Benedict Pringle has written and contributed to two books on political marketing.
The first, Primed: Five Election Narratives to Win Your Party’s Nomination, is his own guide to building emotionally resonant campaigns, designed for candidates in primary or leadership contests.
The second, Political Marketing and Management in the 2024 UK Election, is a newly published academic volume, to which he contributes a chapter analysing the role of advertising in the 2024 UK general election.
Primed: Five Election Narratives to Win Your Party’s Nomination
Campaigns that use powerful storytelling to connect with people on an emotional level outperform those that don’t. In my new book, Primed, I reveal a universal framework for crafting winning narratives in primary election campaigns.
Primed is a comprehensive guide drawing from the worlds of psychology and political marketing. It offers a game-changing approach for candidates seeking to secure a party’s nomination for a general election.
It’s on sale worldwide now, in Kindle and paperback, exclusively from Amazon.
Primed identifies and codifies the five recurring narratives crucial for candidates to develop their own election-winning stories. Whether you’re on the left or right of the political spectrum, operating in different geographical regions, or participating at various levels of primary elections, this framework empowers candidates to craft narratives that resonate with voters.
In fiction, the notion of a limited number of basic plots and character archetypes is well established. Similarly, it’s widely acknowledged that a compelling narrative is the bedrock of a successful election campaign. However, until now, there hasn’t been a universally applicable method for harnessing classic storytelling principles in primary election campaigns.
The book presents real-world case studies of primary election campaigns from both the UK and the USA, featuring prominent figures such as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, David Cameron, Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson, Lisa Nandy, and Liz Truss. These case studies serve as practical illustrations of how the framework can be applied effectively.
Primary election campaigns hold exceptional importance for candidates and political professionals, as they serve as the initial stepping stone towards a successful general election campaign. You must win a primary first to have a shot at the general election. However, the dynamics of a primary election differ from a general election, but there is very little written about what it takes to succeed in a nomination race. Primed seeks to fill some of that gap.
Jennifer Lees-Marshment, Associate Professor of Political Marketing at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and author of multiple books on the topic of political marketing, such as “The Political Marketing Game,” commends Primed as a must-read for aspiring candidates.
Lees-Marshment said, “Primed will get candidates ready to run by helping them identify the most effective and appropriate narrative to adopt. Politicians need a story that connects with voters on a personal level, and this book offers an excellent toolkit to help find the right one. Candidates should read it as soon as they are thinking of running to maximize their chances of success.”
Tom Edmonds, former Creative Director of The Conservative Party and winner of three U.K. elections, says: “Benedict Pringle is the UK’s leading writer on contemporary political campaigning, with an unrivaled grasp of the strategies and tactics used to win elections of all types. Primed is not just a must-read for lovers of politics; it’s an indispensable bible for any candidate hoping to gain the edge on their opponents and secure their party’s nomination.”
When I founded this site in 2008, I hoped to one day publish a book on political marketing and so I’m very pleased to share “Primed: Five election narratives to win your party’s nomination” with you.
If you’d like to discuss the book, please get in touch on email or via social media message.
Political Marketing and Management in the 2024 UK Election
Edited by Jennifer Lees-Marshment and Ioannis Zisis, this academic collection explores the strategy, leadership and voter engagement that shaped the 2024 UK general election.
Benedict Pringle’s chapter, “An Ad for Every Campaign Objective”, examines how parties used paid advertising to pursue distinct goals—from persuasion and mobilisation to vote suppression and brand defence. Drawing on targeting data, ad library insights and campaign messaging, it provides a window into how political advertising is evolving in the UK’s digital-first elections.
politicaladvertising.co.uk 