The hung parliament means that whoever forms the government will be likely to return to the polls well before the five-year deadline.
The timing of the next election depends greatly on the outcome of talks being held between the Lib Dems and both the Conservatives and Labour, which were in progress as Marketing went to press. Should the Tories go it alone as a minority government, another vote could be held as soon as the autumn.
The £18m legal limit on national campaign spending was met easily by the Conservatives. Including local marketing, they had a budget of about £25m, Labour about £10m and the Lib Dems considerably less.
Dr Paul Baines, director of the MSc in strategic marketing at Cranfield School of Management, said the Lib Dems and Labour would ‘certainly be in trouble' in the event of another election this year, whereas one held in two years' time would allow them to replenish their war chests.
However, Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Mandate, Engine's public affairs arm, said the Tories would not be keen to have to call on their backers again so soon either.
‘If a second election is called soon, expect a heavy emphasis on old-fashioned, grass-roots door-knocking, the cheapest form of campaigning,' he added.
Paul Bainsfair, European chief executive of Iris, which created the ‘Labservative' campaign for the Lib Dems, said
his agency's work had demonstrated ‘how much could be achieved with imagination'. However, he warned: ‘Getting out there with banners and leaflets needs real money.'
During the election campaign, the Lib Dems positioned themselves as a break from the ‘old parties', but there are signs that their talks with the Tories are having a negative impact on the party's brand image.
Deshmukh said: ‘The Lib Dems couldn't find themselves in a more tricky position. The dilemma for Nick Clegg is that the Lib Dem brand means diametrically opposite things to different groups of supporters.'
He warned that the party could be tarnished by association with deep budget cuts in the event of a Tory deal.
Bainsfair denied a coalition with the Conservatives could harm the Lib Dem brand. However, he added: ‘I could see how they could be damaged if they were to form a pact with the defeated Labour government.'
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