ABSTRACT
This research aimed to analyze the use of cybermarketing in the political campaign of Andrés Arauz during the 2021 presidential elections, in contrast to that of Lenín Moreno in 2017, to identify the change in strategies in the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative and qualitative methodology was proposed with an exploratory approach that allows the objective to be met. For the design, techniques such as interviews with experts in political communication and surveys of young centennials and millennials between 21 and 29 years old in various provinces of Ecuador were used. It is determined that the youth electorate is vulnerable to cybermarketing and neuromarketing, and that only certain ATL media such as radio and television, as well as other traditional activities, continued to be used in the two campaigns. Young people represent a relevant percentage in the electoral register. Cyberpolitics starts from cyberactivism and Ecuador does not have a political culture, but political marketing is advancing with referents such as Jaime Durán Barba, who has starred in some electoral victories. © 2022, Associacao Iberica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informacao. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The use of mobile instant messaging platforms has increased in recent years in political communication given the private nature of this form of communication, a trend which has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this research is to know the Telegram usage done by the main political parties within the election campaign. For this purpose, the Catalan election of the 14th of February 2021 are studied with a quantitative content analysis on a sample composed of 600 messages published by five political parties (PSC, Vox Barcelona, ERC, Junts per Catalunya, CUP and En Comú Podem). Results show that one of the most important functions of this platforms is the information and dissemination of its electoral programme. Regarding the main topics, the organization and functioning of the campaign and the political wrangling predominate. Our findings show that the position of the different parties regarding the independence of Catalonia, their political trajectory and their position within the government/opposition axis are conditioning factors of their communication strategy on this platform. Finally, the analysis of the public impact of the published messages reveals the disconnection between the parties and the citizens. In addition, a “more is more” effect which determines that the more messages are broadcast on this platform, the greater the number of views by users is, is detected. These data reveal new evidence on how Telegram is being used in the election campaign by political actors. © 2022 Communication & Society.