COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL MARKETING STRATEGIES OF MEDAN BERKAH VERSUS MEDAN AMAN IN THE 2020 MEDAN CITY REGIONAL ELECTION

Abstract

General elections are the main manifestation of democratic practices, including in the implementation of regional head elections. The 2020 Medan City electios became a political contest that attracted public attention because it brought together the Bobby Nasution–Aulia Rachman pair and the Akhyar Nasution–Salman Alfarisi pair. This contest took place in a strong national political context, with Bobby Nasution being the son-in-law of President Joko Widodo, while Akhyar Nasution was the incumbent. This study aims to compare the political marketing strategies used by Medan Berkah and Medan Aman in winning the 2020 Medan City Regional Head Elections. The research method used is comparative qualitative with data collection techniques through interviews, observation, and documentation.

The results of the study show that although Medan Berkah and Medan Aman both use push, pull, and pass marketing strategies in their campaigns, they differ in their approaches. This is influenced by the fact that the two candidates have different target segments. Medan Berkah targets millennials in its marketing.

Medan Aman, on the other hand, targets segments of the population who are dissatisfied with the current regime. The candidates earned votes from the people of Medan through the use of political marketing, resulting in Medan Berkah's victory in the 2020 Medan mayoral election.