With Zambia having more than 30 political parties, it is important to share how best to brand a political party so that the country’s multi-party democracy can be beneficial not only to political parties concerned but also to all citizens through voting for the right candidates from the right political party at all times.
The high voter apathy in elections where all winning candidates win with less than 50 per cent of registered voters is a sign that political parties haven’t branded and marketed themselves effectively with the masses.
A well branded political party in line with majority citizens’ needs and expectations can make democratic dispensation meaningful and beneficial to all Zambians.
The purpose of this article is to show critical areas of how to brand a political party for any political party to win the hearts of majority citizens; and for the benefit of all citizens in a country.
Branding a product or an organisation; including branding a political party  is a complex and tasking process. It can also be costly; and can take time.
Effective branding of a political party helps a part to easily and effectively conduct political campaigns and win elections because citizens easily understand which political party can really serve the interests of many citizens at community and national level.
While in the past we have had political parties that marketed themselves effectively; and won respectively elections, what is critical in this article is how to sustain the goodwill of a political party in the eyes of the public for many years to come.
Political party branding starts with a respective party manifesto. What does your manifesto say in relation to needs and expectations of many citizens? How do you brand your political party to achieve such an  objective?
Critical to effective  political party branding are the respective manifesto’s contents and the values of the political party concerned.
Have you disseminated the contents of you r manifesto and the values you stand for adequately to many citizens? Does your political party adhere to its manifesto and its values in the eyes of the majority citizens? Do you as a political party, therefore, walk your talk?
To discuss effective branding of a political party, some examples from UNIP, MMD and Patriotic Front (PF) will be cited to illustrate some points.
For example, Movement for  Multi-party Democracy (MMD), like the PF is doing, stood and still stands for free market economy where citizens are free to exploit the available resources; and become what one wants to be without unnecessary interference from government. It was said that free market economy would reduce the price of mealie meal and improve living standards of many people.
Freedom of expression and that of the Press was, and is still being emphasised both in MMD and PF regimes’ political campaigns to allow citizens express their views on issues that affect their lives.
Understanding the needs, expectations and challenges of many citizens in all parts of a country is critical in effective political party branding.
Preserving and promoting a political party manifesto and its values as a means to achieve a political party’s goal is critical to the survival of a political party. Failure to do so in a political party might lead to loss of public confidence and popularity in a party from  the general citizenry. Effective branding and marketing a political party is not restricted to a ruling party just because of its preserve and control to government machinery and resources.
Any political party worth its salt should have strong membership drive. Political party members should mobilise resources for the party’s effective branding and marketing strategies.
Effective political party branding is not restricted only to opposing the government of the day or reacting to opposition party criticism in an aggressive or abusing manner.
Branding a political party  effectively includes getting down to the grassroots with relevant structures. Political party structures should be established in all local communities. This proves presence and concern in that community.
This can be proved by a political party members participating in all development concerns and in activities to address such concerns with all members of that community.
Political party office bearers in local communities should be of good personality; and not intimidating community members; and being involved in illegal land allocations and many other socio-economic malpractices.
At each party structure level, leaders should demonstrate high levels of maturity, responsibility, sound problem-solving skills and effective conflict resolution strategies and skills.
Effective political party branding includes unity of purpose in addressing community and national needs and expectations through relevant political party structures.
This implies that for a political party to be effectively branded, it is supposed to be beneficial to many citizens at every level in all parts of the country.
This is part of political party visibility in addressing local community needs and challenges. If a political party can be involved  in addressing local community needs now, it can continue doing so forever when it is a ruling party; especially if it has sound financial base.
This further implies that for a political party to brand itself effectively, it must have adequate resources to participate practically in addressing local community and national issues. (To be contnued next week)
The author is a PR and Governance National Trainer and Consultant.
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