Strategy

Brand Politics Laid Bare – part 1

Brand Politics Laid Bare – part 1

redhanded Executive Creative Director Paul Hand blogs about his experience at the ‘Voices 4 Indi’ workshop in Oxley.

How does an independent political candidate take on a high profile Federal liberal in a conservative country electorate and win the seat with a whopping swing of 9.2%? It was a result that stunned a lot of political observers at the last Federal election, especially the sitting member, Sophie Mirabella. But what does the battle for the Federal seat of Indi have to do with marketing a sheep drench, a herbicide, or a tractor?

Very simply, it’s about establishing a brand and engaging regional and rural Australians. For us brand custodians, nothing is ever that simple. And so it turned out to be!

The brand I had the pleasure of meeting at a weekend workshop in Oxley, a little spot south of Wang (or Wangaratta to you out-of-towners) was Ms Cathy McGowan. And boy, do we marketers have a lot to learn from Cathy and her dedicated team of believers. That’s the first thing that struck me – they were committed believers. So begin by asking yourself, how much do you believe in your brand, ‘cause if you don’t, you’re lost. But where does commitment and passion for a brand start?

In the case of Cathy McGowan it all started with clear, stated values that underpinned everything and were fundamental in growing the team from 12 people to 700 election day volunteers. Lesson Numero Uno. You must be able to clearly articulate your brand’s values. One of those key values was respect. Remember respect? Sadly, in today’s sometimes very abusive online world, it’s a word that’s gone missing in action. If you want to start a conversation with an audience in regional and rural never denigrate the competition. The second lesson that impressed and resonated throughout the workshop was the concept of inclusiveness. We no longer live in a world where the “brand” sets the agenda.

Until very recently, a brand was placed at the apex of a triangle and communicated down. Now, it’s been turned on its head and consumers own the conversation and communicate down to the brand.

Cathy McGowan recognized this and her voice is the voice of her regional electorate. She does not set the Agenda – her electorate does. Here is a brand that listened, truly engaged with her audience and did what no-one thought possible!


“The how” is the next part of my story and includes:

• The power of Twitter when you find the right brand advocates
• Creating a powerful community identity on Facebook
• Don’t underestimate the power of email

It will be coming to you soon. Stay learning – Paul

 

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