Political marketing advances by engaging with new and advanced concepts from both of its parent disciplines. One of the most recent fields of brand research—the study of the human brand—is taken into the political marketing arena in this essay. Human branding is an emergent topic in mainstream marketing. The value as a brand of a person who is well-known and subject to explicit marketing communications efforts is being investigated in many fields. The concept has clear prima facie value in political marketing, where the role of a political leader as part of the political marketing offer has been recognized extensively. Politics is also a unique context given the relationship between leaders and parties, each of which has some unique brand associations. The process of exploring the application of human branding in politics also provides a context in which some of the interactions among party and leader, human brand, and organizational brand can be explored and further developed. Among the conclusions are that political party leaders require brand authenticity as an advocate of the party policy platform and brand authority to command the organization and deliver on the policies being advocated. Implications for party and campaign management are outlined.

As researchers in the social sciences seek an understanding of the spectacular rise of China, the seemingly counterintuitive stance of an autocratic regime attaining such sustained economic performance challenges multiple analytical frames. The relatively ponderous responses of the United States and Europe to recent global conditions, and the democratic uprisings in Arabic states, further represent a glaring contrast. While the marketing literature is rich in the particulars of specific management issues in the China market, no analysis from the discipline has attempted to provide a broad, distinctly marketing contribution to the China phenomenon. Choice is a fundamental construct underpinning theories of politics, economics and marketing, though it is notably absent from Chinese politics. The changing relationship between markets, business and government reveals a question that is clearly important to marketers, and China is a challenging boundary case for marketing management.

Abstract The coalition government that resulted from the 2010 general election represents a new scenario in the British political marketplace with implications for political marketing theory and practice. The modelling of political marketing in the UK has evolved in relatively stable market conditions in which majority governments are elected; the market restructure arising from the 2010 election outcome offers an opportunity for a revised understanding of the field. Political science has established an important and dynamic body of knowledge that explains the founding and operation of coalitions. A comparative appraisal of coalition government and commercial cooperative arrangements indicates some commonalities. Western European elections are characterised by multiple actors, regional preferences, smaller parties, cooperative distribution of power, and assumed negotiability of the offer. As the British political marketplace evolves to exhibit similar characteristics, insights from these markets are used to contribute to the more multifaceted, cooperative models of political marketing management required for the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between human brands and organisational brands. Human brands represent an area of research that has begun to develop from some atheoretical origins (e.g. Peters 1999, Andrusia and Haskins 2000, Graham 2001), and where some theory building has recently been attempted (Thomson 2006, Lair, Sullivan and Cheney 2005, Hearn 2008). The most widely cited paper in the area defines the human brand as “any well-known persona who is the subject of marketing communications efforts” (Thomson 2006 p.104).

The recovery of marketing’s “seat at the boardroom table” is determined in part by the satisfaction of senior executives with marketing’s contribution to firm performance. This study of senior executives in high-technology firms examines the relationship between top management perceptions of marketing performance measurement ability and marketing’s stature within the firm. Confirming and extending earlier studies, results indicate that marketing enjoys a higher status among top management when it is perceived to be accountable. Findings underpin the importance of current research attention on marketing accountability and metrics.

The significance of politics and election for societies demands the integrated engagement of researchers in politics and marketing. The natural diversity of political contexts, structures and processes complicates the process of theory development in political marketing, but continuous change in political marketplaces provides a rich ground for study. Recent considerations on the evolving dominant logic of marketing — a perspective that emphasizes intangible resources, the co-creation of value and sustainable relationships — resonate with the interests of political marketing scholars. The extension of marketing models to social and political contexts increases their contribution to societal welfare; directions for future work in the field are proposed.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the merit of enterprise policies that seek to enhance market orientation as a driver of firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe approach takes the form of empirical research utilising the MKTOR survey instrument, administered to senior marketing managers in high‐value‐added sectors in Ireland; and both subjective and lagged objective measures of firm performance.FindingsFindings support international context‐specific research. Market orientation is not found to be directly associated with firm performance in high‐value‐added firms in the Irish economy.Research limitations/implicationsResearch directions should include the evolving understanding of market orientation, and the exploration of what alternative orientations lead to improved performance in different contexts.Practical implicationsFor public policy, a re‐examination of the conceptualisation of, and support for, market orientation is warranted.Originality/valueThe paper presents a new contribution to understanding the merit of market orientation in enterprise policy in developed economies.