Political branding through journalistic disintermediation: a case based approach

Research in political marketing has demonstrated the importance of journalistic intermediation in building political image and identity. Journalists have long been an integral part of political marketing by virtue of being a bridge between political leaders and their voters. However, political leaders across the globe have leveraged digital tools to reach out to their voters directly. This process, called disintermediation, has been critical in building political brand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and has helped him win three election cycles between 2014 and 2024. He enjoyed tremendous public support across three elections, with no notable interaction with journalists. This study, using the single-case research method, investigates how Mr. Modi built his brand by reaching out to his voters directly, analysing disintermediation-related information obtained from international and Indian English media for about 12 years between 2012 and 2024. The study employs thematic analysis, integrating political–theoretical frameworks to explain political brand identity, message personalization, brand authenticity, and disintermediation, among others. The study proposes an integrated framework explaining how sustained public messaging, symbolic rhetoric, and direct digital and mass gathering formats substituted for interview-based media engagement. The major contribution of the study is to bring communications sovereignty to the fore, rather than cooperation with traditional media and journalism, which contradicts the theory of mediatization.