I was invited to be keynote speaker at the first political marketing event in Canada, the Political Marketing Practice and Research in Canada Workshop, CPSA (Canadian political science association) in May 2009. My presentation was entitled ‘The political marketing game: What really wins elections?’ I was also invited to give a paper at the Canadian communications association entitled ‘Political marketing communication: perspectives from global practitioners.’ This visit came about after a series of different communications and linkages. In 2006-7 I began receiving communication from different academics and students in Canada interested in political marketing; one at Ontario University in Ottawa, another at Montreal University and I was then sent a paper to review on political marketing by the Canadian Journal of Communication. Alex Marland, whom I first met when he presented a paper at the 2002 Political marketing conference in Aberdeen, had since taken up a position at Memorial University (see http://www.mun.ca/posc/people/Marland.php). We discussed trying to build a network and doing a project together, and then Alex met Thierry Giasson from Laval University at the 2008 CPSA. Alex and Thierry connected all these linkages and this resulted in the development of a workshop in political marketing at the 2009 Canadian Political Science Association. The workshop brought together academics and practitioners interested in political marketing in Canada for the first time.
Visiting professor, Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, McGill University
The centre is primarily bases in the Department of Political Science, McGill University in Montreal: see http://csdc-cecd.mcgill.ca/indexEN.html. It is directed by Professor Elisabeth Gidengil. They awarded me a visiting professorship and I gave the presentation ‘A Political Marketing Theory of Democracy.’
The scholarship also enabled me to visit the University of Laval in Quebec where I gave the presentation ‘The political marketing game: What really wins elections?’ to theDepartment of Communication.
I also met with Thierry Giasson (pictured here outside the comms building at Laval) and other scholars.
Interviews with Canadian practitioners
I also conducted 12 interviews with practitioners including advisors to Stephen Harper and former PM Paul Martin in Toronto and Ottawa.
Outcomes
Alex Marland, Thierry Giasson and I co-edited a book Canadian political marketing, contracted by UBC Press to be published in 2012- see https://leesmarshment.wordpress.com/books/political-marketing-in-canada/
A Canadian political marketing group was created.
The Toronto Star created a blog about political marketing for the 2011 Canadian federal election
lees-marshment.org 