Political Marketing”.

Promotion. In a different manner from the other “3Ps”, the general outcome that derives from the particular research, is that the element of “Promotion” as a component of political marketing mix (See Fig. 4), with mean values (2,73; 1,9; 2,02; 2,02 and 2,88) has less impact upon the vast majority of the respondents, in relation to the other elements of the wider political marketing mix (“Place”, “Product” and “Price”).From the five factors, “the meetings of the candidate” appearances (2,88) to be the strongest factor of the elements of promotion, followed by the “Central Slogan of the Candidacy” (2.73). Accordingly, the combination of a distinctive central slogan and a sound public appearance appeared to be critical for the wider political marketing of a candidate or a party. However, “Promotion” in general lies behind the rest of the elements of political marketing.

5 Research Implications and Conclusions

5.1 Perceptual/ Electoral Impact of Political Marketing

As it is acknowledged in relevant research works and reflected in the results of the specific research as presented in the previous section of the specific paper, the political parties and candidates have used marketing tools, especially the 4 Ps, and strategies to gain elected positions [5, 8, 10]. Accordingly, the given research results and findings might support the view that political events also appear to be equivalent to mainstream marketing conditions [5, 8]. The findings align with previous research [16] as for the fact that “Promotion” and thus the actual campaign less influential from the other elements of the political marketing mix (Product, Place and Price). Moreover, the results contradict previous research [6] which claims that “Product”, “Place” and “Promotion” are connected to the voter’s choice, however price is not. Additionally, according to literature [17] “…Candidates practice a diversity of practices to influence the voters, from public appearances and rallies to the use of mass media advertising” [17, 18].