Economic science / 6. Marketing and management

Lubianitskii Pavel Yurievich

Rostov State University of Economics

Marketing Understanding of the Image by 4p Concept

The political image is the image of a politician or political organization that is purposefully formed and aimed at having an emotional and psychological impact on certain individuals for the purpose of promoting, political advertising, and the like.

The political marketing involves the use of a variety of political theories, methods, techniques and ways for monitoring and analysis of the political situation, as well as ways to form political demands and expectations, the satisfaction of which creates an opportunity to influence the behavior of the masses. The expanded political marketing scheme is shown in Figure 1.

The origins of use of the image in the formation of the politician's positive image are rooted in the distant past, when ancient orators, philosophers, and politicians sought to show themselves as that which people wanted them to be, but not as they were.

Medium Product Market (Socio-political medium) (policies, ideas and programs) (citizens and voters)

Buying (voting)

Special interest group

support communication

Opponents

Correction of optimization of

image campaign

Marketing service

information information

The 4P concept, common in the traditional marketing, is marketing that includes four levels of activities:

Product; Price; Promotion; Place.

Like any product, the politician, political party or phenomenon possess a number of characteristics that may need management at some point of time, namely:

– like any product, the politician has distinguishing external qualities – appearance, behavior, habits, manner of communication, especially the speech - all this forms the politician's image;

– like any product, the politician has a label, mark, a certain notoriety - it is a member of a party, has a certain reputation in political circles and among citizens, has the experience of previous activities (athlete, executive, entrepreneur, etc.) - a kind of packaging and brand;

– any politician, by analogy with the product, presents the socio-political and/or economic program, in the course of which the voters will gain certain benefits, if they give their votes for this politician, i.e., the service program in the traditional marketing;

– to acquire popularity among the masses, the politician, by analogy with the product, should be "promoted" and advertised using the same technologies that are used for product promotion.

Thus, the marketing 4P concept is an effective tool for influencing the formation of image of the politician, political party or political phenomenon.

The use of the marketing 4P concept for the formation of political image involves some actions in the following areas:

- The first direction relates to the politician's personal characteristics - age, height, appearance, clothes, car, people around it, family, etc. - potential voters want to see a credible good-looking and mild-mannered man, surrounded by respected and serious supporters, etc.;

- The second direction is the promotion of the politician, which implies its participation in many activities, such as important events, meetings, influential groups, the most visited public places;

- The next direction is to establish the optimal price - in this case, a program of the politician's certain actions. Thus, if the politician in the process of its positioning promises to improve the economic situation in a region or country as a whole by increasing taxes, the majority of potential voters will likely to vote in favor of its rival;

- Another direction is the action policy of its aides that are in direct contact with the voters (in person, in writing, by telephone, etc.) and convince to vote for a particular candidate - in this case the number and qualification of aides are an important element of the "sales" success;

- The next direction is the communication policy, namely activities to "promote" and advertise the politician, starting with the most simple means of the candidate presentation - his photographs, distribution of posters and leaflets, presents, gifts, lotteries and up to the institutional or commercial advertising.

To date, it has developed two fundamentally different images of a modern politician in the mind of the average Russian citizen.

Submitting such a bill to the State Duma is due to the task of ensuring the security of internal networks, as well as the non-productive use of working time by officials for private communication and entertainment. This bill also provides that the limitation should not touch those officials who, in accordance with the official duties, require services to communicate with the public. Specific mechanisms for restricting are being developed by experts. Experts note that the methods of hacking and obtaining secret information of internal networks through social networks can be used against Russia during the information war deployed against the country.

For some reason, modern MPs and politicians want to demonstrate themselves as a sort of disadvantaged and vulnerable people that need a continuous increase in wages (the 2016 draft budget provides for an increase in the costs associated with wages to officials of the State Duma apparatus from RUB 1.8 bln. to RUB 3.5 bln.) and incentives for the purchase of medicines (the Decree of the President of Russia dated 16/03/2015 No. 136 'On some issues of the Russian President's Affairs Administration').

Abolishing drug benefits for almost all categories of ordinary citizens, public servants, at the same time, have approved the unprecedented benefits to themselves and officials. They are entitled to free medical care in the special elite medical centers, they get super-beneficial vouchers to sanatoriums, they are entitled to free additional higher education, they receive free apartments from the state and have many other benefits. Retired State Duma deputies receive a monthly pension of almost 2 thousand US dollars.  Each average Russian citizen rises a question: What have they got that we haven't? What puts the official above a sick child that needs an expensive operation, treatment or rehabilitation? What has he done for the country and the people, that he may get the free apartment and increased pension?

This social injustice forms the negative image of the official that will still take bribes and cash in on the troubles of ordinary people, no matter how much wages it receives.

The marketing tools in today's political situation allow them to falsify the political image using any suitable means. That is to say, to sell the products of questionable quality, putting them in a nice package; create the image of a competent politician and the professional that takes care of the country and its people, and not about itself, virtually for any person.

References

1. N. S. Yukhanov Political Imageology: Reader / N. S. Yukhanov – Мoscow: Dashkov & Co, 2012

2. L. Burganova, S. Bataykina; Constructing the Public Service Image via Mass Media (Experience of Empirical Research) // Vlast. 2008. No. 3. Pages 43-44.

3. R. D. Kurbanov Forming Ethics and Morality in Public Servants in the Russian Federation // Vlast, 2008, No. 1. Page 32.