Building the Democratic Brand

In my last article, I showed how Democrats suck at branding. They focus on facts, instead of connecting to people emotionally and explaining the values and morals that guide their beliefs. By doing this, they cede the moral high ground to Republicans, who are masterful at building their brand, and at building a negative Democrat brand.

In the tight 2020 races, this difference in branding could make all the difference.

So what should Democrats stand for? What is at the core of their policies? What is the theme that ties them all together, and how can that be woven into a strong brand for Democrats that connects with voters’ morals, values, and emotions?

The answer is simpler than you might expect:

Democrats care.

Democrats care about people. All people, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they look like, or how much money they make.

We care about the climate and the planet. We care about science.

We care about morals and ethics.

We care about women’s rights. LGBTQ rights. Civil rights.

We care about those who are fleeing violence.

We care about those — who through no faults of their own — find themselves in unfortunate circumstances.

Put simply: Democrats care about people. Republicans care about corporations and the rich.

Once you know that Democrats stand for caring for the rights of people — all people — the reasons why we support the policies we do become obvious. There is a core value of empathy underpinning everything Democrats believe in and stand for:

• We support sweeping, aggressive action on climate change because that’s what’s required to prevent devastation for people around the world, especially the world’s poor.
• We believe every human has a right to health care to take care of his or her human body.
• We support common sense gun protections because they will help save at least some of the millions of gun deaths per year.
• We support a woman’s right to choose what happens with her own body.
• We support protections for the American people from corporations who will always prioritize profits over what’s best for people and the planet. (We don’t call these regulations, we call them protections — because that’s what they are).
• We support a living wage because hard-working people who work full time for corporations with massive profits shouldn’t have to be on food stamps, and be living paycheck to paycheck with no savings, all while a handful of top executives and shareholders rake in millions.

We fight for these policies because we fight for people.

These policies don’t just sound nice. They’re based on giving people the freedom they deserve, and that our country was founded upon. Without these policies, people are not truly free.

Republicans have owned the idea of freedom through their strong branding and framing, but really, you cannot be free if you are sick or hurt and can’t afford medical care. You are not free if you can’t earn a living wage. You are not free to pursue a decent life without an education. You are not free if government is intervening with your own body. You are not free if climate change threatens your livelihood or existence.

Democrats are fighting for freedom, but they don’t say it.

None of these core beliefs have been clearly articulated by Democrats, and therefore they have not been built up in the minds of voters.

Even though Democrats hold the high moral ground on most of these issues, Republicans have successfully shaped the narrative around them, so it seems their stance is the moral one. But you just have to look at Republican policies to see what they really stand for: the recent tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, refusal to even research gun violence, propping up oil and gas companies at the expense of the environment, cutting consumer protections to benefit corporations, and now saying they are going to cut Medicare and Medicaid which would throw millions off of health insurance.

Together these paint a clear picture of a Republican party that cares only about the rich at the expense of everyone else.

But Democrats have never painted this picture. While the pieces are all there, these ideas are not built up in voters’ minds. We need to say them loudly, proudly, often, and consistently. That is the only way to make these ideas stick.

We shouldn’t feel bad saying these things:

Republican policies are greedy, and they are mean.

Their policies help the rich and corporations at the expense of everyday people, and at the expense of the planet. It’s greedy, and it’s mean. It is correct to call them that, and we should.

Democrats are pretty good at campaign-specific marketing. They can organize in communities, run TV ads, send mailers, manage email campaigns, and post on social media. But all that work only helps the individual candidate. It only works in the short term. It does not help build the Democratic brand overall.

If we are to win in 2020 and beyond, we must build the brand of Democrats as a whole. People need to buy into the core beliefs and values that the party stands for.

You may think these values are obvious and don’t need to be said. You’d be wrong. Remember that most people aren’t paying close attention to the news, let alone policy proposals. They hear things here and there, but don’t have a clear concrete sense for what Democrats stand for. Only by constantly, consistently, and clearly stating these values over and over will we start to build these perceptions in the mind. We have to show that our morals connect with theirs, and we have to make it obvious.

Branding doesn’t change from one election to the next. Branding lasts for decades. It sticks inside voters’ heads. It’s what a voter remembers when he or she is inside the voting booth.

Republicans are mean.

Democrats care about people.

Say it loud, say it often.

This is the second piece in an ongoing series on how Democrats can improve their brand and messaging. Here’s the first on the branding problem Democrats face. Here’s the next one on how Democrats are losing the war of words.

Please share this with anyone you know involved with, or interested in, Democratic politics. We need Democrats to sit up, listen, and make changes to how they communicate. Time is running out.

Daryl Weber is a branding consultant and author of Brand Seduction: How Neuroscience Can Help Marketers Build Memorable Brands.