Dimensions of political marketing: a study from the indian perspective

In political marketing, political parties apply the concept and tools of marketing in order to attract the attention of the electorates with the aim of gaining competitive success in elections. In this paper, we have, on the first hand, identified from existing literature, the different facets of political marketing. Subsequently, on the basis of the insights from extant literature coupled with the 7P framework of marketing, we have developed a questionnaire for obtaining the inputs from marketing experts. We have employed factor analysis for extracting the dimensions of political marketing and these dimensions have been examined using appropriate analytical techniques. Secondly, the extracted dimensions have been elaborated and qualitatively validated with respect to the Indian experience on the basis of content analysis of reports, records and other secondary data sources. The implications of the dimensions have been examined and the imperatives for political parties have been highlighted.