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Brand New Party: Political Branding and the Conservative Party of Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2014

Alex Marland  and
Tom Flanagan
Alex Marland*
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Tom Flanagan*
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
*
Alex Marland, Department of Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, email: amarland@mun.ca
Tom Flanagan, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary AB, T2N 1N4, email: tflanaga@ucalgary.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. Little has been written about the use of branding by Canadian political parties. We draw on interviews with 30 party elites to document the branding of the Conservative party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. We disclose that preparations to re-brand the Canadian Alliance party were subsumed into the new party and that the colour of the maple leaf in the Conservative logo was a contentious topic because of its political symbolism. We conclude that partisans' attachment to colours and the use of negative advertising constitute important differences between the practice of branding in the political and business spheres.

Résumé. Fort peu d'écrits ont été consacrés au processus de développement d'images de marque (ou branding) par les partis politiques canadiens. Cet article présente des données tirées d'entrevues réalisées auprès de 30 dirigeants et stratèges du Parti conservateur du Canada sur cette question entre 2003 et 2006. Les entretiens révèlent que les préparatifs menant au repositionnement de l'image de l'Alliance canadienne ont mené à la création de la nouvelle formation et qu'un débat important sur l'arrimage chromatique de la feuille d'érable présente dans le nouveau logo conservateur a secoué le parti en raison de sa symbolique politique. En conclusion, nous posons que l'identité partisane liée à certaines couleurs et le recours à la publicité négative représentent des différences notables dans l'exercice de développement d'images de marque entre les sphères politiques et commerciales.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 951 - 972
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2013 

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