Democrats Need to Start Thinking Like Brand Strategists
Six key factors to build a purpose-driven brand identity
We are less than two months into President Trump’s second term and two things are clear: Trump is even more emboldened than his first term and Democrats are even less coherent in their opposition. If Democratic leaders are to win back public opinion, unify the party, and counter Trump effectively, they need to start operating strategically rather than tactically. Instead of simply resisting Trump at every turn, they need to get clear about their purpose, build a corresponding brand, and stay focused and on-message within that brand framework. In short, Democrats need to be more than the anti-Trump party. They need to proactively build a purpose-driven brand of their own.
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It has been an aggressive and turbulent start for Mr. Trump. On the international stage, he has started trade wars with allies and deeply undermined Ukraine. On the home front, he is consolidating power. He has appointed unqualified loyalists to positions of power, fired inspectors general, and has targeted law firms he sees as politically adversarial. His most prominent domestic initiative - led by Elon Musk - has been to gut federal agencies and their functioning capacity.
The public’s response has been mixed, but even some conservatives are starting to get frustrated at the administration’s approach. Columnist Sohrab Ahmari asks, “You come in with a mandate and the trifecta, and you’re going to waste in on letting banks pile up the overdraft fees on low-income customers and firing vets and nuclear-weapons-safety specialists, then scrambling to hire them back? What even is the legislative agenda here?”
One might think that all of this would be a political boon for Democrats. Hardly. Not even a majority of Democratic voters think Democrats in Congress are doing a good job. Meanwhile a Quinnapiac poll registered the highest percentage of voters with an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since they began asking the question.
That is because the Democrats are a rudderless mess.
At a DNC forum earlier this year, left-wing protestors continuously interrupted, Democrats doubled down on identity politics in their own operations, and candidates for DNC Chair reaffirmed their belief that Kamala Harris lost because of racism and misogyny. As one commenter on the YoutTube recording said, “Wow. This gives me hope… that the Republicans will be in office for a long time.”
The disorganization and incoherence continued during Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. Representative Al Green of Texas heckled the president and was removed from the chamber, while other members of Congress wore pink and/or held auction-style paddles with pithy protest phrases. Before the speech, Axios reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was cracking down on plans among his members to try to disrupt or draw attention away from President Trump's speech. Clearly, his caucus chose not to follow his advice.
Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered a solid response speech, and in a subsequent appearance on Meet the Press, she stated, “We can’t just be against something. We have to be for something.”
She is right. Step 1 of brand strategy is solidifying your brand’s purpose.
In a focus group last year, we asked voters what the Democrats’ core purpose is. We got mostly silence. The participants struggled to define the overarching problem the party is trying to solve and what the party’s unique vision is to fix it. In contrast, they had much stronger and quicker opinions about the brand of Republicans.
This is an existential problem for Democrats. Until they sort out what their purpose is, they will continue to be disorganized and ineffective.
It is not that Democrats lack ideas. They have plenty: the Green New Deal, economic populism, economic patriotism, defending labor and unions, common sense, moderation, freedom, safety and security, abundance, strengthening the middle class, defending Democracy, and interventionist national security - among many others.
The problem is that Democrats have been unable to translate these many ideas into a strategically compelling purpose around which they can build a brand. Every strong brand identity rests on a purpose-driven foundation. Brand identity is not, after all, simply a marketing image or set of organizational descriptors; it is a holistic and intentional encapsulation of an organization's core values, vision, and road map for the future. And it serves as a unifying north star to organize and streamline all organizational activities and communications for maximum impact.
Before offering up more options for a core purpose to propel their brand, Democrats should consider all the strategic implications. A purpose-driven brand identity must accomplish the following objectives:
Tell a simple story about what is wrong in America and how to solve it
An effective brand is anchored in good story telling, especially when it helps Americans make sense of a complicated world. Trump is a strong storyteller. According to him, America has been taken over by globalist elites that care more about performative wokeness than the interests of average Americans - and the country needs a strong leader to save the working people of America from the woke left. This narrative is effective because it frames the problem and solution in a personal and approachable way that Americans can latch onto. Indeed, the entire narrative can be summed up in the short phrases: “America First” and “Make America Great Again.” Democrats need to present an alternative narrative of America’s current situation that voters find equally compelling.
Inspire a majority of Americans
Majority rules in America, so any brand identity needs to be broadly popular. That may sound obvious, but Democratic leaders have too often been captured by the loud minority on their far left to the detriment of the party’s brand.
It is also critical that the brand identity inspires - not just appeals - to voters. Too many moderates have a tendency to advocate for a party “vision” that is not much more than a laundry list of policies that poll well. While “banning hidden consumer fees” might be the most popular policy idea in a poll from last year, such an idea will never serve as the inspirational foundation for a party’s brand identity.
Inspiration comes from an emotional place in the human psyche. Systems-level solutions and intellectual deep dives have their place, but a more personal and relatable framing should guide the brand hierarchy.
Unite the party
In a two-party system, you inevitably need odd bedfellows to build a majority. The resulting coalitions will never agree on everything, but the party must share something fundamental to unite them. While party factionalism has its place, waging perpetual intraparty political warfare will rarely lead to larger majorities. An effective brand identity finds the overlapping areas of agreement between the factions, turns out the base, and pulls in new swing voters.
Create differentiation from the alternative party
Politics is about choices, so a good brand identity should make the choice clear. This can be tricky when politics is messy and when voters rarely side with one party on every single topic, but the onus is on the party to define the core distinctions in the most favorable terms for itself. If they fail to do this, the other party will.
Enhance existing brand strengths while addressing weaknesses
Even though the Democrats’ brand is weak right now, it still has areas of strength. An updated brand identity should enhance those strengths while buttressing its weaknesses. From a brand standpoint, this should be an evolution, not a revolution. For voters to buy into the Democrats’ updated brand identity, they need to see it as an authentic extension of the existing brand rather than a contrived reinvention.
Serve as an overarching framework for party messaging
Finally, a proper brand identity is broad enough to serve as an overarching framework for party messaging. While it must be personal and relatable, it cannot be so specific that it fails to capture the full scope of political discourse. At a practical level, it must be a useful communications tool for party leaders. When asked a question on nearly any topic, the brand identity should offer a framework that allows political leaders to respond clearly and consistently with the overarching world view of the party.
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These are the key functions that any updated Democratic brand identity must perform to build a proactive brand identity independent of Trump. Of course, Democrats could continue to define themselves as simply the opposite of whatever Trump has recently said or done, but such a strategy is destined for failure. It loses any ability to control the narrative or maintain focus, and comes across as weak and inauthentic to voters. If Democrats are to pull themselves out of their pattern of rudderless resistance, they need their own purpose. They need to convince voters that Democrats are not just Trump nay-sayers, but inspirational leaders in their own right. For that, they need to think and act strategically to rebuild a winning brand identity.