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Branding New Day

Marketers talk about branding a lot because it’s the basic building block for any organisation looking to create a profile and presence. We talk about consumers being familiar with a brand, experiencing a brand, recalling a brand and sometimes, for outliers like Apple or Nike, claiming to love a brand.

All of it starts with branding.

Outside marketing it’s always fascinating to watch the concept of branding play out in the real world. If you’re following the ongoing US presidential election cycle, you’ll see it happening in real time. Curiously it’s the same principle, but we’re seeing it deployed with a twist.

Because the candidates aren’t branding themselves.

You Get a Brand, and You Get a Brand…

Instead, they’re investing time and effort trying to brand their opponents.

After years of President Donald Trump using branding techniques to damage the opposition, the Harris campaign used a similar strategy.

But first to the Republican side. Donald Trump has essentially owned the branding corner of US politics, deploying nicknames like weapons. It may sound like schoolyard tactics, but it can be super effective. Remember Crooked Hillary?

It worked so well he then re-used it to give us Crooked Joe Biden. Who was also Sleepy Joe Biden. You may not remember Low Energy Jeb but Jeb Bush saw his brand (and campaign) fall apart when Trump wheeled that one out. And they’re nominally on the same side!

It’s not just nicknames either. Trump’s always enthusiastically used slogans too: Lock Her Up. Drain The Swamp. Four More Years. Drill, Baby, Drill. Ready-made for packed rallies to make their own.

It all falls under a brand he (more conventionally) created for himself: Make America Great Again. Political discourse now refers to MAGAs, capturing a disparate segment of voters who have found a home under Trump’s wing. MAGA is now arguably bigger than a brand, it’s an entire identity.

Too Nice?

All the while, the Democratic side seemed to flounder in the face of the names and put downs. Decisive, simple, easy to remember and hard to shake once the initial association was made; this was a superb demonstration of the power of branding – even if it was used to actively brand someone else. And it was Trump’s playground.

Until now.

Because the Democrats have sharpened their pencils – and maybe swallowed their pride – to come up with one word to describe the other side.

Weird.

It’s simple. It’s easy to remember. And at the time it seemed to be hitting a nerve.

“They’re the weird ones. Nobody’s ever called me weird” was one of Trump’s initial responses. Which is about as convincing as the time he claimed The Bible is his favourite book, but refused to name a verse he liked.

The Pro-Branding Anti-Branding Campaign

Who knows what will happen next and who will be involved. Maybe, as the political back-and-forth continues, one side will even start looking at themselves and trying to build a positive brand in the minds of voters.

For now though it looks as through the anti-branding efforts of both sides will continue.

Both parties have provided us with great examples of the power of branding and just how sticky it can be when it cuts through. It’s a reminder for all of us in the marketing world, but let’s stay branding ourselves – and focus on putting it to good, positive use.