Social Marketing Aspectsof the Philippine National Elections 2010

Philippine election campaigns – a big expensive circus

AIJC’s involvement as a graduate school and R&D consultancy:

• Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid, AIJC’s dean emeritus, was public relations consultant of the Liberal Party that launched Benigno Aquino III and Mar Roxas

• AIJC’s ICT group was engaged by Sen. Loren Legarda (vice presidential candidate) to set up and maintain her website before the election campaigns

• AIJC staff and faculty observed, read, analyzed, and debated about election-related events and personalities

• restive under a very unpopular Administration• sick of seeing blatant abuse of power and corruption at all

levels• mainly composed of young voters eager to be part of

something new and different• cynical of the election exercise but hopeful for change and

a fresh start

2010 elections – confronted a voting public that was

• prepared to be entertained by the campaigns but was serious in assessing the candidates so as not to waste their one vote

• aware that ability is not enough to win an election because Philippine politics is still largely traditional, and costs money.

2010 elections – confronted a voting public that was

Different strokes

Conventional campaign – Campaign managers aimed to keep candidate in the public consciousness through

interpersonal, special, mass media

repetitive messages in broadcast and print – ads, plugs, jingles, slogans

media appearances – interviews, guest appearances

large-format visual media outdoors – billboards, streamers, tarp posters

advertising collaterals – ball pens, book markers, visors, t-shirts, cell phone cases, etc.

events - meetings, community sorties, visits to malls, markets, churches, school, motorcades, rallies

Conventional campaign

Social marketing-influenced – Campaign strategists and creative managers went beyond the conventional personality pitch

felt the pulse of different publics – physical, virtual, media-based to identify biggest sentiments

turned these into hot issues kept alive by conventional and new media

initiated movements to address specific issues

Ex: Ako Mismo

Boto Mo, I-Patrol Mo: Ako ang Simula

I am Ninoy-I am Cory MovementEtc.

Social marketing-influenced

matched hottest issues with candidate’s perceived qualities and capacity

Ex: Aquino – corruptionVillar – poverty, uncertain futureEstrada - unemploymentLegarda – environmentBinay – social services

Social marketing-influenced

appropriated colors as subliminal expressions of support

Ex: yellow – Liberal, red – Nacionalista,green – Lakas-Kampi

Etc.

Social marketing-influenced

Social marketing aspects of 2010 election campaign – a marketing mix of (Kotler and Zaltman):

• Product – a non-physical offering: a nation that’s free from corruption, or holds a bright future for our children, or takes care of its environment

• Price – make people realize that a vote for candidate X is a vote for clean government, it will benefit the whole country

• Place – put clean government within everybody’s reach; give them access to him through meetings, interviews, radio guesting, or via ‘pull’ communication channels, e.g., email address, Facebook account, cell phone, number, etc.

• Promotion – integrated use of advertising, public relations, promotions, media advocacy, personal selling and entertainment media. Despite monitoring of campaign expenses and threats of disqualification, candidates went over the limit in expenses for promotion.

Social marketing aspects…

• Publics – segregation and focusing on different publics: the students and youth, the young professionals, the women, the children, etc.

• Partnerships – alliances among the different candidates and support groups are an old practice.

Management of other ‘P’s in social marketing (Weinreich) also was done in the 2020 elections:

• Policy – through their platforms, candidates showed what policies they will prioritize when elected

• Purse strings – most candidates were not explicit on where they will get the money to fund their programs. At this point, the assumption seemed to be that there will be government funds to spend.

Management of other ‘P’s…

Thank You!