Exploring the creation and development of political co-brand identity: a multi-case study approach

Armannsdottir, G ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5458-8434, Pich, C ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1259-2827 and Spry, L ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1473-1205, 2019. Exploring the creation and development of political co-brand identity: a multi-case study approach. Qualitative Market Research: an International Journal. ISSN 1352-2752

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Abstract

Purpose: Research on the creation and development of candidate-politician brands otherwise known as political co-brands remains an under-researched area of study. This is supported by calls for more understanding on political co-brands and how they are positioned and managed by their creators. Framed by the concepts of internal brand identity and co-branding, this study investigates how political co-brand identity is constructed and managed over time, exploring alignment between the political co-brand and political corporate party brand.

Methodological Approach: An interpretivist revelatory multi-case study approach, utilising in-depth interviews, was conducted with three political co-brands [candidates-politicians] from the UK Conservative Party. The three cases represented constituencies across the United Kingdom from the North, Midlands and South of the country. The in-depth elite interviews were conducted July 2015 to September 2015. Methodological triangulation was also adopted to assess the coherency of emerging themes with online and offline materials and documents. A two stage thematic analytical approach was utilised to interpret the findings.

Findings: This multiple case study demonstrates how successful political co-brands create and develop identities tailored to their constituency, often distinct from the corporate political brand and developed several years before electoral success at the ballot box. In addition, this study reveals that political co-brands are dichotomous in terms of strategically managing a degree of alignment with the corporate political brand yet maintaining a degree of independence.

Originality/value: This study has implications for brands beyond the world of politics. Brands can adopt the political co-brand identity framework developed in this study as a pragmatic tool to investigate internally created co-brand identity and explore alignment with the corporate party brand identity. In addition, this research adds to the limited research on non-fictitious co-brands and co-branding literature at large and addresses the calls for more research on brand identity in new settings.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Qualitative Market Research: an International Journal
Creators: Armannsdottir, G., Pich, C. and Spry, L.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 11 November 2019
ISSN: 1352-2752
Identifiers:
Number
Type
10.1108/QMR-10-2018-0119
DOI
Divisions: Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by: Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added: 01 Mar 2019 14:10
Last Modified: 02 Jan 2020 16:25
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/35873

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