Effects of political marketing practices on generation Z: The case of Adıyaman Universty

For marketers, it is crucial to address the target audience, meaning the consumers, and meet their wants and needs. The key to better analyzing consumer wants and needs lies in understanding the consumer. Therefore, researchers have turned to generational classification, thinking that each generation has distinct wants and needs, in order to segment the target audience. This classification is important for marketers to understand consumer wants and needs, and there are differing opinions among researchers regarding this classification. In traditional marketing, the target audience consists of consumers, whereas in political marketing, the target audience is made up of voters. In order for political parties to gain an advantage in elections, come to power, and collect votes by marketing their party, they must understand and get to know their target audience well. In this context, it is essential to understand which factors influence voter behavior and the impact of political marketing practices on voters. When this impact is known, politicians can take these factors into account when using political marketing practices. For this reason, researchers examine the behaviors of different generations in their studies to better define and understand the target audience. This study primarily aims to measure the effects of political marketing practices on Generation Z, individuals born after the year 2000. Generation Z is a politically significant generation due to being young, having a large voter base, and some of them voting for the first time. This study is significant because no such study has been conducted on Generation Z before. This study aims to identify the political marketing practices that affect Generation Z individuals and contribute to politics in this way. The study is significant for the development of strategies aimed at Generation Z voters, and because no such study has been conducted on Generation Z before. The individuals from Generation Z examined in the study have now reached the age to graduate from universities, and some of them have already graduated. This situation indicates that in the future, Generation Z will likely hold important professional positions. The different characteristic traits of Generation Z as a voter base further emphasize the importance of this study. In the study a descriptive research method was used, the main purporse of which is to capture the image of the current situation. For time efficiency and cost-effectiveness, a convenience sampling method has been preferred in the study. As part of the study, an online or face-to-face survey was conducted with 478 Generation Z individuals studying at Adıyaman University during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. The results of the study indicate that political marketing strategies should be applied according to the generations of voters who have different views and behaviors. The findings show that by considering generational differences and implementing innovative marketing strategies via the internet, the impact on young voters can be increased. Keywords: Political marketing; Voter behavior; Generation Z; Adıyaman University