Sustaining the Role of Marketing Strategies in Nigerian Electoral Politics

摘要

This paper builds on recent studies which identified the roles of marketing strategies in politics as responsive leadership, mass mobilization, political branding, conflict management, promotion of democratic ideals. The focus of the present study is to determine how best to sustain these roles in Nigerian electoral democracy. Four dominant political parties that emerged from the 2003 General Elections were sampled out of thirty political parties that participated in the elections and their electorates. Eight hundred (800) copies of the questionnaire were administered, and six hundred and twenty six (626) were returned; out of which five hundred and ninety eight (598) were found usable. Their answers to the questionnaire formed the data which were analyzed with tables, frequencies, and percentages to crystallize the findings. The findings show that marketing strategies in Nigerian electoral politics can be sustained through continuous political enlightenment, involvement of innovative politicians, basic marketing training for the operators of the political system, continuous use of marketing research and planning in politics. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Nigerian political actors(including democratic institutions) should take deliberate steps to increase the magnitude of Political marketing by acting out and thinking in marketing terms, among others.