MARKETING ASPECTS OF RULING THE “BREXIT” CAMPAIGN IN THE UK

Abstract

In the article, the author examines the 2016 “Brexit” campaign in the UK to leave the European Union, which was caused by a number of economic, political, social and historical prerequisites that shaped public dissatisfaction with the country’s membership in the European Union. The organization of the campaign to withdraw the UK from the European Union, which became one of the most influential and resonant political campaigns in modern European history, is investigated. The marketing component of the campaign in directing and convincing British voters of the need to leave the EU and essentially change the foreign policy course is also analyzed. It was noted that during the political campaign, British society split into supporters and opponents of separation from the EU, which contributed to the formation of two directions – for Brexit and against it. Among the marketing aspects of the Brexit campaign, the following can be distinguished: audience segmentation and the isolation of its supporters by each side, the use of emotional appeals and arguments (national sovereignty and immigration control), manipulation of numbers, significant support from some leading British media, the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Big Data and targeted advertising to precisely reach individual audiences with personalized messages, simplified or false data and fake advertising messages, websites, printed matter and mobile apps are designed to increase audience engagement. It was also found that the marketing campaign to promote the idea of leaving the European Union was successful, achieved its goal, but used technologies with a high level of manipulative pressure, violation of the confidentiality of private information and for the first time in Europe, targeted advertising in this format was tested, demonstrating threats to the democratic nature of political processes. But at the technological level, the marketing component proves the effectiveness of using political marketing technologies in various political campaigns.