Reports on shaping voter behaviour

Election marketing is a fascinating field, both from an operational and theoretical perspective. The fascination of election marketing is probably due to the fact that it intervenes - most often with extremely modern and sophisticated means - in the battle for power. Of course, fascination does not necessarily mean acceptance, let alone obedience. There are many who criticise - from various perspectives and in some cases rightly so - the way election marketing is used.

Even if the battle for power often leads to exaggerations or even to the violation of moral and legal standards, we should not forget that, at its core, election marketing has (or should have) a very fair and useful purpose: to adapt the electoral offer to the demands, expectations and needs of voters. To the extent that the candidate honestly takes on board the offer he or she formulates as a result of marketing research, no moral problems should arise. Unfortunately, human nature is more complex, and it is not uncommon for politicians and the marketing specialists they employ to be willing to overstep the bounds of normality. Under these circumstances, it is the duty of theorists not only to develop scientific concepts or tools, but also to ensure that they are used correctly.

Professor univ. Dr. Răzvan Zaharia