The electoral campaign just concluded in Basilicata with the re-election of Vito Bardi as president of the Region also marked a further victory for Vis Factor, a strategic positioning and integrated communications company, very present in the national political context. Vis Factor had already followed the Lucanian governor in his first victory five years ago.
“This time it was a journey accompanying the President. Five years ago, however, we did not start as favorites and therefore created a more aggressive electoral campaign.” Tiberio Brunetti, 43 years old, is, together with Valentina Fontana, the founder of Vis Factor. An experienced political consultant, in the last six years with his company he has followed over one hundred candidates in their electoral campaigns, candidates from all sides, with a positive result of over 90%.
What was the pattern for the Basilicata campaign?
“Tell what has been done and what you intend to do and reassure with a calm and moderate tone. We have chosen to almost never respond to our adversaries, but to always maintain an institutional tone and human proximity”.
How was the Orgoglio Lucano claim born? Was it appreciated?
5 years ago we chose the claim “present” for several reasons: both to respond to the accusations of a candidate absent from the territory and to recall the military past of Bardi’s CV. The Orgoglio Lucano claim was born in evolutionary continuity with the previous one five years ago. The Lucanian people responded positively five years ago and, thanks to careful administrative action over the past five years, using the centre-right language we could say of good governance, we have made that presence collective in a community and horizontal “Lucanian pride”.
How do you study the candidates for whom you follow communication strategies?
I would like to say that first of all we do not agree to follow everyone who contacts us. We start from a fundamental assumption: with our work we contribute to the election of people, whose task is to administer a territory and a community. Ethically we ask ourselves the question of the reliability, credibility and competence of the candidate who wants us to follow him. If he does not meet these requirements we decline the invitation. Subsequently, we prepare with an integrated approach that starts from psychology and sociology and only then arrives at positioning and integrated communication. We must first empathize with the candidate, then ideally transfer this empathy into a campaign project. Then we leave.
Now the centre-right and centre-left are preparing for the European elections. How do they start positioned? What are the mistakes not to make?
In the center-left there is an attempt at political cannibalization of intermediate voters by mainly the 5 Star Movement towards the Democratic Party. These processes usually do not lead to significant growth in consensus, but have the consequence of mutually eliminating parties from one party to the other. Let’s say that the situation is calmer in the centre-right, where there is a party that undisputedly exercises leadership, Brothers of Italy, which starts, polls in hand, from the same percentages as the 2022 policies, therefore without attrition due to the first year and a half of government. The League suffers from the lack of a clear government mission, while Forza Italia is growing, with a moderate and reassuring positioning that greatly attracts center voters. The two new features for the European elections are Tajani’s leadership and the United States of Europe project which could erode many consensuses in the reformist area of the centre-left.
){kind=link}