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.

'Scammell’s outstanding book introduces marketing theory, with a particular focus on branding theory, to political researchers who may otherwise be unfamiliar with its concepts and framework. Scammell skillfully lays out the logic behind these theories and applies them to political campaigns, offering valuable insight. She then presents a normative argument encouraging the acceptance of political marketing while acknowledging the misgivings of many observers.'

Kyle Mattes Source: Political Communication