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Written by: John Philip Josi | Student-Athlete at UC Berkeley
Like it or not, Donald J. Trump is our president-elect. After a long and hard-fought election cycle with its share of nastiness, the Republican party has returned to take up residency within the White House. Many did not see it coming because they shouldn’t have; the overwhelming attitude was that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her qualifications far surpassed the populist fervor which drove Trump’s campaign. However, a peek behind the curtain of his presidential campaign reveals a few surprising tips related to marketing in the professional world.
1. Make Your Company Great Again
Without getting too far into Donald Trump’s policies, I’ll describe him as generally anti-globalization. He promised to return many of the manufacturing and blue-collar jobs back to the United States, pointing the finger at free trade agreements like NAFTA as the institutions responsible for outsourcing American jobs. He promised to “Make America Great Again”. By making, he appeals to former blue-collar laborers without a job. By again, he calls forth more idealized memories of what America used to feel like (obviously this is up to interpretation, most of us would say we are progressing, not declining). He and his campaign staff identified the sentiments felt by their target audience, and constructed a slogan to relate the experience they would feel by voting for him. In the professional sphere, companies search for the right slogan as well. Brands should take a page from Trump’s playbook and construct a powerful slogan which conveys directly to the target customer the experience he will have while using their product.
2. Drain The Swamp
An absolute outsider with zero political experience, Donald Trump won the presidency of the United States. Beginning with the Republican primaries and stacked against a very competitive playing field, he quickly established himself as a Washington outsider. In seemingly impossible and insurmountable odds, Trump won out over Hillary Clinton, an incredibly qualified and well-resourced candidate, in the presidential election. He was unquestionably the “change” candidate, a source of hope and possibility for those voters dissatisfied by the current Washington elite and the courses of action taken by the Obama presidency. He realized this position’s value and capitalized on it, playing the tune of “disruptor” as loud as possible. Change and innovation is highly valued in all aspects of life, public and professional. Companies would be well-served by developing marketing campaigns that highlight the distinguishing and innovate quality of their products.
3. Host A Rally
Donald Trump loved his rallies. Up there, behind a podium, with more than enough American flags on stage, he and his microphone broadcasted what seemed like whatever was on his mind to the thousands of his supporters physically present at his rallies or those catching the action remotely via live stream. Either way, he made sure to connect directly with his constituents at high volume, realizing the power of direct customer engagement. He held rallies every day (sometimes more than one a day), channeling his raw enthusiasm and charismatic nature in way which many felt to be genuine and personal. While a company cannot interact like this on a daily basis with its customers, the social media platforms nearly almost every person on this planet takes part in allows 24/7 access to a company’s clients. Posts, videos, comments, all these things and more create a positive connection that will continue to resonate with your client long-term.
4. Double Check The Polls
Trump’s win was a shock to most. The experts, and those informed by them, largely failed to see the impact Trump’s campaign had on generating such a large following. Poll after poll, pundit after pundit, dismissed his efforts and practically handed the presidential election to Hillary Clinton even before the election. Well, they were wrong. Much of this blame has been placed on the media and their miscalculations (which led to misinformation) on the number of Trump supporters. The source of these miscalculations is the failure of the polling system, specifically the data collected was misrepresentative of reality. Companies don’t have polls, but their marketing departments have data analytics teams that form an integral part of marketing decision-making and strategic planning. Inaccurate or unrepresentative data can skew drawn conclusions, triggering to disastrous planning and negatively affect the paths companies pursue.
Here we have it, folks. Four years of Donald Trump and a Republican White House. How did he get there? He constructed a memorable and telling company slogan, he affirmed his status as a disruptor, he put himself face-to-face with his customers, and the media let him win by their own unscrupulous work.
Let me know your thoughts below; what do you think, from a marketing perspective, was Donald Trump’s recipe for success? How can the lessons learned from his campaign translate into your company’s success?
John Josi is a third year student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Economy. He closely follows contemporary advertising strategies, interested in the growing intersection of AR and advertisement and how data metrics drive marketing planning. He can be reached at jp.josi@berkeley.edu.