Strategic postures of political marketing: an exploratory operationalization

In contrast to most political marketing theories which imply that such concepts as 'voterorientation' or 'voter-centric political management' are trivial and uni-dimensional, this article will take its starting point from an alternative perspective. It draws on the concept of political marketing 'postures', i. e. a multi-faceted conceptual entity, based on varied dimensions of political marketing orientations. The main duality consists of the constructs of 'leading' and 'following', with an auxiliary (and complementary) dimension of ` relationship building'. This article provides an exploratory methodology to operationalize this concept, which will also be initially tested empiricially, using expert judgements as well as electorate's perceptions. Changing postures will be exemplified within a longitudinal application of the concept to perceptions of Tony Blair as Prime Minister. (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.