ABSTRACT
Market research is a crucial part of political marketing, but is commonly thought of in terms of standard tools such as polls and focus groups. This chapter explores a more innovative method, co-creation, which uses a range of techniques that involve the user, or voter, in creating the solution to the problem, rather than simply voicing their demands and issues. This is more realistic because so many of our desires emerge and take shape as we become more fully aware of both external circumstances and inner motives. Standard market research draws on the human potential movement in psychology in sup-
porting the idea that rather than controlling the vicissitudes of desire, we should instead celebrate them and through goods and services find ways to indulge them. Politics, albeit possibly without realising it, adopted this idea of a voter as an individual customer who may exchange his vote and his taxes for the rewards of the goods and services that he covets rather than a citizen who votes out of duty and obligation or to maintain the status quo. Correspondingly political parties began to be referred to as brands (the Tory brand, the New Labour brand) and marketed in similar fashion. Focus groups in particular had proved extremely successful in the sphere of commercial
marketing – particularly in uncovering unmet needs and pathways to their fulfilment. This chapter criticises focus groups and puts forward an alternative method which addresses many of the weaknesses of market research in politics: co-creation. Co-creation takes more time to explore an issue and uses more creative and effective methods. It holds the potential to provide higher-quality information which will be more valuable to politicians and thus offers a new direction in market intelligence that political marketing needs to embrace.
