“Words Matter” – How Republicans Leverage Emotion-Driven Words
While the Democrats can rejoice that Biden won the presidency, they experienced surprising and disheartening setbacks in the House (lost 10 Seats), plus many “down ballot” elections in various states. A major reason for this surprising outcome was the masterful use of highly emotional words and accusations by the Republicans which created fear and anxiety among Trump’s base (e.g. primarily non-educated, rural whites) and importantly many swing voters. The voters’ intense emotional reaction contributed to these Republican gains, which also provides some useful lessons for smart branding....
Read MoreWill The 1/6 Insurrection Force Changes In Citizen United PAC Donations?
The January 6 riot at the Capital building may have become the tipping point for business and their involvement in politics. Many CEOs have been very critical about Government’s response during the past 4 years to such societal issues like BLM, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, but their public reactions have been limited. Their attitude was to not take any action unless their corporate business model or values were directly affected. However the refusal by Republican leaders to accept the Presidential election results and the insurrection on 1/6 have caused many CEOs to finally...
Read MoreHow Trust In Brands Is Undermined By Disinformation And Conspiracy Theories
As Covid-19 spreads mercilessly, taking lives, destroying the economy and further polarizing our society, there is another concurrent and dangerous “epidemic” expanding furiously – the unbounding spread of misinformation, especially those incredible conspiracy theories. Despite ongoing efforts to refute these falsehoods, believers remain beholden to these erroneous claims. The biggest risk of this phenomenon is the serious decline of trust of our most cherished brand values throughout our society. Very simply, a brand is a promise of value to a particular audience. For example, Democracy...
Read More“Me” Versus “We”: Individualism Driving American Brand Values?
Biden-Harris won, the pandemic is surging, the economy is in ruins, and the pundits are still trying to understand why – including how Trump managed to attract 70 million votes. Behind these historic events is the growing influence from individualism, which helps explain this election and the pandemic. But will this underlying social trend continue to transform those values traditionally associated with brand “America” – e.g. kindness, caring for others/empathy, trust and fairness, integrity and credibility? Masks for Fighting Covid-19 Nowhere is this rise of individualism more evident...
Read MoreThe Rise and Fall Of The Trump Lifestyle Brand
The revelations from Trump’s tax records in late September demonstrate two fundamental lessons about branding: (1) how smart branding can generate new opportunities and lots of financial rewards, and (2) the crippling pitfalls of not managing and sustaining a lifestyle brand with consistent integrity and credibility. A “lifestyle brand” is based primarily on the perceived image of a particular person. For example Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren are noteworthy lifestyle brands, as is Donald Trump. They all have a reputation for admired success that resonates with their customers, so much...
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