Trading Places with Fianna Fáil: The Communication Strategy that led Fine Gael to become the largest party in Dáil Éireann in 2011

Trading Places with Fianna Fáil: The

Communication Strategy that led Fine

Gael to become the largest party in

Dáil Éireann in 2011

Finola McGinley

M.A 2011

Trading Places with Fianna Fáil: The

Communication Strategy that led Fine

Gael to become the largest party in

Dáil Éireann in 2011

Submitted by

Finola McGinley

For the award of Master of Arts (M.A)

Dublin Institute of Technology

School of Media

Faculty of Applied Arts

Supervisor: Lisa Cunningham

September 2011

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for

assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of

Masters Degree is entirely my own work, that I have exercised

reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does

not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright,

and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the

extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within

the text of my work.

Signed:

Student Number: D10122611

Date: 01/09/11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Campaign/Communication Strategy

2.3 Social Media/Internet Communication

2.4 Political Marketing

Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Objectives

3.2 Introduction

3.3 research Hypotheses

3.4 Research Design and Methodology

3.5 Qualitative Research

3.6 Conduct of Interviews

3.7 Interview Analysis

3.8 Ethics

3.9.1 Data Collection from Secondary Sources

3.9.2 Limitations and Delimitations of Study

3.9.3 Conclusions

Chapter 4 FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Analysis of Interview Data

4.3 Analysis of Secondary/Documentary Data

4.4 Campaign Analysis from a Media Perspective

4.5 Social Media/Internet


4.7 Conclusions

Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Communication Style/Tactics that were used

5.3 Political Marketing of

5.4 Social Media/Internet Usage in the 2011 Campaign

5.5 Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Research

Bibliography

Appendices

Appendix 1 Semi-Structured Interview

questions to interviewees

Appendix 2 Fine Gael Election literature in

2011- Sitting TD Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim)

election leaflet that was distributed to constituents

TABLE OF

FIGURES

List of Tables

Chapter 2

2.1 Percentages of U.S Households with a computer, modem,

telephone, and email 1994 and 1997- Page 18

2.2 Internet Usage Statistics for the United States of America

2000-2010- Page 20

2.3 Internet Usage Statistics for Ireland 2000-2010- Page 21

2.4 The Marketing Process for the Market-Oriented Party- Page

23

List of Figures

Chapter 3

3.1 The differences between qualitative and quantitative

research- Page 31

3.2 Circumstances in which a qualitative research interview is

most appropriate- Page 32

3.3 Examples of interview analysis- Page 35

3.4 Reasons for using secondary data- Page 37

Chapter 4

4.1 Immersion Approaches- Page 40

4.2 A Message that was used on Fine Gael’s election literature

in 2011- Page 44

4.3 Fine Gael’s now infamous ‘Five Point Plan’ Election

Literature- page 47

4.4 Fine Gael’s Campaign Slogan ‘Let’s Get Ireland Working’-

Page 52

4.5 Fine Gael’s Corporate Logo- Page 52

4.6 A Fianna Fáil Election Poster from February 2011- Page 56

List of Figures Continued…

Chapter 4

Charts

4.1 Satisfaction with Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny based on a

national poll of a sample of adults over 18: results in

percentage- Page 53

Graphs

4.1 Results of an Opinion poll on Voter intentions February

20th 2011- page 56

ABSTRACT

This paper critically examines the communication style that

was used by Fine Gael in their hugely successful election

campaign of 2011. The communication processes can be

conceptualised as being part of a wider marketing strategy

of a party, analogous with theories from a commercial

marketing perspective. The communications plan is

essentially the sales stage of the market-oriented party’s

approach to persuade to’ buy their product,’ by voting them

into office. The communication tools that are at the

disposal of political parties are continuously expanding and

recent elections, particularly the general election of 2011

in Ireland have seen parties incorporating a more strategic

and highly professionalised approach to the digital

campaign. This is arguably true in the case of Fine Gael who

utilized a ‘cloud’ computing approach to their online

communications during the formal phase of the 2011 campaign.

The electoral results of the campaign saw Fine Gael winning

seventy-six seats, an increase of twenty-five since the

previous general election of 2007, a remarkable feat for a

party that suffered electoral disaster in 2002. This

campaign was also an overwhelming success for the leader of

the party Enda Kenny, who polls suggested was a most

unpopular choice to be Taoiseach.

The use of marketing techniques and the application of sets

of communication styles that have been seen in other

political landscapes in the past, notably in the USA and the

UK, are now a feature of Irish politics and Fine Gael have

successfully challenged their predecessors in Government

Fianna Fáil for the role of incumbent with an unprecedented

electoral success for the party by developing a highly

professionalised, corporate strategy towards the campaign

process. As a result, Fine Gael has become the biggest party

in Dáil Éireann for the first time in their history.

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This paper researches, analyses and interprets the

communication strategy of Fine Gael during the 2011 general

election in Ireland. Its aim is to investigate the

communication methods employed by Fine Gael during the

election and the effectiveness of their use.

In recent decades, political communication has evolved

considerably. Nowadays, the communication tools at the

disposal of political parties and candidates are extensive.

Communication remains at the centre of politics and thus

politicians must embrace all of the new methods available to

them if they are to reach the electorate. The internet is

regarded by many academics as a most powerful tool of modern

political communication. (Esser and Pfetsch, 2004) believe the

internet is now, comparable in terms of maturity of content

and format as radio was in the late nineteen twenties or

television in the early nineteen fifties. It has arguably

changed activism, political pressure and political

communication strategies’ (Lee-Kaid, 2004)

However, while the internet can be regarded as an important

tool of communication for politicians, it is currently not the

primary or only means of sending and receiving messages to and

from voters. The traditional mass media are still vital facets

of political communication campaigning. That is, television is

still a hugely important tool as the TV set is such a

ubiquitous feature of every voting household. Television

offers a free medium for politicians to communicate with the

electorate in terms of news coverage. However, Brader

acknowledges that the drawback of free media including

television is that, politicians, “cannot control the message,”

(2006:19). Similarly, radio and newspapers continue to offer

an instantaneous and effective way of sending messages of

candidates to voters.

Finola McGinley Trading Places with Fianna Fáil

August 2011 1

The traditional mass media are also important in terms of how

they breach the generational gap between those younger and

older voters. That is, younger voters may be more

technologically-savvy and more liable to access the internet

while also being regularly exposed to radio and television

communication. However, the older generations are less likely

to be affected by online political communication and more

inclined towards using the traditional media to make voting

decisions. While the internet and the recently developed web-

based tools of the social media online have a role to play,

there is perhaps a tendency to overplay their importance as

occurred in Britain before the 2010 general election. There

has been a suggestion that, set-pieces such as the televised

leaders’ debates probably had more influence on voters

(Collins, 2010).

Meeting and engaging with the public in person is one of the

earliest and oldest means of communicating with voters. The

door-to-door canvass has been around since political elections

began in Ireland. Indeed it is the case that many TDs still

believe that this type of communication is still, ‘the most

important means of communicating with constituents’ (Collins,

2010).

When we examine any communication or campaign strategy, there

are three aspects of any campaign that are to be considered.

Trent and Friedenberg (2000) argue that style, imagery in

developing a campaign style and technological developments

implicitness in how a campaign is executed are fundamental to

the theoretical analysis of how candidates’ communication

strategies can be assessed. Trent and Friedenberg (2000) have

also put forward that further classification of communication

strategies of candidates that can be analyzed are incumbency

and challenger style, challenger style or a merger of both

styles. Some candidates switch between strategy types at

different intervals of the campaign. I hope that through

completing my research, I can analyze the communication

strategy type Fine Gael employed during their campaign based

on the theoretical models that are presently at my disposal.

While the main purpose of this research paper has been to

analyze the communication strategy of the Fine Gael party in

the 2011 election, it is worth pointing out that in order to

carry out an analysis of this type there will be an inevitable

interdisciplinary overlap with public relations and marketing.

Indeed, communication during a political campaign can be

considered as one aspect of a wider marketing strategy of a

party (Lees-Marshment, 2009).


August 2011 2

I wish to look at the party model in terms of political

marketing as proposed by Lees-Marshment et al. The styles of

campaign that are used by political parties can be thought of

as, “sets of communication strategies employed at all times by

all candidates” (Trent and Friedenberg, 2000).

If one works from this assumption then it would suggest that

campaign styles and communication strategies are

indistinguishable and the campaign strategy is a vehicle for

driving the wider marketing strategy of a party. In essence,

the delivery of a successful marketing strategy is ultimately

dependent on the implementation of a successful sales plan

through communication (Lees-Marshment, 2009).

In carrying out my research, it is my aim to contextualize the

political conditions and the position of Fine Gael in

comparison to the other parties during the 2011 election

campaign. In order to draw any valid conclusions and make

correct judgments on the campaign style of Fine Gael in 2011,

it is necessary to make analogies with communication

strategies of other elections, both in Ireland and elsewhere.

I intend to draw particular comparisons from the 2007 general

election in Ireland. In doing so, I attempt to conceptualize

any shifts in the political terrain in terms of external

global occurrences affecting national politics in Ireland and

the approaches adopted by the Fine Gael party in response to a

changing global political climate.

The conclusions of this research paper examine the perceived

shift in campaign style of the largest party in Ireland in

2011 and how this reflects the wider change in the perceived

political marketing approach of Fine Gael, drawing on domestic

and international comparative studies.


August 2011 3

CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter aims to contextualize the 2011 general election

in Ireland, literature relevant to political marketing and

communication. I wish to explore the theoretical framework for

communication during campaigns and test the extent to which a

particular set of techniques were used by Fine Gael during the

2011 campaign. There isn’t presently much literature published

specifically on the 2011 general election campaign in Ireland.

It is my aim that my research will be original in this regard.

It has been acknowledged that 2011 was a watershed election

insofar as Fine Gael emerged as the biggest party in the state

in spite of not having an overall majority in terms of seat

numbers. It was reported by Mark Simpson in the BBC News

Europe (26/02/2011) that, ‘a seismic change has taken place in

Irish politics.’ This statement succinctly sums up the events

that took place in Irish politics over a relatively short

period of time. However, a much more detailed evaluation of

the 2011 campaign is required to establish the reasons behind

the eventual election results and the manner in which Fine

Gael conducted their campaign leading to the eventual end

result of electoral victory.

2.2 Campaign/Communication Strategy

As the author has already alluded to in her introduction to

her research dissertation, style is fundamental to the

delivery of any electoral communications plan. Indeed, style

and strategy are so interwoven that they are difficult to

differentiate between (Trent and Friedenberg, 2000). In

analyzing any election campaign, one must closely consider the

manner in which the core political messages were sent to

voters and other stakeholders. At a most fundamental level,

communication in an electoral context is the delivery of

political messages to the electorate and the wider public in

the hope of persuading them that they should vote for a

particular candidate or party.

Finola McGinley Trading Places with Fianna Fáil August

2011 4

Lord Windlesham (1966) aptly described the changing nature of

campaigns in the wake of a growing mass media over four

decades ago:

With the growth of the mass media political communication has

become an increasingly important element in the effective

application of political power….What is needed now is a

greater awareness of what is being done by those who occupy

themselves in communicating messages of a political character

with an intention to persuade. Politicians as well as the

press need to be more rigorous in seeking out who are the

people behind the campaigns and leagues and lobbies. Party

organizations should also be scrutinized to see who is

exercising power in what way and by what right.

Denton and Woodward (1990) as cited by McNair (2007:3) argue

that political communication can be branded, ‘in terms of the

intentions of its senders to influence the political

environment.’ Political communication in the eighteenth

century and prior to the development of the mass media

revolved primarily around meeting people en masse, in an

American context, ‘stumping the country from the rear of a

railroad train’ (Newman and Vercic, 2002). Boynton et al

(1996) offers a definition that ties political communication

to elections.

Boynton, et al (1996) offers a definition that ties political

communication to elections. He claims that political

communication is, ‘conversations flowing through

institutionalized channels, punctuated by the vote.’

In an Irish context, door-to-door canvassing was the main

means of reaching the masses. The parish-pump was also an

effective medium through which political messages could be

sent out up until recent decades in Ireland, with a devoutly

mass-attending Roman Catholic majority population (Carty,

1981).


August 2011 5

There has been a shift in the last number of years towards

analyzing communication of parties to the electorate rather

than just voter behavior, which had been the case earlier

(Esser and Pfetsch, 2004). Although there is an increasing

tendency for party strategist to aim for the floating voter,

it is claimed that party identification is still important in

determining voter behavior. In essence, communication

techniques would not make a huge difference in swaying voters

if they were inclined to vote for the same party consistently

in elections.

According to the Michigan model as cited in Esser and Pfetsch

(2004:213-14), “party identification is conceived as being a

long-term and comparatively stable attitude.”

However, in the lead up to polling day, there were suggestions

in the media that this election was to be the first in Irish

politics where old tribal allegiances to Fianna Fáil or Fine

Gael were to be irrelevant for voters on polling day. The

political affiliations in Ireland prior to the election were

accurately described as being quite static towards the two

biggest parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the Irish Echo

(24/09/11):

Historically, loyalty to these political brands has been

driven by tribal, rather than philosophical considerations.

Notwithstanding the Civil War origins of the parties – Fine

Gael has been seen as more hawkish on economic and ‘law and

order’ matters, more liberal on social issues, less

‘republican’ and more secular. Fianna Fáil is seen as less

urban, more conscious of social justice and more inclined to

be influenced by Catholic Church doctrine on social policy.

This view can be seen as correct in relation to the parties

under particular leaders, that is, Fine Gael under the

stewardship of Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald or Fianna Fáil under

Eamon de Valera (Hogan, 1987).


August 2011 6

Trent and Friendenberg (2000) put forward that communication

can be though of as the space that lies between the

aspirations of the candidate and the actions of voters, just

as it serves as the bond between the wishes or hopes of the

voter and the behaviour of the candidate.

Communication can take on a number of ‘styles,’ that of

incumbency, challenger and a merger of incumbency and

challenger (Trent and Friedenberg 2000:77).

Incumbency campaigning would seem logically the more difficult

campaign position to be in as the incumbent has been in office

for the past number of years, be it four or five years in most

cases and is in a default defend position insofar as they must

communicate defensively to the electorate, standing by the

policies they pursued over their term in office.

Trent and Friedenberg (2000:78) vindicate this view as they

argue that pursuing a set of, “symbolic and pragmatic

communication strategies designed to make any candidate appear

as both good enough for the office sought and possessing the

office…..not an easy task.”

On the other hand, R.F Fenno as cited in Trent and Friedenberg

(2000:78) pointed out that incumbency, ‘is a resource to be

employed, an opportunity to be exploited.’ When one considers

this, it does not seem alien since office-holders are in the

advantageous position of having the tools of office and the

‘persona of the powerful’ (Trent and Friedenberg 2000).

Incumbents have at their disposal, symbolic trappings of

office. The incumbent can communicate to the public as the

leader, the president or as the Taoiseach in an Irish context.

He or she has the power to command the respect and attention

of the people in a way that a rival challenger cannot. The

title of office can be thought of as favorable for the

incumbent in this sense. Trent and Friedenberg (2000) also

mention charisma, legitimacy, competency and pragmatic

strategies as being implicit in the incumbency style of

communication.

Pragmatic incumbent strategies include emphasizing

accomplishments, manipulating the economy or other domestic

issues and creating pseudovents through manufacturing news

stories with the aim of enhancing the image of the party

(Trent and Friedenberg 2000).


August 2011 7

Other pragmatic incumbent strategies outlined by Trent and

Friedenberg are:

1. Consulting or negotiating with other world leaders

2. Depending on surrogates for the campaign trail

3. Appropriating federal/state funds/grants

4. Making appointments to jobs and committees

5. Creating and maintaining an “above the political

trenches” posture

Communication itself is a subsection of a wider marketing

process or plan (Lees-Marshment, 2009). When assessing any

communication or aspect therein during an election, it is

important to consider what is driving the campaign messages,

in terms of the rationale behind them and how they are

delivered. In recent decades, in particular since Margaret

Thatcher took office in the late seventies, there has been a

prominent role for Public Relations, communication and

marketing professionals (Needham 2005). Politicians in high

office are now permanently receiving advice from these

professionals.

Sparrow (2000) notes that communication strategies are

targeted at key voters, messages and themes. Themes have now

become a common feature of communications strategies for

political parties and there is a constant drive towards

reinforcing and re-emphasizing these themes.

Ronald Reagan has been hailed as, “the first great

communicator” (Sparrow, 2000). Reagan’s campaign was based on

focusing on the needs and desires of swing voters rather than

core voters, something which has been almost ubiquitously

adopted since the 1990s.

The ‘floating’ voter has now become the primary focus of

campaign communications. Reagan’s campaigns were a huge

success and it is unsurprising that his competitors and other

parties outside of the US examined his techniques.


August 2011 8

Sparrow (2000) states that , “a new, more intimate

understanding of voter needs and priorities allowed the Reagan

campaigns in 1980 and 1984 to organize a campaign around

salient images targeted at specific voter groups.”

Reagan’s Director of Communications Michael Deaver is cited in

Sparrow (2000) as holding the view that having successful

political communication was dependant on:

● Knowing who you are, if you don’t you can’t communicate

● Knowing what you are saying by having a clear and concise

message; and

● Understanding that you have to repeat your message over

and over again

Reagan was an effective communicator because he knew exactly

what he stood for- he was a social conservative and an

economic liberal hence the ‘reaganomics’ term that later

developed around his presidency. He can be distinguished in

this sense from Bill Clinton who some commentators believe to

have been devoid of any real values.

However, he had mixed success during his premiership. Needham

(2005) believes that the, ‘Clinton and Blair communication

strategies were based on reassuring their winning coalitions

of voters, particularly the middle class supporters who had

not historically voted for Labour or the Democrats.’ In other

words, the floating or swing voters who seem to be more often

than not middle class, is the segment of the electorate that

political campaign communications is centred around.

Blair’s communication during his campaign was also targeted at

swing voters, those who would have traditionally voted for the

Conservatives but who were to be persuaded by the type of

messages sent to them by a so-called ‘new’ Labour. Blair

directly communicated to the middle classes when he spoke of,

“a middle class characterized by greater tolerance of

difference, greater ambition to succeed, greater opportunities

to earn a decent living” (Blair, 1999).


August 2011 9

As Needham (2005) suggests, many analogies are to be drawn

between the communication style of Blair and Clinton. They

both expressed their belief in a ‘third way,’ in Blair’s case

distinguishing his Government from the ‘old left’ and ‘new

right.’ Similarly, Clinton’s ‘third way’ was to reject the

traditional party constraints in terms of ideology.

An image was built of Clinton as being different, and a ‘new’

Democrat. Clinton as cited in Needham (2005) argued in his

1998 State of Union Speech when addressing the nation that,

‘we have moved past the sterile debate of those who say

government is the enemy and those who say government is the

answer. My fellow Americans, we have found a Third Way.’ The

‘new’ term in relation to Labour in 1997 was a crucial aspect

of their communication. The party with Blair as leader were

trying to break ties with the past and the ideologically far

left-rooted party that were led by Michael Foot and Neil

Kinnock in the 1980s and into the early 1990s. This worked

rather effectively for Blair in 1997 and for the first few

years of his premiership.

In the case of Clinton, core themes and values based on

opportunity, community and responsibility were communicated to

voters and policies then fitted around them (Needham, 2005).

Blair as cited in Needham (2005) similarly used these same

themes or values as Clinton.

In assessing whether Blair or Clinton pursued effective

incumbent strategies it is difficult to gauge. On the one

hand, they are perceived as having rigidly managed news

(Needham, 2005) and in this way, followed a pragmatic

incumbent communications strategy (Trent and Friedenberg

2000). However, another perception is that they were, “all

style and no substance, lacking ideological roots. In spite of

the consistency of message discipline, there was little

substantial policy behind the messages and ‘values’ and this

damaged the brand that the messages were trying to sell

(Needham, 2005).

Referring to Michael Deaver’s conviction that you must know

who you are to communicate effectively, it would suggest that

Blair and Clinton’s communication failed in the sense that

they were too eager to please and lacking a definitive

ideological footing (Needham, 2005).


August 2011 10

The term ‘spin’ developed around the half-way mark in Blair’s

first term in office. It was used as a weapon against the

government according to Rentoul (2001) as cited in Needham

(2005). The communication of Blair and Labour was perceived as

being empty and their overly simplistic messages were being

perceived as ‘spin’ (Needham, 2005).

In dealing with incumbent communications, the terms of Clinton

and Blair are heavily cited in much of the available

literature over the past decade. However, challenger

communication style is also important as it can often result

in electoral victory for the one who is outside of office or

‘challenging.’ Trent and Friedenberg (2000) state that

challenger style is a set of communication strategies to

convince voters that change is required and they are the ones

to bring about this change.

Trent and Friedenberg (2000) identify seven challenger

strategies:

1. Attacking the record of opponents

2. Taking the offensive position on issues

3. Calling for a change

4. Emphasizing optimism for the future

5. Speaking to traditional values rather than calling for

value changes

6. Appearing to represent the philosophical centre of the

political party

7. Delegating personal or harsh attacks in an effort to

control demagogic rhetoric

It is worth pointing out at this stage that much of the

literature on the subject of campaign communication and indeed

on the wider area of political marketing has been largely

focused on the US system. As Christina Holtz-Bacha in Esser

and Pfetsch (2004:226) notes the Europeans have looked to the

US campaigns to gain insight into what can be taken from them

and applied in a European context and more specifically in a

national European context.


August 2011 11

Needham (2005) is also of the view that this is the case and

she draws the example of Blair’s team examining Clinton’s

campaign, borrowing and adopting from it what was useful.

However, Holtz-Bacha in Esser and Pfetsch (2004) is of the

opinion that we have not directly applied a US style model of

political campaigns in terms of communication and marketing.

She believes that this notion of ‘Americanization’ is no

longer appropriate because, “a plethora of intervening

variables, national specifics of the political and the media

systems, prevent the adoption of recipes for effective

campaigning from one country to another” (Holtz-Bacha as cited

in Esser and Pfetsch, 2004:226).

Römmele (2003) concurs with this idea as she argues the idea

of an Americanized campaigning style is more aptly defined as

post-modern.

2.3 Social Media/Internet Communication

When discussing any communication strategy in a political

context, it is impossible to accurately make an assessment

without referring to the phenomena of the internet and more

recently social media.

As I alluded to in my introduction, the internet is recognized

among academics as changing the way political communication

happens in terms of offering politicians new ways of reaching

voters. Römmele (2003:8) states that, “the tools or mechanics

of communication are seen to have changed with the adoption of

new communication technologies such as the internet….”

Esser and Pfetsch (2004) believe that the internet opens up

new channels of discussion about the prospect of online

democracy and greater resulting civic participation.


August 2011 12

Sparks in Bennett and Entman (2001:79) presents a balanced

opinion on what he terms as, “computer mediated

communication.” Some see the development of this type of

communication as signaling the demise of the, “state as

historically constituted and its replacement with other forms

of social organization,” according to Negroponte (1995); Dyson

(1997) as cited by Sparks in Bennett and Entman (2001:79).

However, the benefits associated with the Internet and the

role it plays in our democracy in terms of the communication

tools it offers are noted by Sparks:

1. The basic communication protocols are designed to be

transparent and are, therefore, in principle global

2. The basic model of communication is interactive. The

domination of social communication by those with the

resources necessary to operate a newspaper or television

station is negated in favor of drastically reduced entry

barriers

3. The electronic nature of communication ensures that the

accidents of place, that have been so convincing an

argument against the more participatory forms of

democracy, are no longer at all important

4. The anonymity of the IP address serves to disguise many

of those social markers (age, gender, ethnic origin,

accent, and so on)

5. The basic design of the system was generated with the

exchange of scientific information in mind, and therefore

it is particularly suited to the kind of textualized

discursive practices that are characteristic of the

Enlightenment definition of rational political debate

6. The searchable architecture of the system makes it easy

to distribute and organize the information necessary to

reach informed decisions on any matter


August 2011 13

Sparks makes a number of interesting points about the internet

in communication terms here. The internet is not restricted in

ways that the other mass mediums are in the sense that it is

not policed and there are no legal boundaries to limit the

type, scope or nature of content that can be put on it. It is

global in this sense as the laws of a particular jurisdiction

do not govern cyberspace and so citizens are not curbed, being

enabled to express opinions and views online that they might

not be inclined to in other aspects of the public sphere.

For politicians, there are also reduced barriers that occur

with other elements of the media such as broadcasting laws.

The internet can allow political parties to circumvent these

restrictions insofar as information input is unregulated.

Other scholars have also recognized that the internet offers a

more ‘participatory’ element to democracy (Römmele, 2003;

Dahlgen, 2005). Dahlgen (2005) offers an insightful view on

the internet and how it can be conceptualized from a wider

public sphere perspective. According to Dahlgen (2005:148),

“in schematic terms, a functioning public sphere is understood

as a constellation of communicative spaces in society that

permit the circulation of information, ideas, debates—ideally

in an unfettered manner—and also the formation of political

will.”

He argues that there are three dimensions of the public sphere

and these are structures, representation and interaction

(Dahlgen, 2005).

The third element, interaction, is a recurring theme when the

internet as a political communication vehicle is discussed

academically.

There seems to be a degree of consensus among many scholars

that the internet is distinct from the mass media most

markedly because it offers the potential of participatory

democracy and gives citizens and politicians the opportunity

to interact in a bidirectional manner (Dahlgen, 2005; Römmele,

2003; Sparks, 2003).

Finola McGinley Trading Places with Fianna

Fáil August 2011 14

Moreover, as Römmele (2003:9) states, “new ICTs offer

political actors direct contact with citizens and thereby an

advantage over existing media.” The internet also has the

advantage of being more cost-effective than the mass media.

Indeed, in the 1990s when the web was first used by political

candidates, it was primarily if not exclusively used for

advertising. Its full potential as an interactive tool was not

realized until the turn of the last century.

While it is arguable that the internet presents opportunities

for a more participatory democracy, it has been claimed that

this potential has not been realized by political actors. In

theory parties can open themselves up to dialogue with

citizens who might not otherwise have been inclined to

establish links through joining a local branch of a party or

engage with politicians in other conventional ways. According

to Römmele:

In addition to opening up dialogue with the electorate at

large, the interactivity of the Internet can also be used by

parties to build greater links with members. These linkages

can take a bilateral form, such as email between the party and

voter or member, or be multilateral, involving many actors in

online chat rooms, bulletin boards or special question-and-

answer sessions.

Yang and Lim (2009) refer to blog-mediated Public Relations as

being crucial to developing and maintaining relationships with

the public. An overlap between the disciplines of marketing,

public relations and communication occurs in this regard as I

will explain. Yang and Lim

(2009) identify four critical aspects of effective Blog-

Mediated Relational Trust. These are:

1. Salience of Narrative Structure

2. The Dialogical Self

3. Blogger Credibility

4. Interactivity


August 2011 15

These features can be applied to other aspects of the web; web

portals, the social media and other sites. They are a valuable

compass for any company, organization or indeed any political

party/candidate that takes a professional approach to managing

their engagement with citizens in an online context.

Yang and Lim (2009, p. 341-2) define a blog as, “a personal

publishing or content management system on the internet, at

which an author or multiple authors can publish information on

a variety of topics….displayed in a reverse chronological

order.”

Good relations with the public can be built through the

application of effective management of the blog or web tool.

Scoble and Israel (2006) as cited in Yang and Lim (2009) find

that there are a number of principles that underscore

successful relationship building with the public through the

use of web-based tools, with the blog being the focal point of

the study:

1. Storytelling

2. Dialogue

3. Credibilty

4. Transparency

5. Authenticity

6. Authority

7. Interactivity

Intangible outcomes such as public loyalty to an

organization or political party can be difficult to measure

and so tangible outputs such as comments, trackbacks and

links generated are generally focused on more by public

relations professionals in terms of measuring successful

communication or public relations strategy (Yang and Lim,

2009).



Although the internet is now widely used by political

parties for communication purposes in western societies,

Dahlgen (2005:151) is of the opinion that:

The use of the Net for political purposes is clearly minor

compared with other purposes to which it is put. The kinds

of interaction taking place can only to a small degree be

considered manifestations of the public sphere; democratic

deliberation is completely overshadowed by consumerism,

entertainment, nonpolitical networking and chat, and so

forth.

This assertion would indicate that the internet still has

some distance to travel in fully evolving to widen the

public sphere (Bennett and Entman 2001:85).

There is speculation as to whether the social media actually

have any meaningful effect on election results.

Indeed, it has been argued that, “there is a sense that some

political parties have not understood there medium that is

twitter and Facebook,” as recent research on the social

media has shown (Business and Finance, 2011).

Through much of the 1990s the internet’s perceived effect on

voters and democratic participation, based in a US context,

was approximated as not being particularly marked due to

internet usage being relatively low (Sparks in Entman and

Bennett, 2001).


August 2011 17

Table 2.1 Percentages of U.S Households with a computer, modem, telephone,

and email 1994 and 1997

Computer Modem Phone Email

24.1 11 93.8 3.4

1994

1997 36.6 26.3 93.8 16.9

Source: (NTIA, 1998 as cited in Bennett and Entman, 2001: 81)

As we can see from Table 2.1, internet usage in terms of

Household computer ownership grew steadily between 1994 and

1997. Over one third of Households possessed a computer in

1997.

By the mid-1990s, political candidates, in particular

presidential campaigners had incorporated the web into their

communications plans having set up political websites with

Bill Clinton being one of the first candidates for elected

office in the world to use the internet in his quest for

office in 1992 (Brader, 2006). Since then, other presidential

hopefuls in the US have followed on to use the internet in a

more sophisticated and inclusive way to boost their campaigns.

Obama is credited as having pursued one of the most successful

internet and social media campaigns to date in the 2008

presidential campaign through his clever use of the medium.

As it was reported by Hill in the Social Europe Journal

(08/04/09) in relation to Obama’s web campaign:


August 2011 18

His nimble use of the internet helped him overcome the huge

initial lead of Hillary Clinton in both fundraising and

perceived viability. He was able to get more local volunteers

on the ground in key states earlier than the Clinton campaign,

which was especially important in smaller states and caucus

states. And his early success soon generated a wave of small-

size campaign contributions which eventually gave him a

crucial advantage in campaign organization.

This should not be surprising however if we consider that the

most innovated internet environment is in the USA (Sparks in

Bennett and Entman, 2001).

As table 2.2 overleaf illustrates, internet usage in the US

has grown at a steady pace since the year 2000, with over 77%

of the population using the internet in 2010. By comparison

with Ireland, the figures indicate that nearly 12% more of the

US population are internet users. From such evidence, it can

be argued that the conditions for political communication via

the web are more favourable in the US. This might lead one to

believe that US politicians would be more advanced in terms of

communicating with citizens online.


August 2011 19

Table 2.2 Internet Usage Statistics for the United States of America 2000-2010

YEA

R

Populati

onUsers

%

Pop.

Broadban

d

200

0

281,421,

906

124,000,

000

44.1

%n/a

200

1

285,317,

559

142,823,

008

50.0

%n/a

200

2

288,368,

698

167,196,

688

58.0

%n/a

200

3

290,809,

777

172,250,

000

59.2

%n/a

200

4

293,271,

500

201,661,

159

68.8

%n/a

200

5

299,093,

237

203,824,

428

68.1

%n/a

200

7

301,967,

681

212,080,

135

70.2

%n/a

200

8

303,824,

646

220,141,

969

72.5

%n/a

200

9

307,212,

123

227,719,

000

74.1

%n/a

201

0

310,232,

863

239,893,

600

77.3

%

85,287,1

00

Source: (Internet Usage Statistics for the United States of

America, 2010)

In an Irish context, the rates of internet usage have also

grown steadily since 2000, as table 1.3 overleaf demonstrates.

However, we are still lagging behind the US in terms of users

as a percentage of population. No doubt, the use of the net

will grow further in years to come and as we have an

increasing number of web-savvy citizens, the importance of the

web and its tools will inevitably become more vital for

politicians in their communication strategies. Römmele (2003:

9) has noted that party sites have now moved on, “to offer

more of an online magazine’ with news updates and

personalizing options,” whereas in the embryonic days of the

net in the political communication milieu, parties were

inclined to limit the use of websites to uploading advertising

literature (Römmele, 2003).


August 2011 20

The social media is a new occurrence in the world of

communications. The first social media campaign in the world

has been attributed to Obama’s campaign in 2008. Ireland has

been lagging behind in our adaption to the potential of social

mediums online and in terms of how politicians have recognized

their potential as communication tools.

According to a report by Elkin in Business and Finance (2011),

there are now approximately just under two million Facebook

users in Ireland, increasing almost fivefold since January

2009, and 200,000 twitter users, with twitter and Facebook

being two of the acknowledged ‘mainstream’ social mediums.

However, the number of Facebook accounts is not the same as

the number of active users, due to multiple or unused

accounts. Under two thirds of Irish Facebook users are under

35 as recent research has shown (Amas, 2011). This would

indicate that if Irish politicians are to reach the younger

generation voters, targeting them through Facebook would be a

logical step. In further chapters, I intend to investigate

this potential and whether it has been exploited and to what

extent by Irish politicians and more specifically, by Fine

Gael in 2011.

According to the same source, the number of Irish LinkedIn

accounts is also growing and is within a whisker of half a

million (Amas, 2011).

Table 2.3 Internet Usage Statistics for Ireland 2000-2010

EAR Users Population % Pop.

2000 784,000 3,755,300 20.9 %

2002 1,319,608 3,780,600 34.9 %

2008 2,060,000 4,156,119 49.6 %

2010 3,042,600 4,622,917 65.8 %

Source: (Internet World Stats: 2010)


August 2011 21


There will occur, a certain amount of overlap with political

marketing and political communication as communication is a

subset of the wider marketing phenomenon in politics. This is

a vast academic field where there has much study in recent

decades. Henneberg (2004) states that, “political marketing

has now established itself as a spirited sub-discipline of

mainstream marketing.” Political parties from all over the

world have embraced the trend, developing maifestos based on

the outcomes of quantitative and qualitative marketing

research (Lilleker and Lees-Marshment, 2005). Political

Marketing can be defined as, “a set of strategies and tools to

trace and study public opinion beforer, during and after an

election campaign, to develop campaign communications and to

assess their impact.” (Hora, K. 2011, pers. Comm, 14

February).

Lees-Marshment (2009) proposes that from a marketing

perspective, there are three party types; the market-oriented

party, the sales-oriented and the product-oriented party.

According to Lees-Marshment (2009), the product oriented or

POP develops its policies from within the party and they don’t

change regardless of public opinion or reaction to them. As

such, the party is ‘defined’ by its policies. The sales

oriented party or SOP also develops policies internally but

uses communication techniques from the commercial sphere to

‘sell’ its polcies to the electorate, recognizing that there

is a need to persuade some of the electorate (Lees-Marshment,

2009). Moreover, “market intelligence is used to design the

sales strategy” (Lees-Marshment 2009:110).

Thirdly, Lees-Marshment (2009) identifies the market oriented

party or the MOP. The MOP is a more modern type of party in

terms of marketing. Lees-Marshment (2001a; 2001b; 2005; 2009)

delves into great depth in her exploration of the three

theoretical party models she proposes citing examples of

political parties in different countries that fit one of the

three models. Mortimore (2002) on the other hand does not

analyse party behaviour in terms of marketing so much as he

does address why there is a need for marketing in politics in

the first place. He refers to the low public perception of

politicians in recent times, specifically in the UK, and how a

general lack of trust by politicians among the public has

manifested frequently in a low voter turnout on polling day.


August 2011 22

According to his view, Mortimore (2002) sees that marketing of the

parties is necessary to try and restore public faith and confidence

in politicians and thus encourage greater democratic participation

through higher numbers of people turning out to vote. As he puts it,

there is, “a need for political marketing in a wide as well as a

narrow sense, both to maximise of the narrow marketing and indeed

for the good of society” (Mortimore, 2002: 1).

Lees-Marshment (2001b) identifies seven stages for the market-

oriented party, the model I will deal with firstly. The stages are

analogous to those employed in commercial marketing strategies.

Her model (see Table 1.4 below; 2001b:31) maps the process the MOP

moves through during the electoral phase.

Table 2.4 The Marketing Process for the Market-Oriented Party

Stag

e

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Acti

vity

Market

Intell

igence

Prod

uct

Desi

gn

Produc

t

Adjust

ment

Implemen

tation

Communic

ation

Campa

ign

Elec

tion

Deli

very

Source: (Lees-Marshment 2001b, p.31)

Political Marketing can also be viewed as a dichotomous

process in terms of either relationship or transactional

marketing approaches. In a Lecture for Political Marketing

(DT569), presented on 21 February 2011 at Dublin Institute of

Technology, Aungier Street, K. Hora proposed two type of

marketing- relationship or transactional marketing. He

suggested that transactional marketing in commercial terms is,

‘where a customer tenders payment for the goods or services

offered, and assumes ownership or the right to use on

completion of the transaction. If we consider this in a

political environment, when the voter casts his or her ballot,

a transaction has taken place. If after the first term in

office, the voter or customer is dissatisfied with the

purchase or politician, he does not vote for that individual

again and does not repeat the sale (Hora, K. 2011, pers. Comm,

21 February).


August 2011 23

The Relationship model is referenced more so by academics as a

type of marketing that is applicable to politics. For example,

`Needham (2005) advocates the relationship model as being

paramount for politicians to establish good relations with

voters. She bases this assumption on the attributes of

successful brands analogous with brands from marketing in the

business world. She identifies the six attributes as:

1. Simplicity

2. Uniqueness

3. Reassurance

4. Aspiration

5. Values

6. Credibility

(Needham 2005: 343)

Needham (2005) uses the examples of Blair and Clinton’s

campaigns to illustrate how the relationship can be applied on

a practical level. However, the main aim of her research from

the article in question was to hypothesize the idea that the

assumption of incumbent communications is flawed in terms of

how transitioning from challenger to office-holder is

indistinguishable (Blumenthal, 1982). According to K. Hora, in

a Lecture for Political Marketing (DT569), presented on 21

February 2011 at Dublin Institute of Technology, Aungier

Street, there are two fundamental voter types; the core and

the floating voter. He also suggested that relationship

marketing in politics means that the parties have more direct

contact with voters through text messaging and emailing, for

example. Relationship building involves the portrayal of a

brand that has values that will resonate with the electorate

(Hora, K. 2011, Pers. Comm., 21 February).

This is arguably evident in today’s political environment with

the ubiquitous use of Information Communication technology in

every sphere of public and private life. Indeed, Lilleker and

Lees-Marshment (2005) allude to this development in relation

to voting behaviour. They believe that traditional voting

behaviour patterns have weakened in the last few decades due

to a number of factors that are not political per se.


August 2011 24

For example, “levels of education, geographical and

occupational mobility, distinctness of socio-economic

groupings….affect eh overall degree of consumerism and the

attitude of the citizenry to its politicians…” (Lilleker and

Lees-Marshment 2005: 5)

These factors have had the effect of heightening the demand

for maket-oriented or consumer directed politics. The market

today is much, “more open and fluid.” (Lilleker and Lees-

Marshment 2005:5).

Another theoretical perspective that must be included in any

discussion about political marketing is that of the permanent

campaign. The concept was first developed towards the end of

the 1970s by Pat Caddell, one of President Carter’s marketers.

Caddell believed that, “governing with public approval

requires a continuing political campaign” (Klein, 2005).

However, it was Blumenthal (1982) that coined the term.

Needham (2005) is not an advocate of the permanent campaign of

incumbent communications as she does not think that

transitioning from campaigning to governing is seamless.

Essentially, when in office, the incumbent is not still

challenging to be there so tactics change.

As an alternative she proposes the theory of incumbency as

relationship marketing (Needham, 2005). As she puts is,

“rather than convincing the electorate to trust it, a

governing party or office-holder must reassure supporters that

they have chosen well and can be confident that the

administration will deliver” (Needham 2005:346).

So, the incumbent should not constantly campaigning in the

sense of communicating via ‘spin’ but rather, they must

attempt to build a successful brand in the hope that voters

will repeat the sale in the next election. Such a strategy is

aimed at, “consolidating rather than increasing market share”

(Needham 2005:346). The emphasis according to Needham’s

assessment of the permanent campaign is on retention of public

support rather than winning it.

Indeed, this type of strategy can be considered as protective

or defensive (Needham 2005). Klein (2008) highlights the

shortcomings of permanent campaigning. He believes that,

“pressure to ‘win’ the daily news cycle-to control the news-

has overwhelmed the more reflective, statesmanlike aspects of

the office” (Klein, 2005:1). He goes onto state that, “new

policies are analysed politically rather than for what they

are intended to achieve. Success is measured in days and

weeks-in polling blips-rather than in months or years” (Klein,

2008:1).


August 2011 25

So in effect, a policy decision can only be qualified by

quantitative results like polling. The emphasis is on short-

term gain rather than the long-term good of society (Ormrod,

2006). This would also seem to render ideology somewhat

obsolete in the world of modern political marketing.

Needham (2005) points to the mixed success of Clinton and

Blair during their incumbent periods as testimony to the idea

that campaigning is not necessarily non-stop. Despite the fact

that both premiers were engaged in an on-going process to

entice public opinion, they should have been constantly in

receipt of high levels of popular support as they would have

been acutely aware of decisions to make that would please

their publics. According to Needham (2005, p. 345):

Clinton’s net approval rating hovered at ten per cent or less

for his first three years in office, after which it started to

climb. Blair’s net rating stood at fifty per cent after six

months in office, but fell sharply from that point, rallying

only for the election year of 2001.

The emphasis, according to Needham’s assessment of the

permanent campaign, is on the retention of public support

rather than the winning of it. She also points out that

obsessing with the polls for incumbents is not wise, “since a

premier’s approval ratings are shaped by events beyond his

control” (Mueller et al as cited in Needham 2005, p. 345).



CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH METHODLOGY

3.1 Research Objectives

I have a number of research objectives that I hope to achieve

over the course of the completion of my dissertation.

● I hope to use both qualitative and quantitative methods

of research to gather data to assist me in the process of

analysing the strategy of communications pursued by Fine

Gael in the general election of 2011

● I hope to identify the type of communication strategy

used by the party, that is, challenger or incumbent

tactics or a combination of both

● I wish to investigate how the communication plan of the

party fits within wider marketing concepts

● I want to analogise the communication strategy of the

party in relation to the general election campaign of

2011 to other elections both in Ireland and in other

jurisdictions

● I hope to critically assess any changes that have

potentially taken place in the party with regard to their

approach to communication

● I intend to establish the reasons behind the decision

taken by the party strategists to pursue a particular

type of communications campaign and critically examine

success levels thereof

Finola McGinley Trading Places with Fianna Fáil August 2011 27

3.2 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of the

research methods that are available to be applied to a study

on communication strategies in a political context. In the

exploration of the phenomenon of communication processes

within a political milieu, the dissertation has the objective

of investigating particular types that are pursued by

political parties, specifically Fine Gael in the general

election of 2011 in Ireland.

In consideration of the developments within communication, in

particular in relation to information technology and the new

media, the dissertation will assess the extent to which

parties have embraced them, particularly Fine Gael in 2011.

The dissertation will investigate the marketing trend within

politics in an Irish and wider international context and

examine how communication strategies can be applied in a wider

marketing context within the political environment.

Finally, but not exhaustively, following the analysis of

primary data collected via a set of interviews conducted with

a range of subjects from the media, the Fine Gael political

party, communication and PR consultants, the dissertation will

critique political communication and investigate how

communication tactics can be placed within wider marketing

paradigms and models.

3.3 Research Hypotheses

H1. Commercial Marketing Strategies including communications

are applicable to a political environment

H2. The implementation of marketing techniques to a political

campaign can have successful outcomes

H3. The communication strategies of challenger, incumbent or a

combination of both can be applied to Fine Gael’s general

election campaign in 2011

H4.The incumbent Communications strategy of permanent

campaigning is applicable to political parties in an

international context and Fine Gael in their quest for office

in 2011.


August 2011 28

3.4 Research Design and Methodology

Kerlinger (1986: 279) as cited in Kumar (1999:74) states that:

A research design is a plan, structure and strategy of

investigation so conceived as to obtain answers to research

questions or problems. The plan is the complete scheme or

program of the research. It includes an outline of what the

investigator will do from writing the hypotheses and their

operational implications to the final analysis of data.

Stringer (1999) believes that building positive research

involves carefully handling research situations so that

outcomes are mutually beneficial, for the stakeholder and the

researcher alike. The research design is the scheme on which

the research according to which the research is carried out

(Kane et al, 2001).

Kumar (1999: 74) believes that through following a research

design one can:

● Conceptualise an operational plan to undertake the various

procedures and tasks required to undertake a study

● Ensure that these procedures are adequate to obtain valid,

objective and accurate answers to the research questions.

This can be called ‘control of variance.’

According to Sekran (2003), research methodology is in effect

the regulatory framework that academia has put in place for the

gathering and assessment of existing knowledge, allowing and

substantiating the finding of new knowledge. Research

methodology is very important in framing a study from a

philosophical perspective and identifies the tools that are the

disposal of the researcher (Sekran, 2003).

Research methodology is to be distinguished from research

methods, insofar as methodology usually alludes to a

theoretical paradigm that is the basis of the research (Blaxter

et al, 2006). Method relates to the, “tools of data collection

or analysis: techniques such as questionnaires and interviews”

(Blaxter et al, 2006: 58).



Particular methods, for example, interviews are not confined to

one methodological approach either. The results of a

quantitative interview will produce different data to one that

is carried out under a qualitative model (Blaxter et al, 2006).

Kane et al (2001) make the distinction between qualitative and

quantitative methods, with the focus of qualitative research

being the production of data in words rather than figures.

Robson (2002) suggests that the qualitative approach has been

considered as the common sense one, whereas the quantitative

approach is based around scientific facts in a positivist

sense. However, he points out that such a conception is too

narrow, as there is as the two methodological approaches can

both be considered scientific. As he puts it:

Fixed designs, with their reliance on quantitative data and

statistical generalization, are considered by their proponents

to be ‘scientific’…..there are those, mainly from qualitative

traditions, who have no wish to have their research viewed as

‘science’…..there are strong arguments for characterizing both

fixed and flexible designs as scientific…

Fixed designs in research can involve surveys and experiments

(Robson, 2002). They are so-called because, with this type of

research, there is a significant amount of, “pre-specification

about what you are going to do and how you are going to do it”

(Robson, 2002: 4).

Flexible designs differ in that they require less pre-

specification than the fixed designs in terms of carrying out

research tasks (Robson, 2002). Robson (2002) points out that

although there is a tendency to label ‘qualitative’ and

‘flexible’ designs as being the same, this is not necessarily

the case as it is possible that, “such designs may well make

some use of methods which result in the data in the form of

numbers (quantitative) as well as in the form of words.”

(Robson, 2002:5). So, flexible designs tend to incorporate

qualitative methods frequently but not exclusively so.

Although design and methodology in research are separate

academic concepts, designs encompass methodology and are

henceforth inclusive of methods.

Finola McGinley Trading Places with

Fianna Fáil August 2011 30

3.5 Qualitative Research

Research methods can be classified into two approaches, that of

qualitative and quantitative. According to Punch (2005, p.3) as

cited in Blaxter et al (2006, p. 64), “quantitative research is

empirical research where the data are in the form of numbers.

Qualitative research is empirical research where the data are

not in the form of numbers.”

Quantitative research findings are largely considered as being

of a scientific nature whereas qualitative is based on

gathering information in many ways that does not involve

numbers (Blaxter et al, 2006).

There has been a tendency to polarize the two methodological

approaches as being scientific and based on large-scale numeric

‘evidence’ in the case of quantitative and as being focused on

collecting information on a small-scale, individual basis in

the case of the qualitative approach.

Although there are blatant differences between the two

approaches, there are also many similarities as outlined in

Figure 1.5 below

Source: (Oakley, 1999: 156)

Figure 3.1 The differences between qualitative and quantitative research

Qualitative Paradigms Quantitative paradigms

Seeks the facts/causes of socialphenomena

Obtrusive and controlled measurement

Objective

Removed from the data: the ‘outsider’ perspective

Ungrounded, verification oriented,reductionist,

Concerned with underscoring behaviour from actors’ own frames of reference

Naturalistic and uncontrolled observation

Subjective

Close to the data: the ‘insider’ perspective

Grounded,


August 2011 31

I have chosen to use qualitative methods in carrying out my

research. I also decided that the use of semi-structured

interviews would be most appropriate for my field of research.

According to Robson (2002), the semi-structured interview has

pre-specified questions but where questions can change order,

wording can be changed to suit interview conditions, as some

questions can be omitted if it is fitting. Robson (2002)

outlines the circumstances where a qualitative research

interview is most suitable (Figure 1.6 below). I have opted to

use qualitative research interviews for my dissertation as I

think they are the most appropriate technique at my disposal.

Figure 3.2

Circumstances in which a qualitative research interview is most appropriate

Where a study focuses on the meaning of a particular phenomena to the participants

Where individual perceptions of processes within a social unit- such as a work-group, department or whole organization- are to be studied prospectively, using a series of interviews

Where individual historical accounts are required of how a particular phenomenon developed- for instance, a new shift system

Where individual historical accounts are

Source: (Robson, 2002: 271)

I decided to use respondent interviews, where I would remain

in control of the interviews. Robson (2002) points out the

advantages of using interviews as a research method. He states

that, “the interview is a flexible and adaptable way of

finding things out” (2002: 272).



3.6 Conduct of Interviews

The nature of my questions had the aim of finding out what my

subjects knew and also what their opinions were on certain

topics. My questions were specific in relation to events of

the recent past and also general in some respects. I contacted

a variety of individuals who I felt would be useful subjects

to interview. They included a Communications Consultant who

has worked with the Fine Gael party for a number of years, a

Public Relations Consultant who has also worked with the party

in devising a PR strategy, a Political Analyst and Journalist

and the party’s director of elections in 2011.

The interviewees are as follows:

1. Ms Terry Prone- Public Relations and Communications

Consultant- Advisor to Enda Kenny in the period leading

up to and during the election campaign of 2011

2. Mr Mark Mortell- Public Relations and Communications

Consultant- Advisor to Enda Kenny the period leading up

to and during the election campaign of 2011

3. Mr Shane Coleman- Journalist, Political Analyst and Radio

Presenter

4. Phil Hogan TD- Minister of State and Director of

Elections for Fine Gael since 2010

I opted to use semi-structured questions, with a view to

changing them depending on the subject I was interviewing. I

used thirteen to fifteen questions per interviewee (Appendix

1). This type of interview is said to be less rigid and might

run more fluidly (Robson, 2002).

According to Robson (2002), the interview process can be less

complex than that of the structured interview. He is of the

view that the semi-structured interview is likely to have:

● Introductory comments (probably a verbatim script)

● List of topic headings and possibly key questions to ask

under these headings

● Set of associated prompts

● Closing comments

(Robson, 2002: 278)


August 2011 33

I also decided to use face-to-face interviews in all cases

except one. Blaxter et al (2006) believe that semi-structured

interviews lie at the half-way mark between structured and

unstructured. The semi-structured design of the questions I

drafted facilitated open-ended answers from my interview

subjects as the questions did not require specific answers. By

contrast, questionnaires would require specific answers

(Blaxter et al, 2006). I also decided to record my interviews

as I felt that this would be most advantageous. The face-to-

face interview is also advantageous in the sense that it

allows for, “a special insight’ into subjectivity (Rapley,

2004: 15). I chose my set of questions (subject to change

according to conditions during the interview) based on

“relevant and non-relevant academic literature," as is

encouraged by Rapley (2004: 17).

Robson also argues that face-to-face interviews also allow

for, “the possibility of modifying one’s line of enquiry….non-

verbal cues may give messages which help in understanding the

verbal response, possibly changing or even, in extreme cases,

reversing its meaning” (Robson: 273).

However, face-to-face interviews are time consuming as there

are logistical considerations.

In fact, interviews in general are time-consuming in terms of

transcription and carrying out the actual interview itself.

However, I thought that it was the correct technique of data

collection as the quality of results produced would underscore

any inconvenience caused by conducting and transcribing them.

Interviews can also have the disadvantages of bias in terms of

the type of answers that respondents give. They may be

inclined to give an answer that the interviewer wishes to hear

or that is in accordance with the party line. I taped two of

my interviews on a traditional style Dictaphone with a tape

including the phone interview I conducted with Mark Mortell. I

used a digital Dictaphone when it became available to me as it

is more effective than the tape Dictaphones which run the risk

of stopping during recording. The telephone interview has

advantages of being less demanding on logistics and time and

can be saved. However, phone interviews do not have the same

intimate dimension of a face-to-face interview and so the non-

verbal cues that are possible to detect in a face-to-face

interview are missed, at a potential detriment to the

interview outcome. However, in phone interviews the

interviewee might feel less intimidated as with a physical

face-to-face interview.



All interviewees were informed when recording began and ended.

Blaxter et al (2006) believe that taping or recording of

interviews is advantageous in the sense that a verbatim record

is maintained and the possibility of forgetting what the

interviewee might have said precisely is eliminated. However,

those being interviewed might be more conscious of what they

are saying and indeed be less inclined to reveal information

that would do otherwise.

I believe I chose my interviewees from a broad continuum that

would result in a more objective output in terms of data

collected.

3.7 Interview Analysis

Each interview lasted between fifteen and thirty minutes. I

audio-taped two of my four interviews and used a digital

Dictaphone to record the remaining two. I transcribed all of

the interviews shortly after I conducted them. I chose the

process of explicitation of the data to analyse my interview

data. This process is vindicated by Groenewald (2004) as cited

in Blaxter et al.

Source: (Groenwald, 2004 as reproduced in Blaxter et al, 2006:

211)

Figure 3.3 Examples of interview analysis

Explicitation of the data:

Bracketing and phenomenological reduction

Delineating units of meaning

Clustering of units of meaning to form themes

Summarising each interview, validating and where necessary modifying it

I was able to analyse the collected interview data through

cross comparison on a question-by- question basis and to

identify commonalities and also recognize dissimilarities.



The people I interviewed represented a cross section of those

involved in election campaigns from different perspectives,

that is, those who analyse elections from a media position,

those who advise parties on communications and public

relations and those who direct elections from within the

party. In this regard, there is an equal balance of external

and internal interview subjects. I chose my subjects carefully

with the intention that this would lead to a more objective,

balanced data output.

Two of my interviewees, Phil Hogan TD and Terry Prone were

interviewed in their own settings, that is, their respective

places of work. Shane Coleman was interviewed in a relatively

neutral location- relatively so because we both work in the

same work place albeit in different departments. I decided to

interview Mark Mortell by telephone as a last resort as there

were logistical issues with interviewing him face-to-face due

to time constraints and a lack of resources.

3.8 Ethics

I made initial contact with all of my chosen interviewees via

email. I followed up the initial email with a phone call where

the individual had not responded to my email. I recorded all

of my interviews with a traditional Dictaphone in the case of

my first two interviews and subsequently used a digital

Dictaphone for my other two interviews when it became

available to me.

I initially contacted eight individuals that I selected as

suitable interviewees. However, I was unable to interview four

of the people in question for reasons I will outline below.

I opted for the semi-structured approach to the interview

technique as I thought this was the most apt for my

dissertation.

I asked a variety of questions that allowed for facts but also

for the opinions and particular views of the interview

participants. I conducted my interviews in June and July of

2011.

3.9.1 Data Collection from Secondary Sources

Kumar (1999) believes that it is appropriate to use secondary

data on some occasions. He states that, “when your data has

been collected by someone else…you need only to extract the

required information for the purpose of your study” (1999:

124).


August 2011 36

After discussing the possibility of using secondary data prior

to undertaking my data collection, my dissertation supervisor

and I agreed that it would be feasible to use secondary data

in addition to primary data collected.

For example, it was suitable for me to collect data from polls

carried out by independent companies during and in the period

leading up to the election in February of 2011. In addition, a

lot of media reports from the periods in question were useable

for me to extract data from. Blaxter et al (2006) note that

the analysis of existing data can give to it by other

researchers can give it a fresh insight. Moreover, data that

was carried out in a particular context initially as part of a

particular study can be reproduced but in a different research

context, allowing it to be interpreted in a new light.

However, although it is acknowledged that secondary source

data can be used, it is advisable to be aware of the drawbacks

associated with this type of data collection.

When using secondary source data, the researcher must be

mindful of the possibility that the data might not be as

reliable, objective freely available or correctly formatted as

the primary data he or she will collect themselves (Kumar,

1999).

Figure 3.4 Reasons for using secondary data

Because collecting primary data is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

Because you can never have enough data

Because it makes sense to use it if the data you wantalready exists in some form

Because it may shed some light on, or complement, theprimary data you have collected

Source: (Blaxter et al, 2006: 171).


August 2011 37

Secondary data that I have used as part of my research

incorporates newspaper reports published during the election

and the period leading up to the formal election campaign. In

addition, I have used data collected from opinion polls that

were carried out by independent researchers published in the

media, from web sources including political party websites and

other web sources.

3.9.2 Limitations and Delimitations of Study

There were a number of limitations and delimitations to my

research. However, the distinction is that the limitations

were outside of my control as a researcher and the

delimitations I could influence. Among the limitations of my

study were the non-participation of approached interview

subjects and the potential reluctance of some of my

interviewees to reveal the secrets of the trade or information

that they might want to keep the electorate ignorant of, to

limit the risk of losing their trust.

Another limitation to my research was a lack of experience in

data analysis on the part of the researcher.

However, the biggest limitation was the non-responsiveness of

my chosen interviewee subjects to being interviewed. I feel

that there is a need to elaborate further on this limitation

as it proved to be a substantial hindrance to my primary data

collection process.

I contacted Mr Gavin Duffy, Media Consultant and received an

initial response from his personal assistant but following a

number of emails, I received no further response from him or

anyone working on his behalf.

I contacted the journalist and political analyst Mr Sam Smyth

by email and by telephone but did not receive any reply.

I contacted Mr Ciarán Conlon who worked as Fine Gael’s

director of communications in the run up to and during the

2011 election campaign. I received a response from Ciarán but

could not meet him at the date and time he suggested as it was

at very short notice. I suggested another time at his

convenience but I didn’t hear anything further from him. I

also contacted Feargal Purcell, Fine Gael’s assistant director

of communications who said that he was very busy but would try

and accommodate me to interview him some time in August.


August 2011 38

I contacted him a few weeks after his subsequent email but

received no response. However, I must state that the

individuals who allowed me to interview them were extremely

co-operative and flexible in terms of times and dates that

suited all parties involved. I was very satisfied with the

levels of assistance and quality of responses that I received

from the people I interviewed.

In terms of delimitations influencing my research, my contacts

in the Fine Gael party and in the Irish political context

allowed me access to the individuals that I needed to

interview, in the case of at least three of my interviewees.

3.9.3 Conclusions

The research methods available to the author were numerous and

a decision was taken to use qualitative methods in the form of

semi-structured interviews. Moreover, data was also collected

from secondary sources as this was considered to be

appropriate by the author and this type of data gathering has

many benefits to the researcher.

The author attempted to give a balanced view of the benefits

and drawbacks associated with the various methods of research

available and also a philosophical outline of how methods can

be incorporated into the wider field of research methodology.

Limitations and delimitations to the research have also been

explored.

In the next chapter, the author will demonstrate the findings

of her research.


CHAPTER 4- FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the data collected during the qualitative

interviews was analysed using explicitation. I scrutinised the

data to identify regularities or commonalities. This method of

qualitative interview analysis is analogous to the immersion

approaches as expounded by Robson (2002), who describes the

process in the following terms:

(Robson,

2002: 458)

Figure 4.1 Immersion Approaches

Least Structured and most interpretive, emphasizing researcher insight, intuition and creativity

Methods are fluid and not systematized

Close to literary/artistic interpretation and connoisseurship (calling for expert knowledge and

The ability to think logically is a prerequisite of carrying

out qualitative analysis. It must be obvious at the end of the

conclusions chapter how the researcher made his or her

particular conclusions and so the data analysis approach must

be explored in all the necessary detail (Robson, 2002).


August 2011 40

Analytic steps must be taken in an orderly fashion and Miles

and Huberman (1994: 9) outline what they believe these steps

to be:

1. Giving Codes to the intial set of materials obtained from

observation, interviews, documentary analysis, etc

2. Adding comments, reflections, etc (commonly referred to as

‘memos’)

3. Going through the materials trying to identify similar

phrases, patterns, themes, relationships, sequences,

differences between sub-groups, etc

4. Taking these patterns, themes, etc out to the field to

help focus the next wave of data collection

5. Gradually elaborating a small set of generalizations that

cover the consistencies you discern in the data

6. Linking these generalizations to a formalized body of

knowledge in the form of constructs or theories

Blaxter et al state that, “analysis is meant to be a rigorous

process, using data that has been carefully produced and

managed. In the end, however, what you produce from it is your

own ‘document,’ an attempt to persuade your readers of your

own interpretation” (Blaxter et al, 2006: 207).

The responses of my interviewees will be analysed on the basis

of codes that produce recurring themes. In addition, I will

examine the data collected from documentary sources with a

view to measuring the responses of interviewees where it is

feasible.

My findings will be classified as follows:

1. Interview Analysis2. Documentary/Secondary Data Analysis3. Campaign Analysis from a Media Perspective4. Incumbent and Challenger Campaign Communication Style


4.2 Analysis of Interview Data

Beginning the process of analysing my interview data involved

coding all the questions and answers according to the nature

of the question. This made it easier to carry out a cross

analysis of each answer.

There were numerous recurring themes that emerged from the

analysis of interview data. All four interviewees believe that

simplicity of language was pursued by Fine Gael during the

2011 election campaign. Shane Coleman noted that the ‘five

point plan,’ a synopsis of Fine Gael’s party manifesto was

used consistently throughout the campaign and in the months

preceding the calling of the election.

Well, I think they had very simple messages. They had their

five point plan, which they stuck to rigidly, the whole way

during the campaign.

Shane Coleman

Phil Hogan also identified the five point plan as being

pivotal to their communications during the campaign. The five

point plan was a focal message that was communicated to the

electorate via the party’s website, election literature, the

traditional media, the social media and through politicians

and canvassers at doorsteps. Phil Hogan divulged that the five

point plan was not devised overnight, but rather, it was a

result of a more lengthy process of communication strategizing

by party advisors.

Well it reached the situation where people were bored talking

about the five point plan. In fact, when politicians and

candidates were getting bored, the public were just hearing it

for the first time….We knew then, that as a communication

tool, the five point plan had been very effective.

Phil Hogan


August 2011 42

Phil Hogan also revealed that that the five point plan was

developed in September 2010, many months before the election

was eventually called. At that point in time, the party would

not have been aware that the election was to be held in the

following February. It lends credence to the idea that

campaigning and strategizing is a process which does not begin

the day an election is called but happens well in anticipation

of the main event.

In fact, the three weeks leading up to election day is merely

a phase of the campaign, if a more intensive one (Collins and

Butler in Gallagher and Marsh, 2008).

All four interviewees also concurred that middle class voters

were the primary target for communication in 2011 for Fine

Gael. Middle class or swing voters were identified as being

crucial targets for the party if they were to be successful.

I think middle class voters. I mean, they’re always the people

you target. They’re the swing voters….they were focusing on

the key commuter belt; people who bought houses in the last

ten years, people who were living in the greater Dublin area,

Meath and louth and Wicklow, all those areas were crucial.

Shane Coleman

This finding is unsurprising if one considers that the

commuter belt areas listed by Coleman were also a key target

for the party in 2007 and so messages were directed at

discontented middle earners- reduced stamp duty, lower income

tax and a tough stance on crime were key messages or promises

that were communicated by Fine Gael on election literature and

through the media in 2007 (Gallagher and Marsh, 2008).

Phil Hogan said that people in middle Ireland who were

experiencing mortgage difficulties were targeted by the party

in the quest for stealing votes. Some of their election slogan

included on literature that was sent to the homes of voters

exemplifies this aspect of their communication strategy.


Figure 4.2 A Message that was used on Fine Gael’s election

literature in 2011

(Fine Gael Election Literature, 2011)

Interestingly, Terry Prone also said that the party were

targeting middle class voters but their communication strategy

would have been further narrowed towards women and men in

their twenties and thirties- these people were the swing

voters.

There was a feeling that women would be hugely important

because they would be more reachable-particularly women aged

25-35, but men also in that age group.

Terry Prone

She also mentioned that a crucial factor that will likely

determine whether people vote or not lies in their degree of

stake-holding or investment both in a social and economic

sense in a country- vindicating the reasons she believes

voters in the mid-twenties to mid-thirties age-bracket were so

fundamentally important for the party to communicate

effectively to.

Until people become investors, until they become invested in a

country-they have a stable relationship, they’ve taken out a

mortgage, they tend not to vote.

Terry Prone


August 2011 44

This also ties in with the responses of two of the other

interviewees when asked about the target segments of voters

who messages were to be directed as a priority. Families-

young women and young men who had young families and probably,

who had mortgage repayment difficulties were a prime target of

the party during the formal election campaign and this is

demonstrated by some of their campaign slogans, as is evident

from Figure 3.3 on page 43.

These segments of the electorate live in commuter belt Ireland

and are considered to be ‘floating’ voters.

Everybody was a target because of the difficulties of the

country brought on by the previous Government, our

predecessors, so particularly who we were targeting was people

in middle Ireland who were under pressure from the point of

view of jobs and higher mortgages.

Phil Hogan

Fine Gael promised that they would bring in mortgage interest

relief…

Shane Coleman

In terms of tactics of communication employed during the

formal campaign, Mark Mortell highlighted the importance of

using the media in a strategic way, so that it is most

beneficial for the party’s image on any given day and the onus

lies with party communications directors to ensure they are

communicating the right information at the right time.

There would be plugging into the daily news cycle which is

crucially important, because particularly with RTE it all very

carefully managed and balanced out to make sure there is

political balance based on a formula, you have to make sure

that you’re doing things in a way that reflects the cycle of

what news programmes use. On the broadcast side, this

facilitates the written press guise and also news generation

that gets people talking in the constituencies.

Mark Mortell


August 2011 45

It is significant that Mark Mortell refers to the

constituencies here because it is implicative of the

continuing significance of localism in Irish politics.

Communication to a local audience is also a priority, as well

as at national level and this is something that Party

headquarters have to be mindful of when a centralised national

communications campaign is launched, according to Terry Prone.

I would have laid a restless emphasis on radio and

particularly local radio because people become enthralled by

television because it’s like, ‘wow, I liked his or her

jacket.’ Radio is a much better medium for attitude and

behaviour change, local radio even more so. The objective was

to have people (candidates) confident, so that every time they

went on their local radio station they said something that was

interesting, understandable and memorable…’

Terry Prone

Local issues tend to be the ones that can ultimately sway

voters in their decisions on who to vote for. For example, the

issue of the closing of services in Roscommon general Hospital

is considered to have been a particularly important in

influencing voter choices at the polling booths in the 2011

general election.

As Collins and Butler in Gallagher and Marsh (2008: 45) state,

the “local campaign is usually about constituency service,

visibility and accessibility.”

However, although local issues have undoubted significance in

determining who the electorate will vote for, seventy five per

cent of my interviewees mentioned the economy as being

paramount in deciding their campaign messages. Mark Mortell

said that the economic situation in Ireland was the main

underlying theme behind the five point plan.

The communication for this campaign in 2011 was rooted around

a structure we devised to deal with a combination of the

economic crisis the country was facing and to present some

sense of hope for the future when we developed this package of

the five point plan.

Mark Mortell


August 2011 46

People blamed Fianna Fáil for the mess that so many people

were in financially and economically and in terms of

unemployment. They were the ones responsible for creating the

boom and therefore took the credit for it. Therefore the

public decided that they were also equally responsible for the

bust and they gave them credit by voting them out of office.

Phil Hogan

Figure 4.3 Fine Gael’s now infamous ‘Five Point Plan’ Election

Literature

Source: (Galway West Constituency Fine Gael Website, 2011)

I asked my interviewees a specific question on the perception

that Irish, if not, all European political communications

styles have been modelled on those used in the US, most

recently by Obama and Clinton. All recipients are of the view

that this is not the case but rather, Irish politicians are

incorporating communications techniques that have been around

for quite some time into their campaigns and it is being

casually linked to those used by US incumbents and

challengers. However, Irish politicians and their professional

advisors are not necessarily ignorant to developments that are

occurring in other parts of the world.


August 2011 47

Well, no modern political party can ignore what is happening

in other jurisdictions. We have looked at the UK and the US

for good practice to see what we can learn from those

experiences. One of the fundamental issues in the last two

elections is that you cannot drive a political machine without

a good steering wheel and the steering wheel is good research.

We have spent a lot of money through our American associates

on good quality research which has been very effective for us.

Phil Hogan

This is consistent with what Shane Coleman said when I asked

him about the Americanization of our communication processes.

I know previously Fine Gael had American strategists and

Fianna Fáil did as well. Maybe it was more obvious in the 2007

campaign. I remember Enda’s ‘Sign the contract’ campaign…I

think what all political parties do is, they get all the best

advice from all around the world; what works in campaigns and

it’s pretty clear what works in campaigns.

Shane Coleman

One of the problems with a very successful American

practitioner, whether it’s Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, is

that when a political party like Fine Gael does a particular

thing in speeches or television appearances after the American

elections of Obama or Clinton, people tie the two together…

Terry Prone

Terry Prone is the most dismissive of the four interviewees as

regards the extent of the impact of the Americanization of

communication in Irish politics. She believes that Irish

politicians, specifically, Enda Kenny, was only using

communication techniques that had been around for years,

thousands of years in fact.


August 2011 48

It is common in any advice for communicating in speeches, that

you must give repetitive themes so that the same phrase comes

back. It goes back to ancient Greece, it isn’t new….it’s

something all of us knew from way back. So I would figure that

there was much less influence than was believed to have been.

Terry Prone

4.3 Analysis of Secondary/Documentary Data

I chose to use secondary data collection as part of my

qualitative research methodology, as I came to the conclusion

that documents that had been produced by other individuals, in

this case, political analysts and commentators in the media

who gave accounts of the election campaign tools, tactics and

strategies that were used by the parties in the run up to and

during the formal election campaign period.

However, I did consider the precautions that are to be taken

into account while analysing this type of data. It has been

recommended that these documents should not be taken at ‘face-

value.’ As Blaxter et al (2006: 208) point out, “much of the

significance and interest in documents is revealed when they

are considered in relation to each other.”

So, keeping this in mind, I gathered approximately forty

documents from media sources, from party websites, party

manifestos, election literature and political websites, with a

focus on Fine Gael’s campaign.

I sought to complete a comparative analysis and as with the

qualitative interviews that I conducted, I aimed to identify

recurring themes and significant contradictions relating to

Fine Gael’s campaign.

The scope and depth of the documents I analysed was

considerable. I chose to collect and analyse a broad range of

data to achieve this and I will go on to discuss my findings

at length.

4.4 Campaign Analysis from a Media Perspective

In the days leading up to the formal dissolution of the 30th

Dáil and the setting of the date for the general election to

take place, the polls carried out on behalf of national

newspapers revealed some interesting statistics.


August 2011 49

Twenty-Six per cent of respondents to a national opinion poll

carried out by Millward Brown Landsdowne on behalf of the

Sunday Independent were satisfied with Enda Kenny’s

performance as leader of Fine Gael. This laid a particularly

negative reflection on the potential future Taoiseach who was

challenging for office and indicated a poor perception of

Kenny in his leadership and communication style.

By contrast, Michael Martin of Fianna Fáil and more

significantly, Eamon Gilmore, the Labour party leader are

polling at thirty one per cent and twenty six per cent

respectively in national polls of a sample of the electorate

aged over eighteen’s preferences for the next Taoiseach (Irish

Times, 2011a).

Enda Kenny was perceived as lagging in popularity in terms of

his appeal to the voters to be a good choice of Taoiseach. The

polls and opinions of political commentators demonstrated this

even up to a few weeks before polling day.

One political commentator in the Irish Times (2011a:3) noted

that in the days leading up to the election, Enda Kenny seemed

quietly confident in terms of his communication, “it takes the

form of a calmness and maturity, a sense that he is finally at

peace with who and what he is, including his limitations.”

This is consistent with views expressed by half of my

interviewees in relation to how Kenny communicates and how

there had tended to be a perception of him by the media and

the public, as a weak orator and a poor communicator. Shane

Coleman and Terry Prone reflected on Enda Kenny as a

communicator, as leader of Fine Gael.

I’m guessing that….Enda Kenny was liked on a personal level,

but that maybe there was a question mark as to whether he was

strong on policy and so on.

Shane Coleman


August 2011 50

He (Kenny) was the most the most misunderstood human being

during the election. In the run up to the election, he was

believed to be a disaster in communications terms, that he

would be a public embarrassment, that he couldn’t answer

questions, he couldn’t answer questions, none of which was

true. Enda Kenny was always a brilliant orator.

Terry Prone

Another campaign tactic that was identified by a political

analyst in the media and by twenty-five per cent of my

interviewees was the reinforcement of the message to

stakeholders that Enda Kenny was the leader of a team, a

strong team that were consistently behind him at most press

conferences, indeed often acting as his surrogate when

questions were being asked by the media.

This did lead to speculation that Kenny was being hid

intentionally to avoid the risk of any communications blunders

being made by him when being questioned about policy and

surrogate speakers were presented instead, such as James

Reilly and Leo Varadkar. The use of surrogates is a common

challenger tactic identified by Trent and Friedenberg (2000).

However, the presentation of Kenny as ‘chairman’ of a strong

team of future government ministers conveyed a strong message

that the so-called ‘weak’ leader and Achilles heel of Fine

Gael had the calm, authoritative aura of a Taoiseach to be.

“Fine Gael’s party manifesto launch in the crowded function

room of the Royal College of Physicians…is almost surreal. Six

Square-jawed males on the platform…the confidence radiating

from the party is mighty” (Sheridan, 2011).

This documentary data is also consistent with the view of

Shane Coleman, who is of the view that Fine Gael’s

communication strategy can be dichotomised in terms of a one-

man presidential campaign focused on Kenny and another that

involved rest of the party and its policies.

They had a presidential campaign kind of, on one hand, with

Enda very much fronting it, but very much as a chairman. They

had the sort of strong team behind team behind them leaning

heavily on the likes of Michael Noonan, James Reilly, Phil

Hogan, Leo Varadkar and so on. So it was almost like a two-

tier campaign.

Shane Coleman


August 2011 51

This strong team message was tangibly communicated on election

literature as well as through the media.

Figure 4.4 Fine Gael’s Campaign Slogan ‘Let’s Get Ireland

Working’

Source: (Now Public Website, 2011)

Figure 4.5 Fine Gael’s Corporate Logo

Source: (Twomey, 2011)


August 2011 52

In terms of whether the digital ‘cloud’ approach to their

online campaign actually translated into votes for Fine Gael,

there is no direct established way of measuring its success.

There is still a perception that some politicians are using

the social media and online tools as another way of

broadcasting are not fully utilizing the potential that the

social media to interact with citizens (Elkin, 2011). One view

is that there is ‘me-too’ attitude among politicians and

parties to jump on the band-wagon as it is the populist thing

to do at the moment. Hundreds of candidates set up twitter and

Facebook accounts in January of 2011, “putting up details of

their own ideas, their own policies, the party line……the

candidates who have been on it a little longer or understand

the medium a little better, are using it to actually engage,

so they are listening to the questions that are coming in and

answering questions” (Elkin, 2011:2).

Fine Gael invested considerable financial resources into their

online campaign in 2011 according to Director of Elections and

one of my interviewees Phil Hogan.

We spent a considerable amount of resources on the social

media and social networking in order to reinforce the messages

of the five-point plan and it was very effective, particularly

with younger age groups.

Phil Hogan

Indeed it was reported that Fine Gael had an army of young,

intelligent, tech-savvy volunteers who were working around the

clock from party headquarters to keep the online and social

media campaign up-to-date. According to Kathy Sheridan (Irish

Times Online, 19/02/11), “in the backrooms of the party’s

gracious, Georgian headquarters in Mount Street…a roster of

more than 30 young volunteers, paid in pizza and cans of coke,

sit hunched over laptops, reaching out to a younger cohort

through social media.”

The Americanization of the online communication processes used

by the party if you consider that an American software

developer, Election Mall, were given the task of developing

their online cloud computing system, which included the e-

canvasser gismo, a tool that had never been used by a

political party in an Irish election campaign before

(Sheridan, 2011).



However, not all of my interviewees were positive about the

developments that have taken place with regard to online

communication in politics. Terry Prone believes that the

impact of the online campaign in Irish politics is over-rated.

They (social media) were incorporated because of a belief that

they had to be. They were incorporated because of the myths

that surround them. They were incorporated finally because of

the myth that Barack Obama had been elected because of his use

of social media.

Terry Prone

Terry Prone’s view on how Irish politicians have not grasped

the potential of the online tools for communication purposes

is also consistent with of Elkin (2011).

She uses the example of Dan Boyle, former Green Party Senator,

who is a prominent user of the social media, in particular

twitter.

I’m not sure that Dan has distinguished between communicating

with a purpose and self-expression. That’s one of the key

problems about social media. It veers towards self –expression

rather than having an objective.

Terry Prone

Mulley as cited in Elkin (2011:1) is also of the view that

many politicians are using the online tools in the wrong

manner. “I think right now, in the election, perhaps with one

or two exceptions, the parties have taken what they have done

traditionally [with] canvassing and posters and tried to apply

it online and do the same thing….I guess they forget that the

number one thing about social media is that it’s social, it’s

about people and interactions and there are a few candidates

that respond to people, but everybody else is just pushing

stuff out.”



Another criticism of Fine Gael’s online campaign was that it

was not used effectively for funding purposes like Obama’s was

in 2008. O’Leary as cited in Elkin (2011:2) suggested that

this might be because Fine Gael does not require donations

garnered online as they are already very well-funded from

other sources.


As the author referred to in the literature review, it is now

recognised in academia that many political parties are engaged

in an on-going process to court public opinion through the

application of commercial marketing analogies, using focus-

groups, polling and questionnaires (Lees-Marshment, 2009;

Ormrod 2006; Sparrow 2001).

There is much evidence from recent elections including the

2011 general election that Fine Gael would fit into the

market-oriented party model as proposed by Lees-Marshment

(2009).

Sparrow (2001) also notes that there is a centralised

dictation to party campaigns with the declining role for the

activist and the individual candidate. Indeed Phil Hogan

acknowledged that good research was a priority for the party

during this campaign. The aim was to deliver a focused,

centralised set of messages to the electorate, based on the

results of market research.

It’s hugely important to have good detailed, drilled down

research into the issues that are affecting people and that

they’re well tested….done by polling and focus groups.

Phil Hogan

However, he did not think that this market-orientation would

result in a party lacking in any core values or empty

ideology.

Fundamentally, these issues have to fit in with the values of

the party and they have to resonate with the electorate,

through your core base but also give you potential to widen

your core base on these principles.

Phil Hogan


August 2011 66

Terry Prone vindicates this view as she believes that although

marketing tools like opinion polls were important for the

party, the party’s campaign did not become defined by

marketing outcomes. She gave the example of the outcome to the

leadership heave against Enda Kenny in 2010 to support this

belief.

The problem with opinion polls is that in the searching for

public opinion, it can sometimes wind up defining what a party

is about. I would credit Fine Gael for not allowing that to

happen…..opinion polls had been so defeatist for so long, that

Fine Gael decided to disregard them to an extent, particularly

Enda Kenny’s polls, but they simply said this man can never be

Taoiseach. That undoubtedly contributed to the heave six

months before the election.

Terry Prone

The significance of the permanent campaign cannot be ignored

however, as Sparrow (2001) points out the emphasis of party

strategy in recent years has shifted towards image and

presentation. Parties have become like commercial

organizations who are trying to win voters support and

maintain that support until the next election at which point

the party will hope that they have built up sufficient trust

to repeat the sale.

However, there is a dichotomy that emerges within the

permanent campaign concept. Collins and Butler in Gallagher

and Marsh (2008: 42) highlight the fact that, “all marketing

strategies designed at corporate headquarters are tempered to

varying degrees by local conditions where different issues,

competitive priorities and communication styles reveal

themselves.” Candidates from the larger parties such as Fine

Gael are often competing with each in their constituencies for

the last seat and this proved to be the case in 2011.

The party headquarters has limited control in vote management

strategy in constituencies and it is often a high profile or

support base among voters that extends beyond partisan ties

(Collins and Butler in Gallagher and Butler, 2011: 42).

Constituency service over a number of years, prominence and

availability are often as important in deciding what

candidates voters will elect, demonstrating the importance of

localism in Irish politics.

Finola McGinley Trading Places with Fianna FáilAugust 2011 67

4.7 Conclusion

The data that I collected from conducting my interviews and

analysis of documentary data was rich in both depth and scope.

I was able to establish many recurring themes from the data

but also degrees of incongruity with regard to the personal

views of some of my interviewees and some of the documents I

examined.

I established that simple messages were a priority for Fine

Gael with regards to communication with the electorate. The

‘five-point plan’ was developed by the party, basically a

catchy and very memorable mini set of messages, based on

policies that were communicated to the electorate via election

literature, through advertising, the party’s online sites,

election posters and by the parties leading politicians and

candidates at doors in the media.

I also identified that market research was carried out

extensively by party in the years preceding the election and

considerable resources were invested into doing this research.

The party’s messages and slogans such as ‘let’s get Ireland

working’ and specific aspects of the five point plan that they

developed, for example, a universal health system and mortgage

interest relief clearly targeted middle class, floating

voters.

The party’s stance in national opinion polls in the weeks

during the formal election campaign and the period leading up

to it was consistently in the thirties in percentage terms and

this increased steadily as polling day grew closer,

demonstrating the effectiveness of the party’s simple,

consistent messages.

The communication skills of party leader Enda Kenny were

questioned by many commentators in the media but his

popularity increased in the polls leading up to election day,

showing that the public’s opinion of him leader and future

Taoiseach had improved.

This also indicated that his media appearances and the party’s

communication strategy of Ends as chairman of a strong team

was a success and people bought into that image. The decision

to refrain from participating in one of television set-pieces

also communicated a leader who was confident enough to take a

bold move that would leave him open to being branded

incompetent, but nevertheless this gamble paid off as his poll

ratings did not dwindle as a result.



Trent and Friedenberg (2000) proposed two different styles of

communication that are used by parties during an election

campaign, that of the challenger and the incumbent. Fine Gael

used both of these at different pints in the campaign. The

author drew the conclusion from the analysis of the data that

those were pragmatic incumbent strategies, such as

manipulating the economy and also challenger styles such as

calling for change and attacking their rivals. Arguably they

did this with some success.

The data also revealed that Fine Gael pursued a market-

orientation approach to their campaign, as proposed by Lees-

Marshment (2006).

Social media and the internet played a more prominent role

than ever before for the party in this election and they used

a ‘cloud’ approach to their digital campaign, with a corporate

template used consistently throughout their online content.

Finola McGinley Trading places with Fianna Fáil August 2011 69

CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION

5.1 Introduction

The purpose of this study was to critically examine the

communication strategy that Fine Gael pursued during the 2011

election campaign.

My aim was to examine the strategy that allowed the party to

switch places with Fianna Fáil, to become the largest party in

Dáil Éireann for the first time since the establishment of the

Irish state.

When examining communication styles that were used by the

party, I was able to identify that Fine Gael used various

aspects of incumbent and challenger styles.

It was also my intention to examine the area of political

marketing and critically examine whether Fine Gael used

commercial marketing techniques in their quest for office.

It was also an objective of mine to examine the area of social

media and the internet and how Fine Gael incorporated it into

their overall communication plan.

I also wanted to investigate the idea the campaigning is

permanent and does not begin when an election is called, as

conceptualised by Blumenthal (1981).

The data that I yielded provides a fresh perspective on the

ways in which political parties communicate with the

electorate and how the foundations of solid political

party/electorate relationships are constructed in a democratic

context.

5.2 Communication Style/Tactics that were used

Fine Gael pursued a vigorous election campaign that reinforced

strong messages that were used consistently throughout

advertising, on election literature, in the media and online.

All of their politicians were well versed in the party’s ‘five

point plan’ which became the party’s mantra during the

election. Following extensive market research in the form of

focus groups, polls and questionnaires that were ordered to be

carried out by party headquarters, the party whittled its

policies down to this synopsised version.


August 2011 70

Fine Gael were the challengers for Government in this

election, as they had been previously in 2007 and the most

disastrous election defeat the party ever experienced, in

2002. Since 2002, the party hired a new director of

communications and set about the enormous task of rebuilding

the party’s image after such a humiliating setback.

This election was markedly different to the previous two,

however, as the state had just seen the worst economic

implosion in its history. The polls in the months preceding

the eventual election indicated that Fine Gael were leading in

terms of popularity, but that their leader, Enda Kenny was an

‘Achilles heel’ as he was, in the opinion of a vast number of

Irish voters, unfit to be the next Taoiseach.

The party opted to use a combination of challenger and

incumbent communication styles which ultimately led them to

their greatest ever electoral victory, winning seventy-six

seats and increasing their share by twenty-five seats in 2007.

The challenger style characteristics that were used by the

party incorporated calling for change, appearing acquainted

with other world leaders, employing surrogate speakers and

emphasising accomplishments from a period they were in office.

They promised wide reforms in the political system including

the reduction in the number of TDs, holding a referendum on

the whether to abolish the Seanad, cutting Oireachtas holiday

periods and a restructuring of the EU/IMF financial bailout to

Ireland.

Meetings were staged between him and Angela Merkel and José

Manuel Barroso, giving the appearance of a serious politician

who was acquainted with other world leaders.

Surrogate speakers were used during press conferences and

media interviews with other leading party figures like James

Reilly and Leo Varadkar taking Enda Kenny’s place during the

campaign.

Past accomplishments while Fine Gael were in office were also

highlighted with a reference to the establishment of a

constitutional Irish Republic in 1949 and high employment

levels in 1997, the last year Fine Gael were in Government

prior to 2011.

They also made use of pragmatic incumbent communication

strategies, manipulating the economic crisis they country

faced to their advantage, creating pseudovents through the

manufacture of news stories such as Kenny’s meetings with

Merkel and Barroso.


August 2011 71

It is also arguable that an ‘above the political trenches’

posture was adopted by Enda Kenny as he refused to take part

in any vitriolic attacks on his rivals. The Labour party

launched an attack on Fine Gael by branding them a stealth tax

party but Fine Gael did not retaliate by resorting to spiteful

advertisements such as Labour’s ‘Every Little Hurts,’ which

accused Fine Gael of being a stealth tax party.

Kenny was presented a dignified, calm and confident

‘statesmanlike’ figure in the live television leader’s debates

and he re-emphasised the party’s ‘five point plan’ at evcery

opportunity.

5.3 Political Marketing of the Campaign

The author was able to establish that Fine Gael adopted a

market-oriented approach to campaigning, analogous to a

commercial organisation. Intensive market research was carried

out by the party to establish what voters wanted and a

comprehensive set of policies were drafted to incorporate

voter demands, based on the research findings. The policy

documents to emerge from this process included the ‘Fair Care’

health plan, the ‘New Era’ economic stimulus plan and ‘New

Politics’ proposal which all promised radical political and

economic change. These policy documents were drafted from

2009, demonstrating the long-term agenda of the party and the

validity of the permanent campaign.

Lees-Marshment (2001) is of the view that the market-oriented

party develops a set of policies based on market research and

then aims to sell its policies to the electorate through a

communications strategy.

We can see how Fine Gael delivered this through condensing

their policies to a five-point plan, which was communicated

through simple, consistent messages throughout the campaign

and no changing of policy position, which could lead people to

believe the party had empty values. The corporate template

that Fine Gael developed before the 2007 election was retained

as market research shown it had been popular with voters

(Collins and Butler in Gallagher and Marsh, 2008). This

template was used uniformly in all Fine Gael advertising

material, election literature and online.

Finola McGinley Trading Places wiht Fianna


Middle-class or floating voters were the primary segment of

the voting market that the party targeted through their

messages and themes, which emphasised ‘mortgage interest

relief’ for those families and young couples that were having

difficulty making repayments and promising less tax increases

than their main rivals, the Labour party.

Needham (2005) proposes relationship building as part of the

permanent campaign once a challenger takes office and she

believes the development of a successful brand where consumers

or voters develop loyalty to the party can be assessed through

examining six characteristics of successful brands, namely

simplicity, uniqueness, reassurance, aspiration, values and

credibility.

Clearly this poses a difficulty because it would be impossible

to assess whether these attributes can be applied to Fine

Gael’s incumbent communications as they are only in office

over six months at the time this study will go to print.

However, it is possible to critically apply at least three of

the brand attributes proposed by Needham to Fine Gael’s

campaign. Simplicity is applicable to their messages, which

were the basis of the ‘five point plan’- ‘health,’ ‘jobs’ and

‘budget’ promised radical changes in the health system, in

public expenditure not by cutting but by reducing waste to

help correct the exchequer deficit’ and introducing a new

universal health system to replace the two-tier public/private

one that exists.

They differentiated themselves as being unique by proposing

radical political reform to reduce the number of TDs in

Government and draft a new constitution under their ‘new

politics’ policy document. They also consolidated their

reformist, yet right-wing ideological stance by threatening to

take on vested interests including unions, in contrast to the

Labour party.

In terms of values, Fine Gael’s could be neatly summed up as

‘new,’ ‘reform,’ and ‘vision,’ a new Government, with a new,

reduced public sector that is more efficient and a new, fairer

health system.


5.4 Social Media/Internet Usage in the 2011 Campaign

This election campaign was branded the first true social media

campaign in Irish politics. Fine Gael took a very professional

approach to through their online campaign through the use of

digital ‘cloud’ system, developed by a US software company.

They did something unprecedented by any Irish political party

and transformed their website into a forum, analogous to

Barack Obama’s in 2008, substituting hundreds of pages for

just one, encouraging interaction with voters in an online

context.

It would seem that at least one of the big political parties

showed signs of recognizing the potential of the social media

to attract voter participation, but there remains scepticism

over whether it actually translates into votes with people who

wouldn’t otherwise, particularly younger voters who are the

predominant net users, of social media in particular.

Many candidates in the last election, although having

established Facebook and Twitter accounts have not grasped the

full potential of these tools and their interactive,

dialogical platforms. This is evidenced by the fact that many

do not engage with voters by answering questions and leaving

their accounts with only bare, readily available elsewhere,

biographical information and policies that reinforce the party

line.

It would seem that many politicians have not made the

distinction between true communication and self-expression, an

occurrence that is liable to change in the future as the

online tools currently available develop even further.

4.8 Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Research

It is clear from the findings of this study that Fine Gael

used a very effective communications strategy leading to

comprehensive electoral success in the 2011 general election.

The party used commercial market research in their campaign as

challengers for office, having been in that position for

almost fourteen years prior to the election of 2011.

The literature on political marketing and political

communication available to the author was considerable, some

of which was problematic for the purpose of hypothesizing.


August 2011 74

For example, Lees-Marshment has drawn up a theoretical model

that can be used to classify parties based on their approach

to political marketing. However, Lees-Marshment’s model is

limited insofar as the basis of her studies were all carried

out retrospectively in a UK context, with a focus on New

labour and the Conservative administrations of that time.

Moreover, as Ormrod (2006) pointed out, the model is limited

in that it seemingly can only be applied retrospectively to

party behaviour in a marketing sense.

Likewise, the relationship building concept as the permanent

campaign with its six attributes as proposed by Needham has

not been applied proscriptively, but is limited to the narrow

focus of her study based on the premierships of Blair and

Clinton.

There is a lack of academic literature currently available on

the use of social media in political campaigns and much of the

research that has been carried out on the use of the internet

in general in political communication is now almost a decade

old or more, so this indicates there is a need for fresh

studies to be carried out and new insights to be made on that

subject area.

Finally, there is presently a wide vacuum in the Irish

political context for the production of academic literature on

Irish campaigns. A lot of the studies have been carried out to

date on elections from the point of view of political

marketing and political communication have been confined to a

US or UK setting, where naturally difficulties are to be

encountered for the researcher who tries to critically apply

theories and draw analogies from political systems that are

fundamentally different to the one that exists in Ireland.


August 2011 75

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Trading Places with Fianna Fáil: The Communication Strategy that led Fine Gael to become the largest party in Dáil Éireann in 2011

Documents