Political marketing in Greece is moving beyond the traditional campaign cycle.
Parties and candidates still rely on rallies, television appearances and party networks, but voters increasingly encounter political messages through social platforms, online news, short-form video and search. The result is a more continuous contest for attention, trust and visibility, one that begins well before election day.
The shift is visible in research on the 2023 national elections. A study of political leaders’ online campaigning examined their use of Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, finding that each platform served a different communication role. X and Facebook were central channels for circulating political messages, while Instagram and TikTok were used more for personalised and less overtly political content.
That distinction matters. A campaign cannot simply publish the same message everywhere and expect it to work. Each platform has its own pace, formats and audience expectations. A policy explanation may need a longer video or a detailed article; a short vertical clip may introduce a candidate’s personality or bring a local issue into public discussion. Effective political communication depends on matching the message to the channel while keeping the candidate’s overall position recognisable.
From campaign visibility to a sustained public presence
The digital campaign is no longer limited to paid advertisements in the weeks before an election. Candidates and parties need to develop a consistent presence: setting out positions, responding to current events, explaining local concerns and showing voters what the candidate is working on. Social media can help make that presence visible, while a campaign’s website, video content and media coverage can give it more depth and staying power.
Paid advertising is part of this picture, but it is only one part. Data compiled around the 2023 elections recorded approximately €1.42 million in political advertising on Google and Meta during the last 30 days for which data was available. The same monitoring project tracked more than 300 political advertisers, illustrating the scale of competition for digital attention.
Those figures show why budgets alone do not explain campaign performance. Candidates also need clear priorities, a distinctive public profile and an organised flow of content. Paid reach may bring a message in front of more people, but the message must be relevant and credible enough to hold their attention.
Might interest you: The tools that are reshaping Political Marketing in Greece
Political marketing requires strategy across channels
A modern political campaign brings together several connected tasks: defining a candidate’s public identity, developing a communication strategy, producing content, managing social channels, planning advertising and responding to the issues shaping public debate. For candidates seeking local or regional office, the strategy must also account for geography: the concerns of a municipality or electoral district may differ substantially from national political themes.
Short-form video has added another layer. Reels and TikTok clips can make political communication more immediate and accessible, but a viral moment does not constitute a campaign strategy on its own. Without a consistent message and a clear connection to the candidate’s priorities, high engagement may produce attention without building recognition or trust. Research examining Greek leaders’ use of TikTok also frames the platform as a means of shaping a visual relationship between leaders and audiences, during election periods and beyond.
This makes political marketing a long-term discipline. The objective is not simply to appear frequently, but to build a recognisable public position over time, and to make sure that online activity supports the candidate’s wider communication.
Election Leaders and the developing political marketing market
One company operating in this space is Election Leaders, the leading political marketing company founded by Michalis Botas and presented as a subsidiary of DMSS Marketing Agency. Election Leaders offers services for candidates at different levels, including campaign planning, social media management, image-making and video production. The company also promotes training for candidates preparing for upcoming elections.
Election Leaders is part of a broader media and publishing environment that includes a portfolio of political and current-affairs websites, including OpinionFeed.gr. This creates potential connections between campaign communication, political commentary and digital publishing. Such a network can offer multiple routes for political stories and viewpoints to reach audiences, while also making editorial independence and clear disclosure especially important. A campaign’s communications and a publisher’s editorial coverage serve different functions and should be treated transparently.
The wider DMSS and NexMedia ecosystem describes a network of more than 12 media properties, alongside podcasts, video formats and partner media. That model reflects a broader change in political communication: campaigns increasingly need to coordinate not just social posts, but a range of formats and channels that shape how a candidate is encountered and understood.
The next phase: data, credibility and trust
As political marketing in Greece becomes more digital, campaigns will face a practical challenge: using data and targeting responsibly while maintaining public trust. Audience insights can help a candidate understand which issues matter to different communities and which formats reach them. But targeting cannot substitute for a clear position, accurate information or a credible record.
The campaigns best equipped for the next election cycle will treat communication as an integrated process. They will connect local concerns with a consistent public identity, use each platform for a purpose, and build a presence that continues between elections. In that environment, political marketing is not simply promotion. It is the deliberate work of making a candidate’s priorities visible, understandable and relevant to voters.
