Creation and Organisation of Electoral Campaigns
Code: 104793Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Communication in Organisations | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Marc Blasco Duatis
- Email :
- marc.blasco@uab.cat
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
The subject does not pose any prerequisite related to the requirement of prior knowledge other than those required to take other subjects in the same course. However, it is recommended to take the optional subject Political Communication in advance.
The students must have the habit of reading general press, with special attention to national and international political news, as well as opinion articles or the follow-up of televised and radio debates and gatherings on political issues understood in the broader meaning.
The students must have an acceptable command of the English language, which allows them to understand documents written in that language.
The students must have basic notions of descriptive statistics (understand how to read tables with percentages and frequencies) as well as know how to interpret relationships between variables (double entry tables, typologies, etc ...).
The Catalan language is the vehicular tool of written and oral expression of the subject. In this sense, correction in the use of language is an indispensable requirement, especially in the discursive, reasoning and discussion aspects, orthographic and grammatical correction, as well as adequacy, coherence and cohesion.
Objectives
The aim is to provide students with the theoretical and practical tools for planning, creating and managing oral, written, audiovisual and digital communication in election campaigns. Guidelines are also given to analyze the various elements and actors involved in election campaigns, such as electoral systems, candidates, and voters, the impact of social media and Voting Advice Applications (VAA), how emotions influence electoral behavior and how it should be considered when preparing election campaigns.
Learning outcomes
- Work independently to solve problems and take strategic decisions on the basis of the knowledge acquired.
- Interpret and discuss documents on the main theories of political science and the organisation of political propaganda.
- Present the objectives of governmental institutions, political parties, etc. to all kinds of audiences.
- Create parties' electoral campaigns aimed at general or specific audiences, using existing online and off-line media.
- Present a summary of the studies made, orally, in writing, or using other means of communication.
- Analyse information processes and the currents and theories that underpin them in the process of planning and executing political communication.
- Analyse information processes and the currents and theories that underpin them in the process of planning and executing electoral campaigns.
- Display knowledge of how public actors' communicative strategies are devised and spread through the organisations they work in.
- Respect the ideas, ethnic groups, religions, cultures, etc., of all collectives when planning and organising communication by political organisations.
- Respect the ideas, ethnic groups, religions, cultures, etc., of all collectives when planning and implementing political propaganda campaigns.
- Apply professional codes of conduct in the political communication of governmental organisations, political parties, etc.
- Apply professional codes of conduct in the political and institutional propaganda campaigns of governmental organisations, political parties, etc.
- Propose projects and actions that are in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and obligations, diversity and democratic values.
- Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
- Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
- Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
- Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
- Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
- Identify the main inequalities and discriminations in terms of sex/gender present in society.
- Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
- Assess how stereotypes and gender roles impact professional practice.
- Propose new ways to measure the success or failure of the implementation of innovative proposals or ideas.
Contents
1. Introduction to election campaigns
- Definition, limits and regulation.
- The effects of campaigns: persuasive strategies in democracy.
- Informative coverage: media agendas vs. political agendas.
- The crisis of political communication and electoral advertising.
2. Political marketing in campaign
- Electoral segmentation and objectives: techniques, data and strategy.
- The construction of the agenda in the election campaign.
- Framing as an instrument of mobilization.
- Strategy and planning of electoral campaigns: axes, analysis of the environment, targeting ...
- Actors in the election campaign: candidate, party, voters, media, opinion leaders ...
- Election of the candidate and management of primaries.
3. Instruments of political communication in the campaign
- War room: candidate, campaign committee and direction.
- Campaign funding: public funding vs. private, fund raising and campaign budget.
- Content and perceptions: storytelling, discursive strategy and storytelling in the electoral context.
- Electoral billboards.
- Electoral advertising.
- The election rally.
- Election polls.
- The management of the “D” day and the “D+1” day.
- The permanent campaign.
- Artivism: activism and mobilization in the campaign.
- Voting Advice Applications (VAA).
- Electoral segmentation and microtargeting.
- Televised electoral debates and their effects.
- Connected campaigns: communication 2.0 and the integration of social networks in the campaign.
4. Challenges of electoral campaigns in democratic societies
- Media spectrum and public opinion formation in the campaign.
- The electoral program as a central axis of communication in the campaign.
- Spectacle and emotion in political communication inthe campaign: the politainment.
- Citizen debate on social media.
- Public institutions during the campaign: communication strategy.
- Journalism and campaign monitoring: insights from the press, parties and opinion leaders.
- The management of surveys in the media.
- Media planning in the campaign.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation and writing of works | 35 | 1.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 |
| Individualized follow-up tutorials and in small groups | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 8, 9, 18 |
| Exercises and practices in class, analysis of practical cases, presentation of works. | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17 |
| Seminar readings | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17, 20 |
| Reading and preparation of texts that will be the subject of seminars | 25 | 1 | 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17 |
| Master classes, lectures, viewing of audiovisual pieces, presentation of cases. | 30 | 1.2 | 2, 5, 9 |
| Study of the syllabus of the subject | 12 | 0.48 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 16, 18 |
This course is worth 6 ECTS, that is, it entails a total student workload of 150 hours, distributed as follows:
- Directed activities (30% and 45 h): classroom activities with the presence and guidance of the lecturer, which may consist of lectures, seminars discussing compulsory readings in small groups oriented towards practical issues, and work on practical cases related to the course syllabus.
- Supervised activities (44% and 66 h): activities outside the classroom carried out by the student in accordance with a work plan designed and subsequently supervised and assessed by the teaching staff. This also includes joint tutorials and other similar course-monitoring activities (in person or online).
- Autonomous activities (21% and 32 h): the student's autonomous activities in accordance with the requirements of the course, such as basic and complementary readings, study of class notes, or any other activities that complement the training achieved in this course.
- Assessment activities (5% and 7 h).
The course content will be sensitive to issues related to gender perspective and the use of inclusive language.
A detailed schedule outlining the content of each session will be presented on the first day of the course and will also be available on the course's Virtual Campus, where students will find the various teaching materials and all the information necessary for the proper monitoring of the course. Should the teaching modality change for reasons of force majeure according to the competent authorities, the teaching staff will inform students of any changes to the course schedule and teaching methodologies.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prueba escrtia | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| Group work to simulate an election campaign | 50% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 |
| Active participation in seminars | 10% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 |
Continuous assessment
50% of the grade will correspond to the course project, in a team, on the simulation of an electoral campaign duly proposed and agreed. It must be prepared and submitted in the final sessions of the course. The project will be presented, debated and defended in class.
The remaining 50% of the grade will correspond to the interventions and attendance during the seminars and the presentation of a reading (10%), and to a written test on the subject matter covered during the course (40%).
Students will be entitled to reassessment of the course if they have been assessed on a set of activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the total course grade. The activities excluded from the reassessment process are active participation in the seminars and the course project.
Single assessment
50% will correspond to an individual course project on the simulation of an electoral campaign duly proposed and agreed. It must be prepared and submitted in the final sessions of the course. The project will be presented, debated and defended in class on the scheduled day of in-person assessment.
10% will correspond to the presentation of a reading worked on during the course, which must be defended in class on the scheduled day of in-person assessment.
40% will correspond to a written test on the scheduled day of in-person assessment.
Students will be entitled to reassessment of the course if they have been assessed on a set of activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the total course grade. The activities excluded from the reassessment process are the course project and the presentation of the reading.
Assessment of students in their second or subsequent enrolment (synthesis test)
In accordance with Article 267.2 of the UAB Academic Regulations, students in their second or subsequent enrolment may opt for a synthesis test. This is a different option from single assessment: the synthesis test consists of a single written exam that assesses the whole content of the course and whose grade constitutes 100% of the final grade. It will be held on the same date as the written test of the continuous assessment model. Students who opt for this option must notify the teaching staff by email, within the period established at the start of the course, and will not be assessed through the other activities. Students who sat it and failed will be entitled to reassessment by means of a test of the same nature.
Not assessable
According to point 9 of Article 266 of the UAB Academic Regulations, when it is considered that the student has not been able to provide sufficient assessment evidence, the course will be graded as 'not assessable'. In this course, a 'not assessable' grade will be assigned when the student has neither submitted the course project nor sat the written test.
Plagiarism and irregularities
If a student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded with 0, irrespective of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. If several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0.
Use of artificial intelligence
The use of Artificial Intelligence in this course is limited to the assessment activities relating to the course project and the preparation of the oral presentation of seminar readings. Specifically, AI tools, both textual and visual, may help you to generate and sketch ideas, contextualise concepts, propose prototypes or combine elements in an innovative or alternative way. If these tools are used, their use must be clearly stated and correctly cited in the preparation of the work. This means indicating, in each section of the submitted activity, which tools have been used, the objectives, the prompts employed, the response obtained and the process followed to review and edit its output. Remember also that, when using generative AI tools, you must not provide personal, confidential or intellectual-property-protected information. Please note that inappropriate use of generative AI, such as failing to review the response obtained or failing to cite the tools used, will be considered irregular conduct in the assessment and may lead to the failure of the activity or assessment act. If in doubt, consult the teaching staff.
Action in cases of suspected irregularities
The teaching staff may carry out actions to confirm the authorship of a practical activity, assignment, etc. Any student suspected of submitting tasks generated by AI, produced by other people or copied; that include AI-generated content without referencing, or that fall outside the permitted cases, may be asked for the preliminary work or other materials that can demonstrate that it is original work and the result of their own authorship. They may also be asked to separately explain or justify their work. The teaching staff may also use AI-detection systems or carry out any verification tasks they deem appropriate. If, after review, irregularities are detected, the work may be graded with a zero and the student may be subject to further disciplinary measures.
Bibliography
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Aira, Toni (2009). Els spin doctors: com mouen els fils els assessors dels líders polítics. Barcelona: Mina.
Baeza Perez-Fontan, Eduardo (2012). Como crear una campaña electoral de éxito. Madrid: EIUNSA.
Bischof, Daniel & Senninger, Roman (2018). Simple politics for the people? Complexity in campaign messages and political knowledge. European Journal of Political Research, 57(2), 473-495.
Blasco-Duatis, Marc; Coenders, Germà; Saez, Marc; Fernández-García, Núria i Ferin Cunha, Isabel (2019). Mapping the agenda-setting theory, priming and the spiral of silence in Twitter accounts of political parties. International Journal of Web Based Communities, (1), pàg. 4-24.
Blasco-Duatis, Marc; Saez, Marc i Fernández-García, Núria (2018). Compositional representation (CoDa) of the Agenda-setting of the political opinion makers in the main Spanish media groups in the 2015 general election. Communication & Society, 31 (2), pàg. 1 - 24.
Blasco-Duatis, Marc; Coenders, Germà i Saez, Marc (2018). Representación composicional de la intermedia agenda-setting de los principales grupos de medios y partidos políticos en las elecciones generales españolas de 2015. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 73, pp. 264 a 292.
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Young Mie Kim; Jordan Hsu; David Neiman; Colin Kou; Levi Bankston; Soo Yun Kim; Richard Heinrich; Robyn Baragwanath i Garvesh Raskutti (2018). The stealth media? Groups and targets behind divisive issue campaigns on Facebook. Political Communication, 35(4), 515-541.
Kotler, Philip i Kotler, Neil (1999). Political Marketing: Generating Effective Candidates, Campaigns, and Causes. A: B. I. Newman (dir.) (1999).
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Peytibi, Xavier i Gutiérrez-Rubí, Antoni (2019). Las campañas conectadas: comunicación política en campaña electoral. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.
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Frederik J. Zuiderveen Borgesius; Judith Möller; Sanne Kruikemeier; Ronan Ó Fathaigh; Kristina Irion; Tom Dobber; Balazs Bodo; Claes de Vreese (2018). Online political microtargeting: Promises and threats for democracy. Utrecht Law Review, 14(1), 82-96.
Software
The Virtual Campus platform, word processors, spreadsheets, social platforms and audiovisual.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 7 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |
| (PLAB) Practical laboratories | 71 | Catalan | second semester | afternoon |