ASSESMENT OF GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF POLITICAL MARKETING AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

KUŞAK FARKLILIKLARININ POLİTİK PAZARLAMA VE SİYASAL İLETİŞİM AÇISINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract

Political marketing and political communication affect all voters and political parties, and at the same time they take on a crucial task in the success of a political party or candidate. Political communication behaviors and methods used by political parties and political candidates influence voter perceptions, behaviors and preferences. Voters evaluate the views, politicies, leaders and managers of political parties, primarily from these perceptions. The influence of political communication is directly related to the cultural, economic and technological development of a society. Countries that have completed their cultural, economic and technological development are known to have powerful mass media. Political parties or candidates who effectively use mass media in the political system can influence voting behavior in this way.Although there are a number of factors affecting voting behaviors within the political system, the most influential factor in voting and political behavior of the individual is; the age and the features of the age groups. We can claim that the differences in attitudes that exist between generations are naturally reflected in political behaviors and are especially effective in voting behavior. The purpose of this study is to give information about the place and importance of generation differences in the political marketing and political communication process, to identify the political perception among the generations in the political process and to determine the political communication style through this perception. In the study, the concept of generation and generation types were examined and suggestions were made about the methods of political communication that should be applied to generations Understanding how generations determine their political choices, how they shape them and being aware of factors that affect their choices is important within the context of political marketing. As a result of changes and developments in every aspect of social life, it is becoming more difficult process to have position in individuals’ mind those called as customer in trade marketing and called as voter in political marketing. For that reason, in order to either become a party or a candidate that chosen by voters or creating voters’ loyalty political communication is necessary. Usually, creating a positive image in voters’ mind and being in communication with them gets more important than putting up a knowledgeable candidate, preparing a planned party program or positioning political distribution members in the right place at the right time. In political marketing, perceive voters as a target groups, being aware of these voters’ cultural backgrounds as individuals, knowing about their social and communal groups and which generation they are have importance. Generations have common characteristics, they have also significant distinct behaviors. Voters in a particular generation may choose a party while other voters in another generation may choose another one. Political choices and behaviors of voters may depend on their generations and it can occur under complex effects. There is no consensus among authors about which years will be covered by a generation. In Turkey classification of generation is as followed; between is 1925-1945 Silent Generation, between 1946-1964 is Baby Boomers, between 1965-1979 is X Generation, between is 1980- 1999 is Y Generation and 2000 and later is Z Generation. Each of this generations defined according to the time and place they have lived, their characteristics, lifestyles and behaviors’. Silent Generation that called as War Generation is the generation that consist of individuals that born between 1925-1945 years. This generation while manage their communication processes officially, inscriptive and as adhesive to chain of command, they think that their leader should be authoritative, commander and controller and a person who is aware of his/her responsibilities (Crumpacker ve Crumpacker J. M., 2007: 355). In the process of political communication, to create awareness and sympathy in Silent Generation, some traditional values like; discipline, working hard, obedience to authority, commitment, responsibility, victory celebration and financial and social conservatism should be emphasized (Williams ve Page, 2011). People who born in between the years 1946-1964 are called as Baby Boomers Generation. These individuals also called as the Children of Cold War Period. Baby boomers are workaholics that defined themselves with their careers in terms of their characteristics, lifestyles and attitudes (Williams ve Page, 2011). They use internet even a little, which is one of mass communication tool. Although it is possible to reach this generation via social media, create face-to-face relations and develop methods for this will take one step forward to political parties and candidates. X generation, also called the lost generation, is seen as a generation those who see themselves as opposed to collective, make harsh political outings, have unprecedented clothing styles, more harsh music styles, and different forms of life such as punk. According to Coupland (1989: 83), these people want to have a respectable status and try to explain their existence with money and high-rate socialization. Get out the vote (GOTV) – a technique used by political parties in order to increase turnout at elections is a face-to-face relation. When looking at the degree to which the X Generation attaches importance to face-to-face relations, the use of this method will leave a positive impression on the voters of this zone. Y generation is a generation that has come to the world at a time when there are better conditions in Turkey and in the world. Y generation is different from previous generations with the tendency to flexibility, freedom and individual decision-making and features such as pretentious, quick thinking, goal-oriented, fond of freedom, tech enthusiasts, lovin

Özet

Politik pazarlama ve siyasal iletişim, tüm seçmenleri ve partileri etkilemekte, aynı zamanda bir partinin veya adayın başarılı olması konusunda çok önemli bir görev üstlenmektedir. Siyasi partilerin ve siyasi adayların politik iletişim davranışları ve iletişim için kullandıkları yöntemler seçmenlerin partiye yönelik algılarını, davranışlarını ve tercihlerini etkilemektedir. Seçmenler, siyasi partilerin görüşlerini, politikalarını, liderlerini ve yöneticilerini öncelikle bu algılardan yola çıkarak değerlendirmektedir. Siyasal iletişimin etki gücü bir toplumun kültürel, ekonomik ve teknolojik gelişmişliği ile doğrudan ilgilidir. Kültürel, ekonomik ve teknolojik gelişmesini tamamlamış ülkelerin güçlü kitle iletişim araçlarına sahip oldukları bilinmektedir. Siyasal sistem içerisinde kitle iletişim araçlarını etkin kullanan siyasi parti veya adaylar bu yolla oy verme davranışını etkileyebilmektedirler. Siyasal sistem içerisinde oy verme davranışını etkileyen çok sayıda faktör olmasına rağmen, bireyin oy verme ve siyasi davranışını en fazla etkileyen, oy kullanan kişinin yaş ve yaş grubunun bulunduğu kuşak türünün özellikleridir. Kuşaklar arasında var olan tutum farklılıklarının siyasal davranışlara da doğal olarak yansıdığını ve özellikle oy verme davranışında etkili olduğunu söyleyebiliriz. Bu çalışmanın amacı; kuşak farklılıklarının politik pazarlama ve siyasal iletişim sürecindeki yeri ve önemi hakkında bilgiler vermek, siyasi süreç içerisinde yer alan kuşaklar arasındaki politik algı farkını saptamak ve bu algı üzerinden siyasal iletişim tarzını belirlemektir. Çalışmada ayrıca, kuşak kavramı ve kuşak türleri irdelenerek, kuşaklara yönelik uygulanması gereken siyasal iletişim yöntemleri hakkında önerilerde bulunulmuştur