The Political Marketing Paradox
One of the key learnings I’ve had in the past few weeks is to understand the meaning of Sonderness in its truest sense.
Sonderness, or the ability to accept that each person in this world has a different worldview than you, is one of the primary factors that go into marketing a product, service or yourself.
Every time we talk about a market, we try to understand the inherent underlying emotions within that market. Emotions are driven by culture. No wonder a packet of cereal is sold on a different storyline in the USA vis-a-vis India. The culture is different in both places.
Bringing a change or selling an idea is successful only when you’ve understood the culture of the people you’re planning to serve. In simpler terms, all you have to do is get hold of the culture that YOUR TARGET market breathes. It’s this group of people that you have to change.
Remember, change can be good as well as bad.
I know this works efficiently in all fields of life. Even in Politics. Think of any big leader, and you’ll see how they manage to have people buy their ideas. They don’t sell an authentic original idea. To be honest, they don’t have one. None of us does. They sell an idea that was already out there, lying in the field, rotting. All they do is take ownership of it and rebrand it as a revolution.
Think of the USA or India. It’s the same everywhere. Existing ideas in a rebranded fashion. Every politician pitches himself to HIS SUPPORTERS based on THEIR cultural beliefs. He promises them the future they’ve already been imagining all their life. And that’s sad.
Ideally, a politician is someone who’s out there to serve EVERYONE. Unbound by traditional marketing segments, an ideal politician is meant to serve all despite the difference in their worldviews.
The job role demands inclusion. Effective marketing demands segmentation. It’s a paradox.
What we need to do is to create a fine line between segmentation during election campaigns and deliverables during service.
That way, we keep our politicians accountable to all, and not just their Smallest Viable Audience.
