I was catching up on my Kosing and I ran across a post by Kos asking about branding. Reading the reply threads got me thinking about the issue of political party branding. One question which was certainly implied by that post, but not directly addressed is what is the Democratic Party's brand now?
What are the feelings and impressions you get from the Democratic Party's brand? I must admit that many of mine were surprisingly negative, and I know exactly where many of those negative brand impressions have come from.
Unfocused, loser, special interests, accomodation, elite, minorities, immigrants, poor, stagnation, hippies, regulatory, welfare, globalization
I could go on a bit more, but you can see some of the crap that has crept in, or been forced into our brand, even to someone who is very much a straight party ticket guy, like me.
Some of my more positive brand associations:
economic security, compassion, families, health care, enviroment, progressivism, equity, equality, civil rights, urban, professionals, intellectual, universities, education, grassroots, listening, accountability
What does the brand mean to you right now? What is the Democratic brand, and where does it need to go? How does it compare and contrast with our 'Pepsi', the GOP?