Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Political Science
Supervisor
Dr. Adam Harmes
2nd Supervisor
Dr. Andrea Lawler
Joint Supervisor
Abstract
This paper uses content analysis to define and measure the Liberal Party of Canada’s brand from 2006 to 2015. The main research questions that this paper addresses are: 1) What was the Liberal Party brand in each federal election from 2006 to 2015? 2) To what extent has the Liberal Party used branding techniques in each of the four elections between 2006 and 2015? This paper has three main hypotheses. This paper first hypothesizes that the Liberal Party brand changed in each federal election. Secondly, this paper hypothesizes the Liberal Party brand became more consistent over time. Lastly, this paper hypothesizes that a positive linear relationship exists between branding and time. These questions and hypotheses form this paper’s overall argument that the Liberal Party has used branding in federal elections since 2006 and that it is a central part of their communications strategy. This paper used an inductive approach to create a branding dictionary to define the Liberal Party brand in each election from 2006 to 2015. This paper then used a deductive approach to measure the Liberal Party’s branding techniques over time using the branding dictionary. This paper makes an original contribution to the political branding literature because it is the first quantitative indicator of branding and the first study of the Liberal Party’s brand over time.
Recommended Citation
Corbett, Elisha M., "Branding in the Liberal Party of Canada from 2006 to 2015" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4846.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4846
Master Data Set