Revisiting the Contemporary Flow of Influence in Political Marketing

Abstract

This dissertation examines the extent to which the flow of influence and innovation between commercial and political marketers is bidirectional and operating as a feedback loop rather than merely being a unidirectional flow from commercial to political marketers as is commonly assumed in the political marketing literature. It uses in-depth elite interviews to examine that subject matter and those interviews are also used to answer three research questions: First, to what extent is political marketing influencing the practice of commercial marketing? Second, how have changes in marketing strategies and technology impacted both political and commercial marketing? Third, what are the likely consequences of the relationship between political marketing and commercial marketing? With these research questions in mind, analysis focuses on two broad areas that exemplify the bidirectional flow of influence and innovation being sought for: marketing and technology.Researching and writing this dissertation was like trench warfare. That said, I would like to thank those who made the process a little more survivable. They are: my parents, my girlfriend, my supervisor André Turcotte, Mary Francoli, David Coletto, my external (Ken Cosgrove) and internal examiners (Scott Bennett) as well as my friends and fellow grad students. Special mention should also go to coffee at Rooster's Coffeehouse, Debt Rage Lager at Mike's Place, the Grad Recreational Softball League (GRSL) and -last but not least -those who said I wouldn't finish my PhD. This one's for you.