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Donald Trump has once again become the US president, offering a compelling case study on the endurance of his brand.
Examining Trump through the lens of branding reveals the value of his brand equity. Trump's brand identity is his devil-may-care attitude coupled with unshakable confidence. It reflects bold, aggressive, and unapologetic traits, disregarding convention, that fit a modern brand well. His exemplary courage after the assassination bid enhanced his fearless reputation and solidified his brand identity. The way he swept away the challenges inside and outside his party showed his confidence amidst multiple crises.
Donald Trump brought clear differentiation to the table as a political brand. A quality that most brands always aspire to achieve. He developed an image far from the traditional diplomatic image of presidents. He adopted a business-like approach to national policy. He was perceived as a disruptor, something that every brand yearns for to dominate the market. His blunt rhetoric and fearless statements about opponents disrupted the traditional norms, and his approach to foreign policies maintained the same tone of communication. It emphasized the branding principle of maintaining a consistent tone in communication.
The brand Trump enjoyed that premium edge, thanks to his reputation as a businessman. Most people love to associate with a premium brand, and the brand's value increases when people like Elon Musk endorse the brand. He maintained a global outlook while being a premium brand by keeping the local values intact. Yes, he stood as a voice for those minorities who felt neglected. A brand's resilience can be judged over the long term through its adaptability and endurance. Trump proved to be a winner in those aspects as well. Like fine brands that age well, his influence has only increased over time.
For brands, his victory is a lesson in proper planning. No matter how big the influencers are for the competitors, like Taylor Swift and Oprah Winfrey, a lack of a clear-cut plan would cost any brand dearly. Trump's victory demonstrates the importance of strategy in branding. Adopting a failed approach without significant repackaging could be deadly, as evidenced by Kamala Harris's commitment to Bidenomics, a failed strategy which worked in Trump's favour. Trump's unpopularity as a convict could have initially made Harris a bit smug. Trump was conscious of complacency, used the controversies to his advantage, and won the tag of a fighter who refuses to budge. It shows that no brand can afford to be complacent, even when the competitors are under siege. Besides that, Brand Trump swiftly moved into action when he realized his opponents were indecisive and slow in finalizing their strategy. In branding, if you don't act swiftly, your competitor will seize the opportunity. Trump effectively applied this golden rule as a brand.
Donald Trump's mastery in targeting is evident through his polarizing strategy. The identity politics that he played won support not only from the Latinos but also from diverse groups, including the Hindus, the Muslims and other conservatives as well. Every brand aims to target the right audience to build the brand, and if you know your audience aplomb, then half the battle is won. That he could convert swingers to loyalists again proved that he was bang on target. Targeting the right audience mattered more than the ad spent. Trump managed to win by a good margin despite his rival spending more on ads.
His slogan Make America Great Again struck a patriotic chord with the target audience. The slogan not only targeted the loyalists of Trump but was more than music to the ears of the swingers, who swayed to the trump side when it mattered—the emotional slogan won by instilling in the audience the patriotic spirit and the pride factor. A good brand should culturally stand for the past, present, and future in its potential market, and Trump did just that by coming up with the campaign slogan. He realized the fertile ground for the slogan and successfully utilized the opportunity.
His clever use of social media also played its part, as it directly conveyed to the audience what he wanted to say. Support from Musk's platform, X, amplified his efforts. By doing so, his brand narrative was entirely in his control. He didn't want to dilute his communication through traditional media houses having different views. Even though the US is a country known for its freedom of speech, Trump was careful not to dilute his intended message. Also, through this strategy, he was successful in building word-of-mouth publicity through the loyalists around him.
Despite previously departing ways, his pragmatic use of the campaign manager Susan Summerall Wiles showed Trump's adaptability. He illustrated a valuable lesson for brands - there are no permanent rivals in business. His adoption of horses for courses was again reflected as he wanted a fresh team and was not keen to go with some of his former vital figures. If the brand is a dominant winner, they can dictate the eco-system how they want. This is evident in Trump's declaration of imposing 60% tariffs on trade with China and 10% on all imports.
In the end the lesson is clear: legal controversies are challenging for any brand. But addressing the market's need gaps effectively can help a brand against all odds.
(The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of pitchonnet.com)
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