The Imperative of Personality Audit, Image Audit, and Opinion Poll in Political Public Relations (PPR) Practices

Abstract

Given the eclectic and interdisciplinary nature of political public relations, the study focused on the essence of personality and image audits, and opinion poll in promoting or selling an electoral candidate to target voters. Using a survey research method, a sample of 486 public relations practitioners who are experts in marketing politics were used to assess the situation. Empirical findings were made. First, the study revalidates the notion that modern political public relations (PPR) practices anchor on research. Also a tight intellectual excursion into the domain of the three research techniques adds credence to this empirical finding. Secondly, political profile of an electoral candidate influences political judgments and voting decisions of the electorates. Thirdly, failure to conduct or lack of image and/or personality audit of an electoral candidate translates to minimal or no support to candidates and voters switching of loyalty to opponents.  Opinion poll acts as a pendulum that directs the course of action to be taken by electioneering campaign planners in conceptualizing and designing appropriate communication campaign strategies. Other findings and recommendation were also made. It concludes that employing the dark arts of Machiavellian political chicanery in marketing election candidates is not a substitute to personality and image audits, and opinion poll, rather the emerging  political order of ‘politics unusual’  in Nigeria and other third world nations demands research, which reveals the content of characters of politicians.

Keywords:Personality audit, Image audit, Opinion poll, Political public relations, Marketing politics