Conceptualizing political campaign messaging in an election - the case study of the 2016 presidential election in Ghana

Adutwum, Samuel

Abstract

Political campaign messaging is acclaimed as one of the three critical success factors in winning a competitive election. With Ghana’s virtual two-party political system, formulating attractive campaign message for election becomes imperative. This study undertook a review of the political campaign messages employed by the two leading political parties in Ghana, namely New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 Presidential elections to determine how the messages were formulated. The study applied the Grounded Theory methodology under the qualitative research approach. An in-depth interview using semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from twenty-four (24) respondents out of a total sample size of forty-five (45) respondents including campaign communications advisors, staffers, constituency parliamentary aspirants and journalists and media practitioners. It was discovered that ‘Free SHS’ campaign message used by the NPP was the most attractive campaign message compared to ‘Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana’ message used by the NDC. Results also indicate that there is no conceptual framework in the current literature that guides the formulation and design of political campaign message. The research therefore contributes to the existing literature by developing a political Campaign Messaging Conceptual Framework that outlines the processes of formulating campaign message for elections. For Managers, this study validates the use of multiple campaign messages and the effectiveness of personal selling channels as the means of disseminating political campaign messages in Ghana. Policy makers can benefit from the application of this Conceptual Framework as a guide to support political parties to design political campaign messages that focus on critical issues and promote peaceful campaign. Although the limited participation by the respondents affiliated to the NDC was a constraint, it however did not affect the outcome of this study because good amount of data was generated from respondents affiliated to the NPP as well as Journalists and Media Practitioners who participated in the 2016 campaign.

Citation

Adutwum, S. Conceptualizing political campaign messaging in an election - the case study of the 2016 presidential election in Ghana. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4247155

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 21, 2023
• Keywords: Business
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4247155
• Additional Information: Business School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: 2022-09