'If Scammell's own learning process continues as it develops in this book, she might become one of the best political analysts.' - Malcolm Rutherford, Financial Times; ...the most comprehensive description and analysis so far of the growth of political marketing in this Country. This is a first class account and contains some fascinating material.' - Ivor Gaber, British Journalism Review;This is the first book to offer a serious examination of the phenomenon of political marketing in Britain. It presents an analysis of the increasingly influential role of the image-makers and casts a critical eye over the debate concerning the impact of marketing on political conduct and governance. Its primary focus is party and government communications in the Thatcher era and beyond, up to and including the 1992 general election. It argues that Thatcher, despite her image as the resolute politician, pioneered marketing techniques and concepts which have since become standard practice.

'If Scammell's own learning process continues as it develops in this book, she might become one of the best political analysts.' - Malcolm Rutherford, Financial Times; ...the most comprehensive description and analysis so far of the growth of political marketing in this Country. This is a first class account and contains some fascinating material.' - Ivor Gaber, British Journalism Review;This is the first book to offer a serious examination of the phenomenon of political marketing in Britain. It presents an analysis of the increasingly influential role of the image-makers and casts a critical eye over the debate concerning the impact of marketing on political conduct and governance. Its primary focus is party and government communications in the Thatcher era and beyond, up to and including the 1992 general election. It argues that Thatcher, despite her image as the resolute politician, pioneered marketing techniques and concepts which have since become standard practice.

This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to 'proper' political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.

This book argues that marketing is inherent in competitive democracy, explaining how we can make the consumer nature of competitive democracy better and more democratic. Margaret Scammell argues that consumer democracy should not be assumed to be inherently antithetical to 'proper' political discourse and debate about the common good. Instead, Scammell argues that we should seek to understand it - to create marketing-literate criticism that can distinguish between democratically good and bad campaigns, and between shallow, cynical packaging and campaigns that at least aspire to be responsive, engender citizen participation, and enable accountability. Further, we can take important lessons from commercial marketing: enjoyment matters; what citizens think and feel matters; and, just as in commercial markets, structure is key - the type of political marketing will be affected by the conditions of competition.

To what extent are the techniques of campaigning and media management critical to the outcome of modern elections? This book brings together a group of leading scholars to provide a comprehensive analysis of the role and impact of political communications during election campaigns. They set the context of election campaigning in Britain, and the methodology used to understand media effects, review party strategies and resulting media coverage, and draw together evidence of the impact of the 1997 British General Election campaign, analyzing how far television and the press media influenced the public's civic engagement, agenda priorities, and party preferences.

This Handbook provides a scholarly review of the major reseach and topic areas associated with the field and sets the agenda for future study in this important and fast-growing discipline

The handbook is comprised of thirty nine chapters authored by international experts and divided into five sections. Part one explores the macro-level influences on political communication research such as media industry, technology, and political systems. The second section takes a grassroots perspective on the influences on political communication research. The third section discusses methodological advances in political communication research. The fourth focuses on power and how it is conceptualized in political communication research. The fifth and final sections presents political communication in various contexts including national, regional and international comparisons.

The SAGE Handbook of Political Communication will be an essential resource for advanced students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of politics, media and communication, sociology and research methods.