Analyzing campaign speeches of three presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain, reveals interesting stylistic differences and some commonalities.

---

ALL THREE CANDIDATES ARE CAREFUL TO AVOID THE GOBBLEDYGOOK THAT SO OFTEN CREEPS INTO POLITICAL DIALOGUE. THEY USE ACTIVE RATHER THAN PASSIVE SENTENCE CONSTRUCTIONS.

---

Clinton uses the greatest number of "humanizing" words in her speeches. References to "heart" and "voice" recur throughout her speeches in passages, such as "I come tonight with a very, very full heart," "I found my own voice," and "…we all spoke from our hearts." The "voice" metaphor morphs into "people who whisper to me" and "I will bring the voices of the American people back to the White House." At one point, she even says, "It’s enough to make you want to burst out in song."

McCain also injects a human element with frequent references to "eight years among friends" and "…never just fair-weather friends." Obama refers to people themselves, frequently mentioning his extended family, including his father, mother, wife, daughters, and even grandfather in one speech.

The notion of duty comes through clearly in McCain’s word selection. Phrases such as "an obligation…which I will faithfully discharge" is in the speech he gave after winning the South Carolina primary along with "…sublime honor that has been the treasure of my life." McCain’s speeches invoke the twin notions of responsibility and public service.

Obama is inclined to use the pronoun, "we" rather than "I." Clinton and McCain use "I" quite regularly, imparting a sense of the president as an individual rather than an office.

(more…)

WSJ Online quotes Alan Siegel on Starbucks Return to a Retro Logo

All the fuss over Starbucks return to the retro mermaid on the coffee cup. Is it revolution or brand dilution? Personally, I think it is more a tactic to get attention or to divert attention from other things. I don’t think it has anything to do with the coffee cups, folks!

From finger pointing to fist pumps, how nonverbal cues brand the candidates

Adweek: The Body Politic

-By David Wallis

In a recent skit on YouTube, Hillary Clinton impersonator Rosemary Watson portrays the presidential hopeful alone in an Iowa hotel room, rehearsing an upcoming speech. “New hand gestures, Iowa. Take one,” announces faux Hillary, dressed in a white terry cloth robe.

“Helloooo pig farmers,” she bellows in a nasal Midwestern accent, before verbally and visually running through a gamut of gestures. “And I begin to hammer on healthcare,” she says, pummeling the air with clenched fists.

“I do a smoothing motion on middle class taxes, palms down,” she says, while looking like she’s practicing the breaststroke. “I enumerate the flaws of my opponent with a crooked finger,” she concludes, turning her body sideways to face an invisible rival while repeating an admonitory gesture.

Though the real Clinton has studied stagecraft with a high-priced media coach — as have many current and former candidates — and often animates speeches with an array of nods, waves and karate chops, she probably does not choreograph every move she makes. Yet, like most successful politicians, Clinton understands the power of body language: Hand motions, facial gestures and posture all can enhance or undermine a campaign’s message, shape public perception of a politician and profoundly influence an audience of voters — whether the voters know it or not. In today’s media marketplace, the practiced smile and the sly smirk, the hearty salute and the triumphant double thumbs-up are the political equivalent of product packaging.

(more…)

Technology branding comes into its own as companies find the competitive edge has begun to matter.

Technology branding is coming into its own; (Above) A Wipro-branded bus in Davos, Switzerland

Business Line: IT’s all about branding

Archana Venkat

Every time someone from my team meets a prospective client, I ask him to avoid the ‘low cost-quality-efficiency’ talk. We have branded India enough and now it is time to focus on branding our company,” says Deepak Khosla, Senior Vic e-President and Head – APAC and Japan, Patni Computer Services.

Khosla’s statement reflects the change in the mindset of IT companies that until a few years ago were content toeing the ‘world’s IT hub’ line. Little wonder then that IT brand campaigns were full of ‘trust’, ‘confidence’ and ‘quality’. As clients began asking “what have you got that your competitor does not?” companies were forced to review their branding. The result — most companies today are evolving their unique brand identity and ways to market it to stakeholders.

Prior to 2004, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) did not see the need to build an external brand. Changes in the offshore landscape necessitated it. Not only did strong Indian players emerge, some global players too started emulating the TCS model. “Today if you don’t say who you are, somebody else will decide who you are and reposition you,” says Jayant Pendharkar, Vice-President and Head of Global Marketing, TCS.

A brand recall exercise on “who were the top international brands” held the answer. “After IBM and Accenture, there was no clarity on the third place. So we put ourselves to occupying that place,” says Pendharkar. After a few years of coming up with varied taglines, the company felt a single message was essential to promote itself. In came a Madison Avenue-based brand consulting firm, Siegel & Gale (USA), for brand positioning, and DraftFCB+Ulka for advertising. Last March, the company launched its global brand line ‘Experience certainty.’ The company now differentiates itself on its core competencies – business consulting, outsourcing and IT services – being delivered to clients in time.

(more…)

Creating brands for politicians is always a work in progress: immediate, hyper-competitive, ever-evolving and ever-adapting to changes in the electorate and changes in the opposition’s brand strategy.

Until Tuesday, it looked as if Barack Obama was setting the gold standard, providing a lesson on how to create and execute a crystal-clear branding program in just over six months. Now it is time for a revision, without compromising all the winning aspects of the Obama brand.

What still works:

Brand Promise: Obama’s promise of change has rekindled America’s spirit and resonated with voters who are tired of the negativism and attack ads that have characterized recent political campaigns. While opponents have attacked his lofty language, credentials, and lack of experience, Obama steadfastly sticks to his theme of positive change.

Integrated Brand Communications: His brand campaign presents a model of integrated communications and stands in contrast to most of the leading brands in the market, which haven’t been able to coordinate their efforts.

Brand Response: His brand campaign is run with military efficiency. No attack is allowed to linger without an immediate, targeted, and articulate response.

Brand Voice: The most powerful quality of the Obama brand is the clarity of his messages, reinforced by his grasp of detail: his calm, measured responses and the elegance of his language, which is devoid of scare tactics. The Obama brand speaks to Americans in a language Americans can understand.

What needs revision:

While keeping his authenticity and brand voice, Obama must respond more effectively to Hillary Clinton’s promise of experience and a perceived readiness to serve as Commander-in-Chief that resonates with her core audiences. He must challenge those assumptions without going negative, without getting down in the dirt.

Obama basically needs to reposition Clinton by challenging the quality of her experience, but in a way that resonates with his brand voice.

Building and revising political brands is like building corporate brands on steroids. It is a laboratory for us all to watch how quickly, how efficiently, and how effectively the entire branding process can work – with clear winners and losers at the end of the day.

NYTimes.com
Sears Joins With Hearst for a Multimedia Blitz
By STUART ELLIOTT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/media/03adcol.html

TWO decades ago, shoppers were told “there’s more for your life at Sears.” An ambitious campaign that begins this week — the result of an unusual retailer-media partnership between Sears and Hearst — may help determine whether there is more life for Sears.

Sears, Roebuck & Company, a division of the Sears Holdings Corporation, is struggling with slumping sales, falling profits and mounting complaints about store conditions. Revenue in the quarter that ended on Feb. 2 for stores open more than a year — a closely watched yardstick in the retail industry — dropped 4 percent from a year earlier.

The wobbly economy is exacerbating Sears’s woes as consumers slow their spending and worry about rising prices, falling home values and the gyrating stock market. And while its competitors have been stepping up efforts to woo skittish shoppers, Sears Holdings has been cutting the marketing budgets for both Sears and its sibling, Kmart.

“We already invest a significant amount of capital and expenses” in areas like marketing, Edward S. Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings, wrote to shareholders in a letter last week. “The key is to improve the productivity of these investments.”

(more…)

Salon.com
Global marketing execs agree — America’s image is in the toilet. The cure? One presidential candidate has what it takes, they say, to save Brand USA.
By Jeff Yang
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/03/03/candidates_branding/

Mar. 03, 2008 | There’s no way to put this delicately, so I won’t: America’s global image is in the crapper. Last year, the BBC World Service conducted a poll of over 26,000 individuals in the world’s 25 largest countries and found that more than 52 percent thought the U.S. had a “mostly negative” influence on the world. Fifty-three percent of respondents to a survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs felt America could “not be trusted.”

Which means that, on top of everything else it represents, the current presidential election is something like an ad agency review — a chance to put a set of potential stewards for “Brand America” through their paces, to see the creative and strategic directions in which they’d take our product.

What’s at stake is more than just popularity. As Keith Reinhard, chairman emeritus of the globe’s second-largest ad agency, DDB Worldwide, notes, “How we’re perceived in the world has profound implications. We rely on human intelligence to alert us to threats: We need friends willing to whisper in our ear that someone’s planning to blow up jetliners … Economically, the Commerce Department estimated that we’ve lost over $100 billion in tourism revenues since 2001. For every share point we lose in that sector, you’re talking about $12.3 billion and 150,000 jobs, gone! The bottom line is that we need a world that likes America.”

Candidate	Slogan	Unifying Theme	Underlying Values	If He/She Were a Brand…
Hillary Clinton	The Strength and Experience to Bring Real Change	“I’ve been there”	Competence; experience; professionalism
John McCain	Straight Talk Express	“I’ll go there”	Resilience; candor; courage
Barack Obama	Change We Can Believe In	“I’ll take you there”	Inspiration; inclusion; iconoclasm
Mike Huckabee	Faith. Family. Freedom	“Let’s go back”	Earthiness; populism; humility

(more…)

Jaimee Rose
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 26, 2008

In the Valley, our desperation for oceanfront property has reached a new level entirely. Yes, we worship the swimming pool and consider Rocky Point our own. But who could have imagined that a lowly canal could draw such devotion?

In Scottsdale, a section of the mud-colored Arizona Canal has morphed into Destination: Glamazon. Million-dollar “waterfront” penthouses overlook it. Ritzy boutiques line its banks. During the Super Bowl, ESPN broadcasters hunkered down nearby, and reporters used the water as a glistening backdrop.

It even has its own posh namesake restaurant, Canal, where you can dine on a $30 lobster sandwich while overlooking a large irrigation ditch and pretend you’re feeling an ocean breeze. Isn’t it romantic?

Water holds a magical power over humanity: We search it out, move nearby and cling to it on vacation. Cities lucky enough to be so blessed define themselves by their water features - think Lake Michigan in Chicago or Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Park.

In the Valley, our river runs dry, so we’ve hopefully and happily been seduced by the next best thing.

This represents an image makeover of considerable heft, a Billy Ray Cyrus kind of comeback. For years, the Valley’s canals were unsavory swathes feared by mothers, full of murk, goo and the ungodly.

“The canals really were kind of looked upon as liquid alleys,” said Jim Duncan, a senior analyst with the Salt River Project, which manages the canals.

Things pulled from the water: rusted-out appliances, expired animals, a few safes, a Corvette, and many, many guns, according to SRP. And, of course, the floating bodies discovered by joggers a couple of times each year.

(more…)

Clearly in today’s rough and tumble world of politics, candidates are packaged as brands, says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. Their handlers work hard to position them. They use research to determine how they are perceived and what messages they can use that are credible and resonate with voters, and they try to find a voice that defines their distinctive personae to differentiate them from the competition.

• Hillary Clinton has been seen as the leading Democratic brand — the experienced leader, an articulate policy wonk, and an insider who has seen it all as the candidate who spent eight years in the White House.
• John McCain is the straight-talking rebel.
• John Edwards is the empathetic populist who grew up in a modest house in North Carolina and champions the plight of middle class Americans.
• Barack Obama casts himself as the energetic change agent with the charisma necessary to inspire a new generation of leadership through the politics of inclusion.
• Mike Huckabee offers solace to Christian values voters who hunger for religious guidance in uncertain times.
• Mitt Romney demands to be seen as a socially conservative but entrepreneurial CEO who seeks market solutions to the nation’s challenges.

But to prevail, the candidates must stay true to their brand promises. Right now, as the Democratic nomination narrows to a fierce competition between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Mrs. Clinton is undermining her position as the “Leading Brand” among the Democratic candidates with attacks on Barack Obama, the “Challenger Brand.”

(more…)

Bull Dog Reporter
Issue Date: Daily Dog - February 19, 2008
Mega-Media Events: Super Bowl Blowout Shows Need for More PR/Advertising Integration

What does a Super Bowl advertisement have in common with a Tournament of Roses parade float? Contrary to popular belief, the answer is not William Shatner. Both revolve around global media events that attract significant consumer attention. Both require sizable investment from advertisers and sponsors (the price of a 30-second Super Bowl ad unit exceeded $2 million and, depending on the technology employed, a quality TOR float weighs in at $200,000). And both investments have a relatively short shelf life; while the exposure and audience reach is nearly unmatched, when it’s over, it’s over. That is, unless the investment is supported by broader communications such as public relations.

Executives in C-suites all across the country are scrutinizing the value of such one-time investments. On the one hand, they represent the greens fees for the country club of A-list brands. As one CMO put it, “No one ever got fired for buying ad time on the Super Bowl.” In fact, some leading branding executives find it very hard to justify not participating, particularly when the competition is staying the course. On the other hand, too often the investment does not result in a quality brand experience. The problem with Super Bowl ads and parade floats is they compete with other sponsors for showmanship. Audiences expect entertainment value from these media exercises, and the drive to satisfy that entertainment expectation generally sacrifices a brand promise and/or sales value.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A Super Bowl ad can, in fact, serve as a very strong brand touchpoint. Coca-Cola showed exactly how in the recent Super Bowl broadcast. Two of the ads it ran for Classic were delightfully on-brand while also serving up quality branded entertainment. The first ad featured borrowed equity from famous cartoon franchises, using Macy’s-style parade balloons. It worked because it leveraged Classic’s link to Americana and popular culture. The second ad, which featured political strategist James Carville and former Senator Bill Frist in an unexpected buddy trip, connected to a well-established consumer ritual that is inextricably linked to the brand—”jinxing” a friend when you say the same word and exacting a Coke as payment. These ads worked as branding tools because they balanced the style, tonality and messaging of the Classic brand with a storytelling experience worthy of Super Bowl media.

(more…)

It is one of the most prevalent ideas in the brand world: Capture the brand loyalty of a person when they are young, and they will be yours forever. Companies pursue this idea with a vengeance, abandoning older audiences to win the hearts and minds of children, teens, and college students. And it is one of the biggest mistakes brand professionals can make.

A recent study showed that, in fact, consumers are likely to switch brands within a range of product categories regardless of age, indicating that brand loyalty is not captured at a young age and held for life. A different study, conducted for AARP, echoed this finding, demonstrating that in some categories, older consumers are less loyal and actually more likely to switch brands.

Think about your own life: You are probably not wearing the same clothing brands you did in your youth. Or driving the same car brand. Or even using the same kind of laundry detergent. Your tastes change. Your household income changes. You get married, have kids, get busy, retire. There are very few brands that can see a person through all those changes in life—and there are very few brands that should even try.

Taste, Experience, and Self-Expression
The “get ‘em while they’re young” theory works differently among three different types of brands:

• Taste Brands—food, beverage, or household brands that involve your sense of taste or smell
• Experience Brands—when the consumer experience can be the driving factor, such as financial services, retail, and online brands
• Self-Expression Brands—when the products you use say something about you, such as clothing, automotive, and some electronics

(more…)

A recent, front page article in The New York Times about French identity reported that the French Conservative candidate for president, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants to establish a new arm of the government – a ministry of "immigration and national identity." At the same time, the Socialist candidate, Segolene Royal, wants every French citizen to memorize "La Marseillaise" and keep a French flag in their cupboard, which they must display on Bastille Day. Seems that French politicians are concerned with preserving what it means to be French, no matter what, no matter how.

It doesn’t matter that French citizens don’t entirely agree: many feel their rights as individuals are being ignored and that who they are goes beyond memorizing the nation’s anthem; even beyond their Frenchness. Forcing people to "be French" is what seems to matter – which brings me to my point as it pertains to companies.

The Identity Code, Cable CN8 Boston, April 2006 (cable TV)

Since the book, Corporate Cultures, was written in the mid-80’s, companies have bent over backwards to formalize a distinct culture. Based on a set of shared values, employees have been asked, if not cajoled, to join the organizational team by behaving in ways that reflect those values. If you fit, you’re in; if not, you’re out. Figuratively speaking, if you sing the company song and carry its flag, you’re OK.

Corporate culture is helpful, up to a point. It establishes typically "good" values, which set important standards for how people should act. But sometimes, those standards are met at the expense of one’s individuality, which is where one’s defining talents, drive and passions – your identity – lies. As I write in The Identity Code, identity is the most powerful human force on earth. It isn’t something to be squashed; it is something to celebrate.

Taken too far, then, culture becomes insidious. It undermines the humanity that defines the person. (Quite a contradiction for organizations that assert that ‘people are our most important asset!’) I’m not suggesting a movement to kill corporate cultures. I am proposing that it is time – beyond time – for companies to make a conscious effort to understand and invest in the individual inside the employee. Managers need to develop and deploy concrete ways to celebrate the identity of the Joe’s, Sarah’s, Sally’s and Bill’s, while still maintaining a shared culture.

The benefits are many: For employees, hard evidence that they really are valued for who they are, not just what they do. For the company, recruitment, retention and reputation advantages that translate into enormous cost savings and, overall, a more powerful brand.

Bottom line: Making someone sing the company song is only productive, if the company is prepared to sing theirs in return.

… FOR what it’s worth, a scientific study of three experts found two, Alan Siegel, chairman and chief executive of Siegel & Gale, a strategic
branding firm, and Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., who thought it was a mistake for the state to concede that its image is
glamour-challenged. “You don’t want to begin by acknowledging the bad part; that’s a lose-lose situation,” said Mr. Passikoff. “You want
to migrate from the joke to the more positive brand image.” …

download pdf

Alan Siegel, CEO of Siegel & Gale, a strategic branding company, says the most important thing the new AT&T can do is focus on serving its customers.

In the end, he says, “It’s not what they say — it’s what they do” that matters.

Read the complete article