Metamorphosis of personal political brand identity through longitudinal qualitative content analysis

Abstract

This study explores the application of longitudinal qualitative content analysis to explain the evolution of political identity through Prabowo Subianto’s changing messages during the Indonesian presidential election across three temporal phases: 2014, 2019, and 2024. This study draws on the personal political brand identity framework. This study adopts the frameworks of qualitative content analysis and qualitative longitudinal research. The researchers applied longitudinal qualitative content analysis to collect and analyze data from Prabowo Subianto’s Facebook page during the presidential election campaign. Identified 380 posts consisting of narratives, videos, and images across three campaign periods: 2014, 2019, and 2024. The findings reveal three phases of metamorphosis. In phases one and two (2014, 2019), Prabowo consistently used the six dimensions of personal political brand identity across all content. This study takes a step toward applying longitudinal qualitative content analysis to personal political brand identity research, and introduces a new conceptual dimension: governance-based branding and institutionalised legacy, thereby expanding the framework of personal political brand identity in the electoral context, particularly in Indonesia.