Presidential Campaigns: A Masterclass in Modern Marketing
The Presidential Election: Let’s put emotions aside, this is not a post about politics or policies.
What I’d rather do is dissect what we can learn from this latest election cycle as one of the greatest examples of how critical it is to get it right when it comes to your marketing approach. I believe this is the first time in our recent history that these two candidates took very different approaches to marketing themselves. I am not talking about messaging so much – as always, we had each candidate highlighting their partisan views and talking points that matter most to their respective party’s bases. But what was truly unique here was the very clear differences in media types, influencers and partnerships utilized. To sum it up:
Media Engagement
Trump opted to avoid mainstream media channels and instead leaned in on podcasts and social media.
Harris also included some podcast appearances, but certainly included a lot more traditional news outlets vs. Trump.
Influencers
Trump focused on gaining support from individuals that have a massive audience, although seen as controversial in many eyes, Elon Musk and Joe Rogan proved to be hugely impactful on people’s decision.
Another notable difference in Trump’s approach is that he used himself as an influencer by consistently posting on his various social platforms, using his own, unique voice.
Harris took an approach that started in 2008 with Obama, gaining many celebrity sponsors to show their support.
While Harris also used social media, it was much more of a paid and scripted ad approach vs. organic content.
Partnerships
Trump promoted his goal to partner with RFK Jr., someone who was once his competitor, which was an opportunity to convert a huge following of people that believed in his platform around the food and pharma industry.
Harris did speak on her plans to partner with various individuals, community leaders, local governments & private sector entities, but there wasn’t a clear partnership at the forefront that helped increase her support.
So, how does this relate to marketing in general and what can brands learn?
1. Consumers are and will continue to be cautious about trusting brands themselves, especially when only using traditional paid ad messaging that feels overly scripted and inauthentic.
2. They don’t want to follow brands on social media – it’s about people! Make yourself the brand.
3. The world has changed; celebrity endorsements don’t hold as much weight – consumers want the ability to relate to those that are influencing them.
4. A well-defined audience is critical, but it doesn’t end there. It’s more than just knowing who they are, what they look like, how old they are, etc.– find out what matters to them most and how does your product or service solve a specific challenge they are facing.
5. An added component – there are vast differences in how the generations think, how they feel, what moves them and how they make decisions. This is only compounded by the large-scale migration across the country.
None of this is new news, but I believe this election was such a stellar example of the proof being in the pudding for marketers.
It is our mission at MSI to help brands navigate this complex marketplace and tap into these strategies to find your authentic voice and make an impact. Our expertise in data: collecting, organizing and reading it, will help you understand the generational and geographic implications for your business growth.
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