Political Strategy Teaches Brand Strategy a Few Lessons

I am pursuing a career in marketing/PR and as a Business Major at this school (there are really only 3 courses in the whole C-School that directly have to do with this career path), it's important to keep up with marketing/ advertising on my own. I found this article on AdAge, which basically sums up the takeaways of the most important advertising/marketing endeavor that the US sees: The Presidential Campaigns. While I have learned the importance of branding, I don't usually think of politicians as brands so much as pre-labeled believers of specific ideals. It was neat to see this tied together, something that I am very interested in but in a way I would not ordinarily relate it. Antony Young writes about the most important principles to get the vote, whether you are trying to win an election or gain market share in the paper towel industry.

1. "Focus on your Swing Voters"

Just how the candidate focused on OH, VA, CO, FL, etc., it is important to aim at the people who are not yet decided. He discusses the strategy of spending, and how air time during cable news was inefficient due to an already partial audience. The more you can influence the people that are up the air, the more you will get for your buck in advertisement. If people are already predisposed to one of two brands (or in this case candidates), a cheesy commercial is not about to change their mind.

2. "Remember Your Ground Game"

The Obama campaign boasts way more contact than the Romney campaign. Putting aside who won the election or why, it's an important lesson. Obama's campaign contained field offices and local structure that made the whole process more personal and memorable. This goes to show that media spending can be worthless without tying it all together. 

3. "Video Still Works"

The 2012 has jumped back to a TV election (since 2008 was considered "the Facebook Election"). Obama spent nearly twice as much as Romney on TV advertisement and also moved a lot of his campaign spending to online video. Hulu claims that the online video spending was up 700% from the last election. 

4. "Hyper-local is the New Black"

Online video allows for web integration such as Obama used during the campaign to pinpoint voting areas to encourage student registration in specific locations (such as Virginia Tech). Using local advertising is not surprising in politics, (such as Obama's targeting of blue-collar women in OH or Romney's targeting of Cuban-Americans in FL), it is quite important to consider the benefits of localizing brand messages. ex. How can Subaru make itself more appealing to somewhere Arizona, even though it's doing great in the Northeast? 

5. "Adaptive Marketing is Rising"

This is all about feedback and the importance of being able to readily adapt your campaign to consumer opinions and market research. This is such a primary part of marketing but sometimes companies get stuck and planted with an idea. It's so important to remain flexible and roll with what comes in. Young points out that of course marketers hear consumer responses- but the difference between general brands and the candidates is the speed and consistency with which they were able to respond. This doesn't necessarily require more money or different techniques- simply strategic integration and planning. 

6. "Long-Form Content Can Persuade" 

This section compares Romney's success in the first debate to the importance of not necessarily growth in numbers, but percentages, or market share. The entire presidential race is based on market share. It doesn't matter if Romney goes from 800 votes to 1000, if Obama is going to go from 900 to 1050. What is important is that in increasing votes, you are taking away "market share" of the other candidate. There is an ability for brands to completely turn themselves around quickly in order to the consumer response and take away from other lead competitors, except they don't necessarily need to win a number of items sold. 

7. "Negative Ads are A Negative"

Both candidates focused on bashing the other candidate in videos, according to Wesleyan Media Project, between June-October 2012, negative ads accounted for 62.9% of spots. Although they may seem obvious, consumers get discouraged by these types of ads and they can be horrible for brands. It is equally as tasteless for a presidential candidate to slash an opponent as Tide to advertise All not cleaning well. Both brands and candidates should focus on their own strengths instead of apparent stabs that make them lose accountability and look frivolous. 

While the article turned more from a how-to to a list of notes, it was cool to take a look at the "business" behind politics and getting the vote. 

Here's the article: http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/brands-learn-2012-presidential-election/238178/ by Antony Young