USA Politics is my favourite reality show.

It is simultaneously entertaining, intriguing, and horrifying. For me, this interest began with Donald Trump’s win in 2016, and by 2020, I was fully onboard, trying to understand how someone like him, so obviously flawed could become president in the ‘greatest nation earth’

Last week, the whole world waited with bated breath as the United States held its presidential elections. Trump was vying for a comeback, after being defeated in 2020. His opponent was Kamala Harris, the sitting vice president who had only risen to the top ticket months earlier when Joe Biden dropped out.

Those months leading up to the election were full of rallies, adverts, and media appearances. We saw a ton of promotion for each candidate, and in the last few weeks, the prevailing consensus was that this would be a close election. That was not the case.

Donald Trump won with a landslide, and the Republican Party cleaned up everywhere else.

In the aftermath, I’ve watched and listened to everyone give their ideas and reasoning as to why Trump won. In my opinion, there isn’t just one thing, it has been a mix of factors dating from the Obama administration until now. But in looking over this past election, I have recognised some very clear branding mishaps made by the Democratic party and I think there is a lot to learn from them.

A brand is a unit of commercial or cultural output that can be differentiated from other similar outputs. It is the feelings and impressions associated with a person, product, organisation or service.

Branding is the art and science of creating brands. All the activities you undertake to build a brand.

In a space like the political arena, branding is incredibly important. What people think of each party, the messaging that gets across, and their lived experiences all coalesce to influence who they vote for.

In writing this, I came up with over 13 lessons, here are 8 of them.

Don’t position yourself in your competitors turf.

The Democrats made a cardinal brand mistake by trying to position themselves more like the Republican party, using similar talking points to try and win some of the Republicans over. I guess the reasoning was to get the Republicans who didn’t like Trump to flip.

In the two-party arena that is US politics, the Republican Party under Trump and MAGA have positioned themselves to the far right. They are ultra-nationalist, they want to put America first, they are very conservative, wanting to put restrictions and punishments on marginalised groups and immigrants and lean towards an idealised past.

The Democrats are usually the opposite, more global and progressive in their outlook, interested in fairness and equality, promoting the idea that US is a melting pot, a nation of immigrants from its inception. That people can come from all over the world to chase the American dream.

Unfortunately in this cycle, the Dems spent a lot of their time trying to chase republican votes, echoing a lot of the same talking points as their opponents, especially along militarisation and immigration policies.

This is a losing strategy because, on one hand, you alienate those who stand against conservative policies. On the other, it is hard to even convince conservatives to switch, because why vote for republican lite, when you can just have the real thing?

In addition to this, you cannot only position yourself as the opposite to something else, because you make that thing the anchor. You can’t just say ‘vote for us because we are not Trump’. You have to inspire your audience to choose you for a reason. You have to say, we are not this other brand, this is who we are instead, this is where we want to take you.

Live out your brand values and deliver on your brand promise

To cultivate a strong brand, you have to do what you say

There has been a lot of disillusionment in the democratic base. In 2020, Biden ran on issues like student loan forgiveness, infrastructure development, and so on. And while they made some inroads, they have not been able to fully deliver, especially on the student loan issue, an issue that would have been a huge win for the people and galvanised further support.

Couple that with their unconditional support for the war in Gaza, and the heavy-handed response of the police to student protests, students who are left-leaning, then you have a recipe for disaster.

If you are unable to deliver on your brand promise and do the things your brand stands for then your audience will leave you. You have to stand on business.

Focus on what your audience wants, not just what is cool to you

The major issues around this election were immigration and the economy. As a result of incessant messaging by the Republicans, the layman on the street was very worried about illegal immigrants coming in and taking jobs and eating the cats of US citizens.

The economy was also a pressing concern, Despite the all-time highs of the stock market, and record profits by corporations, the average person only sees rising prices and stagnant wages. It is hard for the layman to live comfortably and that is what they really care about.

The Republicans had clear messaging around these issues, pointing to illegal immigration as the main problem and promising mass deportations and tariffs as the way to curtail prices. Even though these may not be appropriate solutions, their base ate it up.

The Democrats on the other hand did not have a clear and differentiated message around these matters. They basically adopted their opponents’ talking points promising stricter immigration policies, instead of promoting their initial differentiated ideas of going after price-gouging companies and other working-class-focused policies.

Prioritise your audience segments appropriately

Every brand has different types of people to talk to. There are your customers or main supporters, and then other segments like investors, media, government regulators, etc.

The Democrats in this campaign seemed to have been more interested in appealing to their donor audience than the actual voter base. Many of their shifts in strategy, and choice of messaging were designed to assuage their donors – the billionaire class, rather than focus on the left-leaning man on the street looking for progressive policies.

And as these two bases have opposing interests, the Dems were able to fundraise in record amounts but failed to convince over 14 million people to turn out and vote.

Balance your audience needs and don’t neglect the ones that directly influence your success.

Study your audience, fulfill their needs, and listen to feedback

You need to do your research, know what your audience needs, and make sure you are taking the right offer to the market.

Without proper primaries for the democratic base to float a leader the base would rally around, and they were left in an echo chamber. After Biden stepped down, Kamala was the de facto pick for presidential campaign. But she wasn’t necessarily the best pick in the whole party.

In not listening to these concerns and really tapping into the will of their people, they chose a weak candidate to take the ballot.

In addition to that, the Dems had not really listened to and fulfilled the needs of their base, especially around the issue of the war in Gaza. This weakened their brand and any reason to vote from a large part of their audience.

Appeal to emotion with simple, memorable messaging

For the past 10 years plus, we have been bombarded by a simple republican message – ‘Make America Great Again’. It is a simple, catchy, and very loaded phrase. It is aspirational and gives the base something to latch on to.

In 2008, Obama had the iconic, ‘Yes we can’. In 2024, the Democrats didn’t really have a similar message. What did they run on? Being the party of joy? Not going back? Not being Trump?

Without clear simple messaging, it is hard to make your ideas and brand stick in the marketplace.

Also, you have to appeal to the emotional and psychological needs of your audience. In this election, the facts didn’t really matter. MAGA makes people feel like they can win, that they can be great again, and return to an idealised white Americana protestant utopian. True or false.

The Dems did not paint a new world to enter into, just more of the same status quo that everyone was already sick of.

And people voted for the message that resonated more and the person they liked better.

Adapt your tactics to emerging trends, target underserved markets

The Republican Party has a very unified media network. From the mainstream platforms like Fox News to the numerous digital platforms, podcasts, and personalities, far-right talking points are everywhere, and so they are able to meet the layperson wherever they are.

They have adapted to the present media landscape and also focused on a key base that had felt increasingly alienated over the past decade-plus – young white men. The Republicans were able to speak to their concerns and biases and convince them to vote.

The democrats are usually more scattered, with a lot of infighting, and less of a media reach in these new emergent channels. Kamala’s campaign was marked by the appearances of celebrities and personalities of music and Hollywood, cultural areas that have leaned more left, but who are also relics of a fading era. They were also largely absent from the streams of new media not engaging or appearing in any meaningful way in podcasts, streams, and online discourse.

The left is also harsher on the young white male demographic, often demonising as opposed to reframing and reintegrating, leaving them ripe for the picking.

Keep brand awareness high, and be everywhere you can

Trump has been in the news cycle consistently since Obama’s presidency. His relentless push into the political space, perpetual disregard for the facts and tradition plus a resolute focus on his aims have kept him in the minds of everyone paying attention to politics and in the minds of the lay person on the street.

On the other hand, you had Kamala, a vice president who was relatively absent through Biden’s term, and who only had a few months to kickstart and push her campaign. She only had a fraction of the brand awareness that Trump enjoys. Trump had the stronger brand.

You have to keep your brand active and top of mind. You have to consistently communicate with your audience to hold space in the mind of your audience to win.

These are just 8 lessons to learn from the recent US elections. And the more I think about it, the more lessons and issues I see.

But whether you are an entrepreneur, a business, or an NGO trying to make change. Having a strong brand and brand strategy is an invaluable tool in being remembered, being heard, and creating the change you want to see.

To do this, you have to know your brand, live out its values, deliver on its promise, be relentlessly focused on your audience, be consistently present, and position yourself appropriately.

Happy brand building!

Thinking about where you are taking your brand next year? Talk to me about strategically aligning your brand for success in 2025.