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Last week I surmised that Barack Obama confused his brand picture with the selection of Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate. Also last week, I suggested the John McCain also had a cloudy brand picture. A lot has happened in one week. Let’s take a look at how the selection of Sarah Palin affected John McCain’s brand.
One of the key attributes of good branding is owning a word. Each candidate has staked a claim on a word. Senator Obama has chosen “change” and Senator McCain has chosen “maverick.”
By definition, a maverick is a person who shows independence of thought or action, is a non-conformist or rebel. The selection of Alaska Governor Palin as the Republican VP candidate pretty much caught everyone by surprise. Palin was largely unknown to most Americans. The conventional wisdom had settled on four names including Connecticut Independent Senator Joe Lieberman. You would have to say that choosing a female, mother of five, first-term governor from a small state is, by definition, a Maverick move
After choosing your brand word, good branding then requires you make a brand promise that strengthens your ownership of that word. then deliver on that promise. It’s a little difficult to determine Senator McCain’s brand promise, so let’s look at his tagline — “Country First: Reform, Prosperity, Peace.” it’s a tagline somewhat cliched and could have done without the Reform, Prosperity, Peace addendum. Country First is a good position for a Maverick. It’s typical for politicians to make a lot of promises of individual benefits. To put the country ahead of individual promises is a maverick position.
So how did Senator McCain do? As far as cementing his brand as a maverick, I think he accomplished the mission. Governor Palin was a surprise pick that has energized Senator McCain’s base supporters. The McCain choice also steals some of Senator Obama’s change thunder by putting a woman on the ticket. So then, does better branding equal an election victory?
No, it doesn’t for a couple of reasons. The first is that the best brands are rarely the most popular brands. Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme were pretty stout brands before they became ubiquitous. Remember when everyone wanted a Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme in their town? Not any more. The larger and more popular a brand grows, the more the brand loses its uniqueness.
The second reason good branding doesn’t necessarily mean an election victory is brand appeal. No matter how well a product is branded, people still have to find value in that brand before they purchase it. The question then, is Senator McCain’s maverick brand of value to voters? Do people want a maverick in the White House? This election will be an interesting test of brands.
Comments Note: Please comment only the marketing aspects of this election. I won’t publish any comments that are strictly political.
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