the power of specialized thinking

Branding + VisualCommunicationsn e w s l e t t e r

Published by Makovsky + Company Volume 22/Number 5

S t rategies

Every Sale is an ElectionFive Political Lessons Every Brand Manager Should LearnIn the 1972 film, The Candidate, RobertRedford plays an idealistic youngpolitician who is shocked – shocked! – todiscover that his campaign manager isusing consumer brand marketingtechniques to drive his candidacy.

In the twenty-five years since the moviewas released, we’ve all becomeconsiderably more comfortable with theinteraction of marketing and politics. Infact, as our understanding of therelationship between people andbrands has deepened, we’re beginningto realize that just as a candidate can bepresented like a brand, the opposite isequally true: Every brand needs to behandled like a candidate.

Why? Because people don’t buy brands.They join them.

Expectations for brands are the same asexpectations for politicians: A coherentworld view. An emotional connection.An identifiable image. People don’t wantto passively receive messages; theyexpect to be engaged in an activedialogue. They’re not “customers” at all.They’re constituents.

As a result, smart Brand Managers areacting more and more like campaignmanagers, setting aside the tactics of the

mass marketer for the five keytechniques of the grassroots crusader:

1. Own the issue.

2. Start a groundswell.

3. Win the debates.

4. Turn out the vote.

5. Keep your promises.

Using these strategies will allow you tocreate such strong bonds with your brand’s

constituency, buying theproduct — casting a vote — isalmost a foregone conclusion.

1. Own the issue. Everysuccessful brand, like anysuccessful politician, isorganized around a compellingissue. It’s not enough to justidentify that issue. You need toembody it, to coin the phrasesthat describe it and brand thesolutions that address it.

In 1979, while Jane Byrne wasrunning for Mayor of Chicagoagainst the all-powerful politicalmachine of former MayorRichard Daley, a series offreakishly huge snowstormsslammed the city. Daley’s hand-picked successor, MichaelBilandic, bloviated from the

warmth of City Hall, but Byrne conductedher campaign out in the blizzards. Themedia was soon filled with images of Janein her cheap cloth coat and wet stockingcap, pointing an accusing finger at thesnow-choked streets. She quickly becamethe literal embodiment of the city’sresilience. And Chicago’s first female mayor.

More recently, Citibank found itself underattack from aggressive low-rate credit cards.

For more information on Makovsky + Company’sBranding+Visual Communications practice, please visitwww.makovsky.com/branding-+-visual-communications/overview.html

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With a now-famous series of ads, Citibank shifted discussion in thecategory away from interest rates to identity theft. Although studiesshowed that identity theft was far down the list of customerconcerns, Citibank successfully reframed the issue and gave it a newurgency, allowing them to hold onto their customer base andactually steal share away from the competition.

2. Start a groundswell. Every issue, no matter how compelling,begins as a fringe issue. Every candidate begins with a small circle ofadmirers. And every brand starts off as a niche brand. To besuccessful, you have to build outwards from your base of support,and generate a seemingly spontaneous groundswell of support thatmakes election seem inevitable.

Al Gore, with his“InconvenientTruth”campaign, took an issue that hadlong languished in the Green fringe and moved it right to the top ofthe public agenda. Gore’s approach was textbook: he simplified thediscussion, made the science accessible, and established vehicles—the lecture tour, the film, the website — that magnified the level ofsupport for the issue. He then invited everyone, advocates andskeptics alike, to add their opinions to the debate.

Once upon a time, Cisco Systems was an obscure manufacturer ofobscure networking equipment. But they expanded beyond theirniche, by first repositioning themselves as the backbone of theInternet, then extending invitations (first to businesses, thenconsumers, schools and governments) to join in the onlinecommunity. ByMarch 2000, Ciscowas themost valuable company inthe world, with a market capitalization of more than $500 billion.

3. Win the debates. Just like any other candidate, your brand willbe pitted against all the other brands vying for your constituents’loyalty. And just as Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Al Gore learned,the winner of those debates will not be the onewho scores themostpoints on policy details.

The key to victory is to create a simple storyline with distinctcharacters: The Youthful Idealist trumps the Experienced Cynic(Kennedy/Nixon). The Reformed Bad Boy tweaks the PedanticSchoolmarm (Bush/Gore). As history has repeatedly demonstrated, ifthe story is compelling enough and the characters distinctiveenough, the debate will be won regardless of facts presented orpolicies expounded.

Apple has always been amaster of the us-versus-them scenario, fromtheir very first Macintosh (“The computer for the rest of us”) to theircurrent, brilliantMac vs PC campaign. Nomatter what newMicrosoftoperating system is introduced, no matter what new features itboasts, even PC loyalists are left with the feeling that there’s a smarter,faster and more sophisticated Mac waiting just around the corner.

4. Turn out the vote. Your issue is provocative. Your momentum isbuilding. You’ve won the debates. But you still won’t win unless yoursupporters show up. “You gotta do everything for the voter exceptvote,” as one precinct captain puts it. “Pick ‘em up, sign ‘em in. Pushtheir wheelchairs, sit with their kids, whatever it takes.”

For Brand Managers, the lesson is: Focus on your infrastructure. Youhave to make it easy for people to find you, to interact with you, toget whatever they want from you.With all due respect to your manybrilliant product developers, the quality of your infrastructure oftendefines your brand’s relationship with its constituents.

Ten years ago, the idea of selling shoes online was consideredabsolute madness. “The returns will kill you,” went the conventionalwisdom. Then Zappos.comwas launched. The idea was radical:Whatif, instead of avoiding returns, you embraced them? Wrong size?Don’t like the look? Here’s the return box, here’s the return postage,here’s your money back. Today, Zappos is the world’s largest shoeretailer, and rapidly becoming one of the largest retailers of any kind.

5. Keep your promises. For a politician, an election cycle doesn’tend with a victory in the election. For a brand, the sale of a productis only the beginning of the relationship.

So just like any President- or Senator- or Dogcatcher-elect, the BrandManager’s continuing task is to deliver on the promises made, tosolve the issues raised, and perhapsmost importantly, make sure thateverybody sees you doing it.

Because the last thing you want to do is to supply the issue for thenext election.

Learn more about howMakovsky’s Branding + Visual Communications Practicecan make a difference for your company.

Contact Tim Kane212.508.9699tkane@makovsky.com

About Makovsky + CompanyFounded in 1979, Makovsky + Company (www.makovsky.com) is today one of the nation’sleading independent global public relations and investor relations consultancies. The firmattributes its success to its original vision: that the Power of Specialized Thinking™ is the bestway to build reputation, sales and fair valuation for a client. Based in NewYork City, the firm hasagency partners in more than 20 countries and in 35 U.S. cities through IPREX, the third largestworldwide public relations agency partnership, of which Makovsky is a founder.

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