Political Advertising As A Political Marketing Tool: A Semiotic Analysis In The Case Of The 2023 Turkish Presidentıal Election
Fatma Çakmak, Havva TavlanThe 2023 Turkish Presidential Election was greeted with curiosity and excitement in Turkey and the world, as was the case during the election period in general. Political marketing and advertising activities appear as the most striking practices in terms of persuading the voting public in the election atmosphere. In this direction, in the study, a semiotic analysis of 2 commercials made for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, two strong candidates of the 2023 Turkish Presidential Election, was made according to Barthes' paradigm. With these analyzes, it is aimed to reveal which themes are used and messages are given to persuade the voters in commercials. In this study, first of all, the concepts of political marketing and political advertising were explained, and then a semiotic analysis of 2 commercials was made. As a result of the study; It was revealed that both candidates used themes in line with their political propaganda, for Erdoğan, a strong leader positioning was made by giving more emotional messages accompanied by emotional linguistic indicators, and for Kılıçdaroğlu, messages that focused on problems and consisted of promises were included in the presence of enthusiastic and entertaining linguistic indicators.
Siyasal Pazarlama Aracı Olarak Siyasal Reklam: 2023 Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanlığı Seçimi Örneğinde Göstergebilimsel Bir Analiz
Fatma Çakmak, Havva Tavlan2023 Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanlığı Seçimi Türkiye’de ve dünyada, genel olarak her seçim döneminde olduğu gibi merakla ve heyecanla karşılanmıştır. Siyasal pazarlama ve reklam çalışmaları seçim atmosferinde seçmen kitleyi ikna etme noktasında en dikkat çeken uygulamalar olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu doğrultuda çalışmada 2023 Türkiye Cumhurbaşkanlığı Seçimi’nin iki güçlü adayı olan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ve Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu için yapılan 2 reklam filminin Barthes’ın paradigmasına göre göstergebilimsel analizi yapılmıştır. Bu analizlerle reklam filmlerinde seçmeni ikna etmek için hangi temaların kullanıldığını ve mesajların verildiğini açığa çıkarmak amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmada bu kapsamda öncelikle siyasal pazarlama ve siyasal reklam kavramları açıklanmış ardından 2 reklam filminin göstergebilimsel analizi yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda; her iki adayın da siyasal propagandaları doğrultusunda temalar kullandıkları, Erdoğan için daha çok duygusal göstergeler eşliğinde duygusal mesajlara yer verilerek güçlü lider konumlandırmasının yapıldığı, Kılıçdaroğlu için ise coşkulu ve eğlenceli göstergeler eşliğinde daha çok sorunlara odaklanan ve vaatlerden oluşan mesajlara yer verildiği ortaya çıkarılmıştır.
The 2023 Turkish Presidential Election was awaited with curiosity and excitement due to the developments in the country's recent history. This election, in which two strong candidates took part, was seen as contentious. This situation led the candidates to political marketing and advertising practices. Political advertisements have an important place in convincing the electorate. Voting in democratic countries is a civic duty of such great importance that it can be described as the "heart of democracy". Political actors, who act with the desire to be the winner of the election by getting the support of the majority of the people, apply to election campaigns in order to manage the election process effectively. Political advertisements are also an important part of this campaign process. Political advertising is the focal point of political marketing. Political marketing, which is an area where political actors are applied, differs from the usual types of marketing because it is for political purposes.
Just like in businesses, political parties and leaders are in competition with each other and actively engage in marketing activities in order to gain a competitive advantage. A political party that knows the target audience, who is the target audience in political marketing, and understands its characteristics, culture, value judgments, wishes, and expectations well, will be able to convince the voters and achieve success in the direction of marketing studies accordingly. More importantly, it is necessary to keep these marketing efforts alive, not only during election periods but continuously.
As a political marketing tool at the point of persuading the voters, political advertisements provide effective communication with the voters and are very effective in convincing them. While it strengthens the bond on the determined voters, a successful political advertisement can be effective, especially for the undecided voters. On the other hand, with the developing technology, marketing, and advertising activities were carried to an advanced level and enriched with all kinds of audio-visual elements. Many elements such as computer effects, animation, pictures, photographs, songs and, music are used together.
In this direction, the semiotic analysis of the commercials published for two strong candidates, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, was made. The analyzes madehas tried to explain which themes are used and which messages are given to persuade the voters through commercials. In the literature part of the study, firstly, the concepts of political marketing and political advertising are explained. Then, a semiotic analysis of 2 commercial films was made. In this context, by taking the relevant frames in the advertisements; Analyzes were made over the concepts of sign type, sign, signifier, signified, denotation, connotation, metaphor, and metonymy. The study is limited to one commercial film of 2 presidential candidates. The reason why the candidates Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are limited to commercials is that they are the two strongest candidates and that the election commercials of the other candidates cannot be reached. In addition, the fact that the semiotic analysis is based on both visuals and discourses may cause the page limit of the study to be exceeded. For this reason, it is limited to 2 commercials.
The aim of this study; As a political marketing application, for the 2023 Turkish Presidential Election, the candidate of the People's Alliance, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the Nation's Alliance candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, are used to convince the voters in commercials by making a semiotic analysis of political commercials broadcast. Television channels and YouTube reveal which themes are used and which messages are given. Today, a political advertisement can be broadcast both on television and in digital media. Thus, it is possible to reach different voters. In addition to being able to reach large masses, it is one of the opportunities offered by digital media to see how much of the target audience watches, likes, or dislikes political advertisements published on social media. In addition, the ability of the target audience to comment provides interactive and democratic communication. This situation creates a great opportunity for political parties and actors to take the pulse of the electorate.
As a result of the study it was revealed that both candidates used themes in line with their political propaganda, for Erdoğan, a strong leader positioning was made by giving more emotional messages accompanied by emotional linguistic indicators, and for Kılıçdaroğlu, messages consisting of promises were included with enthusiastic and entertaining linguistic indicators.
