The battle of the brands: Trump vs Clinton
Elections are won and lost on simple concepts that extend from the candidate's personal brand and how that brand intersects with external events. This upcoming event is no exeption. So, who has the brand that will resonate better with voters: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?
It's been challenging updating this blog, the must absurd things happen with the speed of light all the time. That being said, Clinton and Trump have just finished another one of their almost unremittingly hostile debates, a 90-minute spectacle of character attacks and tawdry allegations. It was what New York Times referred to as "a deeply ugly moment in American politics, featuring the sort of personal invective rarely displayed by those who aspire to lead the nation."
I will in this blog post try to put both parties accusations to side and concentrate on who has the brand that will resonate better with the voters on 8th of November.
The candidates
Let's start with Hillary Clinton. Clinton's brand is endurance. She endured endless humiliations from her husband's reckless affairs. She endured two presidential elections and Clinton administrations in the 1990s, the Whitewater scandal, the Lewinsky scandal, her healthcare reform debacle, two Senate campaigns, a failed presidential bid, a controversial term as Secretary of State and the recent email scandal. Her capacity for sheer endurance is a skill in itself that must be acknowledged even if it is not always admired.
"Donald Trump's political brand is entertainment. He is, at root, a reality star, a rapper who raps about being a brilliant businessman on television. Trump was a reality star before reality TV and a rapper before rap mainstreamed."
–CNBC
It's been said by CNBC and others that Donald Trump's political brand is entertainment. He is, at root, a reality star, a rapper who raps about being a brilliant businessman on television. Trump was a reality star before reality TV and a rapper before rap mainstreamed. So can Trump the brand survive Trump the candidate?
Brands have bailed on Mr Trump, yet his own empire is growing, for now. Call it the tale of two Trumps: Donald Trump - the presidential candidate - is getting a lot of his support from blue-collar workers seduced by his message of making America great again. But Mr. Trump the businessman runs an empire of luxury hotels, golf courses and condos that many of his supporters could only dream of affording.
The Trump name, of course, has been slapped on more affordable things, from steaks to water, neckties to mattresses. But the average American might be hard-pressed to find a lot of those items. And lately in the wake of comments they find offensive, a number of high-profile brands working with him have departed over the past year. Trump is what one in political psychology refers to as an identity entrepreneur. He tries to influence the picture of himself towards the overall american to suit his values and what he stands for.
In positioning wars Mission always emphasise towards the client the importance of not only trying to drive up your own assets, but as importantly you must drive up your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. The client must always seek to unravel the opponent's brand. This is important so you know how to differentiate yourself or your brand in the market place and in the communication.
Trump is what in political psychology is called an identity entrepreneur. He tries to influence the image people have of him in a direction that is tailored to his own values and opinions.
When it comes to fighting for positions in business, it is important to not only consider your own assets, but also be well informed about the competitor's strengths and weaknesses. The client must at all times investigate the opponents' brand. This is important, among other things, because it gives you the opportunity to differentiate yourself or your brand in the market, and in communication.
Potential pitfalls
So, what are the opponent’s pitfalls in this case? Let’s start with Hillary Clinton: In the past, she has steadily absorbed attacks when accused of wrongdoing and that has earned her public sympathy. Even her misdirection when under fire has been tolerated as an acceptable response to ceaseless assaults. But nobody wants to elect a president they feel sorry for, or thinks is hiding something, especially following her stumbling sortie from the commemoration in September.
Meanwhile, Trump is the sum total of his insecurities. He cannot abide criticism from even the most collateral parties and one imagines him wanting to use the nation's intelligence services to track down and punish anyone who calls him names. Just lately he also came with the startling accusation; “she has tremendous hate in her heart!”
Entertainers exorcise their insecurities in their art, but if your rap is that you're a larger-than-life mogul, you can't be seen as a panicked adolescent. Team Clinton will try to show the American public that Trump is the "little man behind the curtain," not the great and powerful Wizard of Commerce.
Part of Trump's authority as an entertainer is that he connects with regular people who worship celebrity and want to be a part of it, even if just through voting. Based on numerous public reports, Trump has a big weakness here in the embodiment of such regular people who either worked for him and claim not to have been paid, but also consumers of his products, such as Trump University, who say they were rooked.
I think that Trump's really weak point as a candidate is that he sends out conflicting messages and that he has forgotten how important it is to be consistent if you want to differentiate yourself. What do people think of him? What does he want them to believe? For what the voters think of him weighs heavier than what he tells them to believe. We connect with each other based on what we think about each other. Our perceptions control our actions. Many of the large companies that have experienced growth in the last five years have been successful because they have understood what the people they want to reach believe in. This also applies to presidential candidates, but I doubt whether Trump has tried to understand his market, his voters at all.
"Hillary Clinton on the other hand, has become a bit of a stale brand"
–Douglas Brinkley
"Hillary Clinton on the other hand, has become a bit of a stale brand," says Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University in Texas, in an interview. "In many ways, she is a hostage of the past." Lately, she has ran on her resume from her time as First Lady to her most recent stint as Secretary of State. It has helped that she will become the first woman nominated for president by a major party — and that her age (68) was not a liability against Sanders (74) and her next opponent, 70-year-old Donald Trump. But she needs to tell a story, create ideas and experiences that give people reasons to care and to belong in her world, not just reasons to choose between her and Trump. She needs to unlock the value in her story, in order to create a difference.
While other presidents have possessed the traits of entertainers and used their skills in this area —Kennedy, Reagan, Obama — to make a difference, this alone didn't put them there. Trump's entertainment rap will likely bring about a surge for him in the weeks ahead because his gift for spectacle will energise a big chunk of the electorate demanding to be heard.
The "endurance" brand has always been strong in presidential politics. So, if we're going on brand, Clinton has the better chance of winning in November. However, if she does win, it won't be due to the kind of enthusiasm that Obama generated in 2008, but because voters believe her capacity to endure withering scrutiny on the national stage for a quarter century shows that she's not out of her mind, which is a point of differentiation from her opponent.
Remember, Americans have elected unlovable personalities before, most famously Richard Nixon. When it's all over, I pray the American voters have chosen a serious candidate with serious flaws over a reality TV rapper embracing Putin's leadership and a desire to retaliate every Tom, Dick and Harry.
At Mission , we work with branding, positioning, perception and principles in much the same way whether the "product" is a presidential candidate, a company or a service. We are brand specialists. For more than 15 years, we have been working with strategic design to build strong brands for companies, big and small, throughout Norway and Scandinavia. Our proactive approach employs a methodology we call Simplicity Works, it’s a way to simplify the process, to develop stronger communication and create success.
Sources
Advertising Age
Eric Dezenhall, CEO Dezenhall Resources
New York Times
