UKIP - Political Party or a marketing master-class?

By : Administrator
Published 19th May 2014 |
Read latest comment - 24th November 2014

I wasn't sure whether to post this under marketing or politics! Not a day goes by without some kind of media coverage for UKIP. Racist accusations, pub politics, and extremist views.

Regardless of your views of Nigel Farage, he is a superb marketeer. The exposure UKIP has gained in recent months is quite staggering, and has taken a small party with a single message into mainstream politics and ruffling the feathers of the traditional parties, even beating them in some polls, depending on whose data you believe.

But are UKIP a by product of an instant news on demand age? The exposure they get well exceeds any previous contribution or impact in the political field. I wonder if the Monster Raving Looney Party launched today with similar policies, then they would no doubt get as much airtime. Have some controversial members making controversial claims, and it's instant news saturation time, expanding your reach to a bigger and market, which in turn grows the organisation.

It's interesting seeing some reports from external news agencies, with over hyped claims that Britain is in the grip of a social revolution.

In this digital media age, it's all about winning personalities rather than actual politics, and I do like Farage's image as a man of the people, drinking his pint of beer down the local, straight talking and to the point. I can see why Cameroon and Miliband are nervous and on the defensive.

But is UKIP a serious political party with a genuine mandate to try and shape British politics, or is it just a media darling that will continue to sell copy and generate content?

Either way, to me it looks like a master class in marketing and generating media attention. Maybe as business owners, we should all observe closely and see what can be learned.

What does anyone else think of UKIP, for, against or any views of their media success?


Steve Richardson
Gaffer of My Local Services
My Local Services | Me on LinkedIn
Comments

You can only blame the three main political party's sheer ignorance of the electorate, for the rise and current success of UKIP. This is not the country that I and others grew up in, neither is it the country that our grandparents went to war for with many losing their lives. For me it is nothing to do with the current migration issues, if it were I wouldn't be living in London, not only that most if not all of us are descended from migrants one way or another.

The main issue for me and probably for many others, is that the British public has only ever been allowed to vote once over Europe and that was whether or not to join the Common market, the idea being that we could trade on a level footing with everyone else in Europe. That was it, there was no mention in the manifesto that over the next 40 odd years we'd be sending millions of pounds to Brussels just to be a member state, there was no mention that gradually our legal system would be overridden by the EU. To be honest, the biggest wake up call should have been prior to the Common Market vote, when the UK lost its currency and changed to decimalisation, changed its weights and measures and went from pound to kilo.

From what I can see, theses three main political party's biggest issue is that they fail to understand, that they are elected to represent those who vote for them. There is no big differences in any of the party's ideology, the only difference is on how and on what they spend tax payers money. I'm not a particular Nigel Farage fan, but you cannot help but think that he actually does represent the silent majority or this country. He's being hammered this week over a comment he made on LBC radio about not wanting to have Romanians living next door, and all of a sudden he is now being classed as being racist by the other three parties. If were all honest, if your white working or middle class, if the local school has 500 children and 450 of them are of African descent, are you really going to want to send your children there? If you say no, does that make you a racist? We all say and and think things, that today are not politically PC, whereas in a previous life we could all say or do without fear of classed as being racist.

Nigel Farage and UKIP will do well on Thursday I'm sure and the other three are scared witless about him. The days of voting for a political party for no other reason than because our predecessors did are now beginning to go. Thankfully people are now starting to think for themselves....   


Thanks,
Barney

We are all afraid of being classed as racist and the classic, well i have a friend who is this or that so i can't be but in reality Barney has hit the nail on the head.

Its our Country and we should decide what Law we follow, what measurements we want to sell/buy in and who remembers the straight banana scandal - what a joke.

Not sure of the depth of UKIP's actual policies, is it more a case of they are getting us all thinking about picking on only emotive subjects?

Hope they do well on Thursday, if nothing more than to give the other "main 3 " a swift kick up the ar*e !!!


Clive

We are all afraid of being classed as racist and the classic, well i have a friend who is this or that so i can't be but in reality Barney has hit the nail on the head.

Its our Country and we should decide what Law we follow, what measurements we want to sell/buy in and who remembers the straight banana scandal - what a joke.

Not sure of the depth of UKIP's actual policies, is it more a case of they are getting us all thinking about picking on only emotive subjects?

Hope they do well on Thursday, if nothing more than to give the other "main 3 " a swift kick up the ar*e !!!”

 

Welcome to pc britain. Not convinced with the euro argument but ukip are breathing life into uk politics. Better for the average man to be talking and have an opinion rather than no opinion and no interest.


Shakester


Not sure of the depth of UKIP's actual policies,

 

I'm not to sure whether it makes much difference if UKIP has one or fifty different policies. All I know is, is that the other three political parties have all gone to the electorate previously with different manifestos and said "vote for us" only to have any promises made pre-election totally ripped up once they are in office. I think come Friday there will be certain bruised politicians fronting the television cameras, claiming to have learned their lesson for not listening...


Thanks,
Barney

I have to admit i got so bored with Politics i actually gave up voting. Sick of Politicians promising me the world, then stealing from the coffers & also charging me for a plug for her bathroom and the odd porn film, yes my MP was her!

But to balance this, i never berated who was in power, i had a natural disdain for whoever was there!

UKIP has sparked life in to Politics as Shakey said, even enough for me to actually want to find out where my local election station is & get off my backside and tick a box - quite whos box i'm ticking i don't know but i have been reading the blurb coming through my letter box rather then filing it in the recycle bin.

Barney - i'm with you and i hope there are several battered & bruised bodies out there, its time they started listening to us a Nation and not treat us like sheep.

This is going to be an interesting election.

 


Clive

I passed quite a few polling stations driving around London today, all seemed to very busy and bustling with people, so I think the turn out of voters is going to be fairly high...


Thanks,
Barney

Well interesting if not surprising results, Tories and LibDems get a whipping, Labour big gains and UKIP come of age

Think it's a pretty standard pre election protest vote. Be interesting to see how the Tories try and counter it, and win people back over. No doubt some serious manifesto tweaking 

What's fascinating is the media are all over UKIP now, calling them the 4th political party etc etc, but bearing in mind they don't have a single seat in parliament.

Maybe this is the pinnacle of the Libdems career if they lose parliamentary seats to UKIP in the general election. Or maybe we will see some radical libdems or Tories start jumping ship.

Either way, I think it's going to be an interesting general election, and no doubt a long and dirty propaganda build up 


Steve Richardson
Gaffer of My Local Services
My Local Services | Me on LinkedIn

Well, now that the results are in, it seems the media / press are treating Nigel Farage completely different than the way they were prior to the elections, now you'd think that the second coming was about to happen. This must be the biggest wake up call ever for those working in Westminster, I think next years general election is going to be interesting, with the likelyhood of another hung Parliament, not that I'm in favour of join Governments.

To watch the main three parties on television all claiming to have learned their lessons and are now only too eager to listen to the populations concerns over Europe is cringeworthy to say the least, especially when they've had over 30 odd years to listen. Those politicians claiming it was just a protest vote, simply do not deserve to be in power as obviously they do not understand. Listening to LBC radio the other day, a listener made a very good point about the referendum, in that this country never had a referendum to be ruled by Brussels and the rest of Europe, so we don't need one to be taken out. As far as I can see any threat of loss of jobs / business by coming out are just rubbish and scaremongering.


Thanks,
Barney

Watching the coverage on the BBC breakfast news was almost cringeworthy. "Here we are live from a car boot sale getting public reaction.." Some of the comments were embarrassing, proper bottom of the gene pool stuff

But it certainly is interesting times ahead, maybe the end of the road for the libdems? Prob the first time I've actually looked forward to a general election 


Steve Richardson
Gaffer of My Local Services
My Local Services | Me on LinkedIn

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