I work in advertising, and branding is something that almost every client wants. Yet they often have no clue what the word means, much less how to go about building a brand. In light of this video now on the front page and Markos openly mocking the Republicans by taking their elephant and turning it into a dinosaur, I thought I would take a few minutes and explain some basic branding and/or marketing facts to our friends on the other side of the aisle.
1. A Brand Isn't Your Logo
It isn't your company name. Although that is what most clients I work with seem to think. I've attended dozens of expensive conferences and read at least a hundred books on the topic, and seen just about as many definitions of what a brand means.
I personally like the most simple definition I've ever heard: A brand is a promise of performance. When I buy an Apple iPod, use Google, or purchase a Big Mac I expect a certain level of performance. If the product delivers a level of performance at or above what I expected, I will buy that brand again and again. Often paying a premium price.
Republicans, this is your first problem. I am a political geek of the highest order, and a marketing guy, and I have literally no idea what your party stands for. No clue of what you'll provide me if I vote for you. What is your promise of performance?
Lets take one of the issues you talk about the most, abortion. For my entire adult life of 39 years I've heard your party say that abortion is murder. Yet you've controlled every branch of the government multiple times and done nothing to change this. If I was a person (I am not) that thought abortion is murder, why the heck would I keep voting for your party, cause you drop the ball on your promise of performance time and time again. This is but one example .....
2. Your Brand Is Your Most Important Asset
Period! You protect it at all costs. Each year Interbrand, along with Business Week does a complex analysis of the Top 100 Brands. Using a mathematical equation I am not smart enough to understand they place a dollar value on each brand. The number one brand in 2008 was Coca-Cola, with an estimated value of almost $70 billion. Therefore their brand is estimated to be worth more than all their trucks, physically bottling plants, and all their office space throughout the world.
When you work for a large company and produce ads for them they give you want they call a Branding Guide. Often hundreds of pages long it touches on several very important topics. One section is what is called Brand Attributes. Things they want attached to their name. For BMW it might be German engineering. Volvo safety. You get the point.
Of course they want other attributes attached to their name, but generally speaking in marketing you can't be everything to everybody, so you pick one. What is most important to your target audience? So when your name is mentioned that is the first word that pops into a prospects head.
Republicans, what is that one word or phrase? What do you stand for?
This may be your biggest problem, cause I know you don't know. It is also the reason any good ad agency also has a PR department. I can run ads 24/7 everywhere (and they do work BTW) promoting my product, but Markos writing a post saying my product is wonderful, everybody ought to buy it, is far more effective.
What I am getting at is there is only so much you can do to control your brand (and you guys/gals are not doing a very good job). The media, press, bloggers you name it also shape how people view your brand. So when you have powerful media outlets like Daily Kos, Countdown, and the Daily Show attaching attributes to your brand like death, torture, war, and liars, you don't embrace it by saying how you actually believe in those things.
You run away from those attributes and attach more positive ones, what of course first you have to know what they are.
3. Know Your Target Audience
Unless you are somebody like Coke you have a target audience that isn't the entire United States. Not everybody wants a BMW or an iPod. And lets face it, your rebranding effort isn't going to get me or Markos to vote for you. So with limited resources you have to target people you can actually influence to vote for you.
But this is key. If am selling a product and I find if I get 100% of my target audience to buy my product (and of course this NEVER happens) I may find out I still can't turn a profit. Therefore, it is a failed business idea.
But that is exactly what you are doing right now in attempting to appeal to only your base, or less than 25% of the voting population.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. 25% of the population isn't going to win you back the White House, much less control in the Senate or House. And if you don't control those branches of government, you can't get your agenda through, therefore you can't promise me any king of "performance" if I vote for you.
4. Advertising/Marketing/Branding Is Not Rocket Science
At its most basic core it is about delivering the right message, to the right audience, at the right time. I used to marvel at how your party could stay on message. As a marketing guy it was amazing to watch.
Branding is about repetition. Saying the same thing over and over again. It is why most successful brands have one attribute they trumpet again and again. Why they have 100+ page Branding Guidelines. It is all done to stay on message.
You people are so off message at this point it is actually becoming painful to watch. Embarrassing would be another way to put it.
More than anything you need to find a message and pound it home 24/7. Cause as I say branding is about repetition, but it is also about repetition over time. If you give me enough money and a solid message/product I can make the American public think just about anything I want.
But it takes time. I can't change people's perceptions overnight, it takes an extended period of time, months if not a year plus.
And this is yet another huge problem for you. Most of my clients always want to cut corners. Not do the research or planning. Not test the messages. They want short term results. And rarely does this work in marketing.
You are so crazed cause of the last election you are in full panic mode. Throwing up anything and everything in the misguided hope that this will work. Something will work. It won't.
But by all means, please don't take any of this advice. Keep doing exactly what you are doing and I believe your party might cease to exist outside the South.