Publication Date
Spring 2026
Presentation Length
15 minutes
College
College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
Department
Public Relations, Department of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Trenay Bynum
Metadata/Fulltext
Fulltext
Presentation Type
Talk/Oral
Summary
The Missed Mark
This project is a collective literary analysis of the current research conducted on the efficacy of current political campaigns. This collection of works aims to identify methodologies that increase message salience among American constituents and promote civic engagement.
Based on the collected data on citizens' perceptions of trust and relatability regarding candidates' platforms and personas, recommendations for more effectively appealing to these values become clearer and more precise. Collected data suggest members of the community feel ostracized by the impersonal copy-and-paste model often adopted by modern political campaigns. (S. Erdem Aytaç, Susan C. Stokes. 2019) Instead of focusing on local elections and direct constituent needs, voters are increasingly drawn into broad, nationwide discourse. American trust in political institutions has been slowly eroding for decades, but new research indicates it is the lowest it has been in seven decades. (Pew Research Center. 2025).
Despite Gen Z voters demonstrating high levels of political awareness and willingness to engage, many campaigns fail to mobilize the generation. Using cross-research analysis trends to pull key tactics that increase attitudes of acceptance towards candidates, public relations practitioners may better relay imperative information to key publics during election campaigns.
Recommended Citation
hill, Grace, "The Missed Mark" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 824.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/824
Included in
American Politics Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons
