opies of popular ads.The political arena has become another important area for marketing research. Politicians have to sell themselves much like a company sells their product. The Choose or Lose team from MTV news recently reported on a focus group that centered in on Presidential advertising. In an important political race, such as this year’s Presidential race, the groups running a campaign need to gauge voters opinions. “Taking a cue from the corporate world, presidential campaigns employ this method to test how voters feel about their candidates. In a typical political focus group, a campaign makes participants watch a video to see what members like or dislike about Candidate X. They then have them talk about Candidate X and note their comments.” (MTV News - Choose Or Lose, Sinha) The results of these polls help shape a candidate’s actions during debates and advertisements. Not surprisingly, participants reacted very negatively towards negative campaigning. McCain’s spots lashing out against President Clinton sparked a huge upset among most participants. Footage of Governor George W. Bush with positive messages and footage of a down to earth man sparked a very positive reaction. The study also brought up many issues that participants believe were overlooked by the candidates. All in all, the group proved to give interesting dialogue to a luke-warm debate.In conclusion, focus groups, in any form, can prove to be an important tool to any marketer. Groups that can use the information wisely can gain valuable insight to difficult problems. ...
