Political Marketing SIG

The Political Marketing Special Interest Group was formed in 1997, in response to the increased application of marketing to political activity. Extant research at the time focused on political advertising and election campaigning. Since the seminal work of Lock and Harris (1996), however, which critically evaluated the application of marketing concepts to the political environment, the political marketing research agenda has expanded, taking in lobbying, propaganda, referendum campaigning, corporate political advertising, government communications, the marketing of terrorist groups and more.

Political marketing research is interdisciplinary and research in this area is broad, focusing on, for instance, how marketing may create value for the political consumer; how it can increase citizens’ engagement with the political process in democratic (and undemocratic) societies around the world; and how advances in marketing theory may have an impact on political communication and discourse.

Although the use of marketing tools such as marketing research have been utilised for many years, researchers examine marketing concepts such as segmentation, targeting and positioning; branding; the application of the marketing mix, politics as a service, the use of social media in political contexts, ethics, trust and voter satisfaction and experience. Others consider how advances in technology and the development of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter can respond to the increasingly competitive political market place.

Some research takes a critical perspective on the impact of marketing upon the democratic process whilst others examine the methods of persuasion including propaganda. Overall the Political Marketing Special Interest Group is a vibrant hub for research in politics with an agenda to build a greater understanding of the applicability of marketing to politics.

To contact the SIG please email either of the SIG Co-Chairs.
Co-Chair – Prof Paul Baines, University of Leicester: [email protected]
Co-Chair – Dr Chris Pich, University of Nottingham: [email protected]

Paul Baines is Professor of Political Marketing and Head of Executive Education at University of Leicester School of Business (ULSB), and a Visiting Professor at Cranfield and Aston Universities. He was formerly Deputy Dean (ULSB) and Group Head of Marketing and Sales at Cranfield University and Director of Business Development at Middlesex University. He holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Manchester and a Masters in applied statistics from Lancaster University. He is (co)author/(co)editor of 150+ published articles, book chapters and books. He has published in the Journal of American Statistical Association, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Theory, and International Journal of Management Reviews, among others. Recently, he co-edited the SAGE Handbook of Propaganda (SAGE Publications, 2020) and the SAGE Handbook of Political Marketing (SAGE, 2025, forthcoming). Paul is the co-author of the best-selling Marketing 6E (Oxford University Press, 2022) and Fundamentals of Marketing 2E (OUP, 2022). Over the last 27 years, Paul’s research has focused on (political) marketing and propaganda. He is a Fellow of the Market Research Society and Member of the (US) Market Research Council and Academy of Marketing. Paul was an Impact Advisor for Research England at the 2021 REF for Business and Management. Paul has consulted extensively in his career for government and business and is a frequent sought-after media commentator on (political) marketing issues. He is Director, Baines Associates Limited. See: https://le.ac.uk/people/paul-baines

Dr Christopher Pich is an Associate Professor in Marketing at Nottingham University Business School (NUBS). Christopher’s expertise includes political marketing, political branding, strategic brand management, corporate branding, marketing management, customer experience, and qualitative projective techniques. In addition, he has published in a range of international academic journals including the Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, and European Journal of Marketing. Before working at NUBS, Christopher was a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Nottingham Trent University [2012-2024] and taught on modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level ranging from strategic brand management, marketing management, integrated marketing communications, principles of marketing, research methods, and the research project. Christopher has supervised students on dissertation/research/consultancy modules [undergraduate, in-company/placement, and postgraduate levels] and continues to supervise doctoral students at NUBS and other UK institutions. He is currently an external examiner at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University for the MSc Strategic Marketing [course level] programme for three modules including MSc Strategic Marketing and Planning, Consumer Behaviour, and Managing Brands. Christopher was also an external examiner [PhD examiner] at Salford University and the University of Durham. He is currently an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Market Research and Managing Editor for Europe for the Journal of Political Marketing. Before embarking on a career in academia, Christopher was marketing executive for Threerooms: Design and Branding based in Nottingham, UK. He also worked within the exhibition industry, academic community, research and political communications. More specifically, Christopher worked as researcher to Sir Paul Judge and the Jury Team; a political movement of independent candidates established before the 2009 European Elections.