Digital Marketing for State Elections

In 2012 US Presidential elections, although there were traditional marketing strategies including television, radio, print etc., the digital marketing turned out to be the key differentiator.  While the email marketing was very useful for Obama especially in the swing state of Ohio, Facebook and Twitter following for both the candidates was also a useful metric.

In 2014, India went for elections. This was the first election in India where a significant investment was made in digital marketing. Primary modes were social media and mobile phones. There are more than 200 million Internet users and nearly 170 million social network users in India. Most of them are young and mobile urban dwellers. This rise in internet usage compelled the political parties to start social media campaigns, not just for promotions, but to create conversations by using social media marketing and mobile in elections. According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB report, about 119 million users access the Internet on mobile devices in urban India, while rural mobile Internet user base stood at 40 million in October this year. This is further estimated to touch 128 million (urban) and 45 million (rural) by December-end, it said.
The following chart indicates the stats of Internet users in India:

 Similarly, the number of Social Network users in India is also growing at a rapid rate as shown in the following chart:

  

 Source: Statista.com

 

With such a tremendous growth in social network users, politicians in India are bound to not only hold public rallies but also ensure to have those speeches captured on YouTube and have their significant presence on Facebook as well as Twitter pages.

But, still about 70% of Indian population has not used Internet while most of them do have mobile phones. Most of this population resides in the rural areas. Amongst those who have smart phones, the political parties are ensuring to campaign using mobile apps and various communication apps such as WhatsApp.

For those without smartphones, campaigning through SMS has been very popular. Another interesting mode has been “missed call” initiative propagated by AAP (Aam Aadmi Party), a new political party in India. This initiative meant that anyone could register as a party member or a volunteer by simply calling a designated number and hang up after one ring. AAP collected $1.8 million for the Delhi State Assembly campaign using mobile phones and social media and formed state government in Delhi.

This Saturday (February 7, 2015) Delhi will vote again for its state assembly. Although this is being keenly watched contest, my observation has been that the role of Digital

Marketing has increased tremendously as compared to last year. The reason is the following key stats of Delhi Population:

• There are more than 12 million internet users in Delhi which is second highest in India after Mumbai.
• About 7.2 million youngsters are going to vote in this election. 90% of these youngsters make frequent use of digital media to stay updated.
• Delhi has more than 42.5 million mobile connections while its population is 25 million which clearly indicates that mobile is the most popular communication medium.

Obviously, none of the political parties have left any stone unturned especially when it comes to investing in Digital campaigning through mobile, internet and social media.

I am sure this trend is growing across the world with a significant increase of spending in digital campaigning. Digital marketing has now found a special place with the governments of different countries as it helps them to not only get elected but also communicate with the mass.

Sources / References:

http://www.pelsoftlabs.in/elections-promotions/
http://digitalmarketingtadka.com/mobilemarketing/twin-strategy-of-social-media-mobile-in-elections-2014/
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/india-set-to-become-secondlargest-internet-market-by-decemberend-report/article6614417.ece