Human Branding in Political Marketing: Applying Contemporary Branding Thought to Political Parties and Their Leaders

Political marketing advances by engaging with new and advanced concepts from both of its parent disciplines. One of the most recent fields of brand research—the study of the human brand—is taken into the political marketing arena in this essay. Human branding is an emergent topic in mainstream marketing. The value as a brand of a person who is well-known and subject to explicit marketing communications efforts is being investigated in many fields. The concept has clear prima facie value in political marketing, where the role of a political leader as part of the political marketing offer has been recognized extensively. Politics is also a unique context given the relationship between leaders and parties, each of which has some unique brand associations. The process of exploring the application of human branding in politics also provides a context in which some of the interactions among party and leader, human brand, and organizational brand can be explored and further developed. Among the conclusions are that political party leaders require brand authenticity as an advocate of the party policy platform and brand authority to command the organization and deliver on the policies being advocated. Implications for party and campaign management are outlined.     

The Teamsters, the White House, the Labor Department

This paper examines the instrumental networks established between organized criminals and national politicians. Its major focus centers on the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Department of Labor, and the Reagan Administration. We explore the organized crime influence that affected President Reagan's selection of Raymond Donovan as Secretary of Labor. The choice of Donovan resulted in several related investigations into Donovan's association with organized criminals primarily in the construction industry in New Jersey and New York. We explain and critique the investigations thereby establishing the instrumental quality of the networks and the politics of law enforcement. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fiscal reform and governmental efficiency: Hanging tough

Many surveys of taxpayers in the wake of the fiscal reforms of the 1970's have indicated that frustration with the inefficiency and wastefulness of government is a major motive behind their votes for tax and expenditure limitations. There is a strongly held belief that government can do as much as it is currently doing with much less money. There is also a widespread belief that by reducing the dollar resources available to governments, they will be forced to become less wasteful and more efficient. This paper argues that increased efficiency in local government is an unlikely consequence of the fiscal reform movement. Indeed, lessened efficiency is a more probable outcome.We are indebted to Thomas Anton, Peter deLeon and an anonymous referee for comments on an earlier draft. The authors are, of course, solely responsible for all assertions and any remaining errors.