David Ocamb

Far too often, Democratic campaigns focus solely on “issues.”  They poll test exactly what has the electorate fired up and what they want to hear and then recite that back verbatim.  Republicans, conversely, focus solely on “values,” usually the three G’s (God, Guns and Gays).  Candidates repeat over and over again that they share the voters’ values. Neither side is necessarily “wrong,” but both Democrats and Republicans are failing to effectively create a brand that transcends the sum of its parts and builds an effective positive message that cuts through the political clutter, connects with voters and ultimately wins elections.

An effective political brand is composed of three equally important parts: experience, values and policy.  These three components do not exist separate from each other; in fact, they must work in concert to effectively build an effective brand.  That is why cookie cutter campaigns that we see far too often, where consultants will build essentially the same commercials and give candidates essentially the same talking points, are not the most effective, since no two candidates are exactly the same.  

Experience

A candidate’s experience is composed of every single event that has happened in their life that brings them to this point… running for the office they are running for.  It includes the obvious “big things” like education, work history, previous elected office, etc.  It also includes the far more nuanced “life changing events” like having children, struggles they have overcome in order to get where they are today, and even people who have influenced them along the way.  A good political consultant will spend hours interviewing the candidate to mine the candidate’s past to discover the nuggets of information that will help build this leg of the stool.

Values

A candidate’s values are those guiding principles that influence how they see the world.  Some of these values have ideological underpinnings; however, even these are more nuanced than they initially might appear.  Amongst Republicans (the party that utilizes values in campaigns far more effectively than Democrats) you have:

Social Values: Social values are Judeo-Christian values like being pro-life, for prayer in school, and opposing gay rights.  At their core, social values invoke a feeling in the mind that America was established as a Christian nation (which, clearly, the historical record disputes) and we ought to return to that place.

Populist Values: Populist values include being against immigration reform (usually opposing “amnesty”), pro gun, racist undertones, and extreme patriotism.  At their core, populist values invoke a feeling that “the other” is threatening America and the “elites” are aiding and abetting that other. 

Business Values: Business values all center around radical conceptions of capitalism (usually backed by economists like Milton Friedman) that urge the government to lower taxes, eliminate regulation, and allow business to function “independent” of Government restraint.

As you can see, these Republican values, if one actually examines them in nuance, will come into conflict with one another.  However, this is rarely a problem, as people do not analyze them in depth; they merely listen for key “code words” and don’t examine any philosophical underpinnings. 

Democrats have very recently attempted to reclaim the values mantel.  They’ve reframed liberalism and are now talking about a “progressive” agenda.  This progressive agenda shares little in common with the earlier “progressive” era (of the early 1900’s) and instead speaks of scientific progress, economic fairness, and social justice. 

In terms of conveying values, Republicans can use a few keywords to invoke an entire values platform.  Democrats have yet to effectively convey an overarching values structure, thus they are not able to as easily rely on keywords to invoke a progressive values message.  However, values don’t necessarily have to be ideological.  One can merely talk in terms of “right and wrong” to really key in on the values realm in voters’ minds.

Policy

Democrats have typically run campaigns focused on identifying the issues the public wants to hear and advocating policies that “fix” them.  How many campaigns center around “healthcare,” “education,” and the “economy?”  Democratic campaigns will regularly issue multi-page plans to address these issues and the press will laude the campaigns for their substance.  Republicans, in contrast, rarely speak about issues except as keywords to invoke their governing values.  They say they oppose abortion, for instance, but they don’t put forth any substantive plans to lower the amount of abortions is our country… they merely want to “end” it and “overturn Roe V. Wade.” 

The Political Brand = Experience + Values + Policy

An effective political brand positions the candidate above any and all partisan labels and allows the candidate to win election based on their own merits regardless of what political climate they are running in.  This brand is unique to the candidate and crafted based upon poll results, focus group results, the candidate’s own background, and the demographics of the electorate. 

To build a brand, the campaign must first poll test the electorate to discover what issues are most important.  Once they have this information, they ought to use additional polls and focus groups to ascertain how voters feel about the issue, what words they use to describe it and how they want to see it tackled.  Next, the campaign must analyze the entire history of the candidate in relation to this issue.  What experience does the candidate have involving the issue?  What struggles in relation to the issue?  How has this issue personally affected the candidate’s life?  The next step is to explore how the candidate’s experience and struggles involving this issue have created values and moral sentiments about the issue.  Finally, the candidate will unveil a comprehensive plan to solve the issue.

In speaking in the abstract and in academic terms, it’s easy to wonder how one can possibly achieve all of this in a ten second sound bite that is digestible by the common voter.  However, not only is it possible, it’s the only way a brand can ever be achieved. 

Here’s an example to show how these three legs work in concert to support a brand.

Example: President Bill Clinton’s 1992 Election

Many Democrats look upon the success of President Bill Clinton in 1992 as a policy success of focusing in on the economy.  This ignores the political brand President Clinton was able to build.  He pulled from his experience as someone who came from poverty to become the Governor of Arkansas.  With one line, “I come from a place called Hope” he was able to tie that experience to a value: hope.  He was also able to embody the Horatio Alger story arc of overcoming obstacles to be a self-made person.  The link from values to policies was embodied in the famous formulation “change verses more of the same; it’s the economy; and healthcare too.”  And rather than simply relying on keywords, he released comprehensive policies to stimulate economic growth and completely reform the healthcare system.  By combining experience, values and policy he was able to become a brand that resonated with the populace and led to his success. 

Conclusion

We can all think of candidates who continually defy the odds and win in districts they should not win.  State Representative Chuck Hopson and US Congressional Representative Chet Edwards are two examples in Texas.  These candidates win because they have created their own brand and are seen as above politics as usual.