Political Brand Relationship with Voters in Ghana

Abstract

The relevance of political brand relationship has been widely acknowledged in political marketing. This work is an extension of brand relationship theories to electoral markets. The study seeks to determine relationship variables and to examine their influence on voter relationship with political parties. This study attempts to identify and categorise relationship forces using an approach that is based on Fournier‟s brand relationship frameworks. The thesis applies qualitative approach. The study was also exploratory in nature. Purposive sampling technique was employed in selecting ten (10) respondents for the study. Data was collected by the use of an in-depth interview for analysis and findings. The study confirmed that passion, self-concept, personal commitment, behavioral interdependence, intimacy and partner quality are important variables that influence voter political brand relationship. The study also found that discrimination, failure to fulfill campaign promises, voter neglect, and the desire for change; weak party position and corruption are determinants of disassociation from political parties by the voter. These variables evoke negative feelings and avoidance or negative effects-desires resulting in voter dissatisfaction. Therefore, their existence drives the voter away from a political party or the candidate. A quantitative research approach that employs statistical techniques with representative sample could produce conclusive findings that can be used to generalize for building political brand relationship with voters in Ghana as recommended by the study.