Post #1

MEMORANDUM

For my inaugural post, I thought a good place to start is where so many conservatives struggle – your BRAND.

If your income is down, your mail results are off, you’re low in the public opinion polls, you’re not getting enough media, etc., the odds are great that you have a weak BRAND or no BRAND at all.

Few things in marketing/fundraising are more important than your BRAND.
By the way, BRANDING applies to you as an individual, as well as to a nonprofit or business.  

If you want a job, raise, promotion, spouse, more donors, more money, or to win an election, then it’s critically important to have a BRAND—something that sets you apart from others—what makes you different to your audience, whether it’s an audience of one or millions.

Don’t worry if you’re struggling with understanding what a BRAND is, or if you lack a BRAND.  Very few people who work in marketing understand BRANDING.

The world’s authorities on BRANDING are Al Ries, Laura Ries, and Jack Trout.  Al Ries and his daughter Laura wrote a book, The Origin of Brands.  I’ve read the first 25 pages at least 8-9 times.

If you have a BRAND, you own a category.  BMW – The Ultimate Driving Machine!  VIVA – The Premium Paper Towel.  You may recall that in 2016, 17 Republicans ran for president.  Very few can remember more than 4 or 5 of them.  One reason is that most did not have a BRAND.  Republican voters couldn’t tell one from another.  Quick—what was the important difference between Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, etc.?

There was very little if any important difference between them.  In the candidate’s mind, the difference may have been, “I’m smarter than the others.”  However, the voters would say, “NO. You’re all smart—if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be on that stage.”

If you have a BRAND, you’re different not only in your mind, but in your audience’s mind.  Too many people claim they have a BRAND because they think they’re different.  What you think doesn’t count; it’s what your audience thinks.

Donald Trump had a BRAND that clearly differentiated him from all others—he was the anti-establishment candidate.  He was going to fight for the forgotten American.  He spoke for the average voter against the special interests.  Because of his wealth and business success, he didn’t need, depend, or rely on wealthy, special interest donors. 

Trump had a BRAND.  Few other 2016 GOP presidential candidates did.

If you are a candidate for public or party office—what separates you from all the others in the race?  Not in your or your consultant’s mind, but in the voter’s mind.

If you have a pro-life organization, is it clear to potential donors how it differs from a dozen other pro-life organizations?

If your organization is concerned about the collapse of traditional Judeo-Christian values in our towns, schools, media, entertainment, etc., how does it differ from dozens of others to your audience?

In future posts, I’ll drill down deeper into how to have a “killer” BRAND, as well as what is NOT a BRAND.  For example, United, Delta, and American Airlines have no BRAND—they are famous and good airlines, but that’s different than having a BRAND.  For the vast majority of fliers, it doesn’t matter what airline we fly.  We want to leave at a certain time and arrive at a certain time.  What airline fits my needs?

Stay tuned to learn how to change your life, your business, your nonprofit organization, or your political candidacy by understanding and properly applying a BRAND and so very much more.

P.S.  In each edition of GO RIGHT - GO BIG, I will include a brief survey to help educate the media and the political establishment about the views and values of conservative leaders.  I’ll share the results in the following GO RIGHT - GO BIG post, and also publish them on our website.