What Trump Has Taught Me About Brand Strategy

Whether you like President Trump or hate him, you can't deny his unique talent for keeping himself top of mind and at the center of all conversation. You can't spend thirty seconds with someone in an elevator without bringing up Trump. It's become a form of small talk-- adjacent to the weather, the Knicks losing last night or 'how the family is doing.'

You can't stop talking about him. Your family and friends can't stop talking about him. The media can't stop talking about him. The world can't stop talking about him. And even though I hate to say it, I think any brand would die for this kind of constant (and free) fame/infamy.

Without getting into the politics of Trump here-- good or bad-- I believe Trump provides some important lessons for brands.

First and foremost is to keep ideas simple.

Whoever says slogans are dead, please refer to Make America Great Again. Or Drain the Swamp. Or Lock Her Up. Find simple ideas-- things that evoke emotion and start repeating over and over again. Familiarity bias means people will grow to like things the more they hear it. If nothing else, they'll remember it in spite of it.

Second, brands should define their POV and stick to it. No matter how outrageous, Trump never apologies or backs down. That's a feature, not a bug. In fact, he's prone to double down in the face of haters. People respect those who stick to their guns.

In contrast, brands today are quick to flinch at backlash. They are all too eager to abandon their values or beliefs at any sign of unrest. Somehow, they yearn to be culturally relevant, inspirational and heard yet safe from criticism. That's a bug, not a feature.

Next, is for brands to prioritize authenticity over perfection. This one is tricky because brands always want to do and say things just right. But I'd argue that one of Trump's biggest advantages isn't that people believe everything he says, it that people believe he believes everything he says. That, what he's actually saying what he really thinks-- despite it crudeness-- piercing the obfuscating wall of political correctness (or perfection).

There's value in imperfect authenticity. There's no value in perfect in-authenticity.

And last but not least, Trump has taught me that the old trope "Quality over Quantity" is only sometimes true.

Part of the reason why Trump gets away with so much wrong-doing is that he does so much wrong. The quantity of wrong changes the quality of any specific wrong. In this way, Trump has managed to structurally change the political-media complex to his benefit (for now).

Inversely, the sheer quantity of actions a brands makes matters. Quantity affects quality.

What I've learned is there a legitimate strategy in what what I call 'atmospheric branding.' Brands doing a lot of small things in culture to create a broader (but less defined) 'sense' of what the brand is. This is in contrast to betting big on any one campaign, TV spot or activation-- which is often what brand strategists recommend.

Apple does this well-- there's the PR, there's the ads, there's the celebrities wearing EarPods, there's the product leaks-- all together contributing to an atmosphere that this is a hip, leadership brand worth its steep premium.

Ultimately, hate Trump or love Trump, I have to admit-- I learn from Trump.

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