When It’s Not So Lonely At the Top: Selling the Weak Front-Runner
Political communications often carries intriguing lessons for the corporate sphere, and this season’s Republican presidential contest is no exception. In recent months, we’ve watched as a front-runner, Mitt Romney, has faced challenge after challenge from upstart contenders. Although Romney remains on top heading into South Carolina, he has so far failed to gain more than lukewarm support from a majority of possible GOP voters. This raises an interesting question: What’s the best way to market weak front-runners so they remain viable over the long haul? What strategies should communications adopt or avoid, whether it’s a political candidate we’re talking about, a brand, or a product?
We invited three leading lights in political communications to mull it over with us: Mark McKinnon, Global Vice Chairman at Hill+Knowlton Strategies; Nick Ragone, political author and Partner/Director of Ketchum’s Washington office; and Blois Olson, Principal and Executive Vice President at Tunheim. All agreed that this year’s campaign offered some clear strategic “do’s” and “don’t’s” for those times when you’ve got a market leader on your hand, but it’s not so lonely at the top as the leader would like.
First, front-runners should be consistent. Adopt a strategy and stick to it, even when under attack. 
Remembering back to his work on the 2004 Bush campaign, McKinnon noted that, “our strategy focused on a national security frame. When the Abu Ghraib crisis broke, many thought we should shift strategies, but we stuck to our guns. Meanwhile, John Kerry was all over the map. People want consistency in their commander-in-chief, so even a flawed but consistent strategy is better than one that shifts and tries to adapt to a changing environment.” Ragone agrees: “Staying on message is critical, both in the political and business realms. There’s so much clutter and background noise that any deviation from message will create confusion. The best candidates and brands have very sharable narratives that they don’t deviate from.”
Second, front-runners should be focused. While it’s tempting to try to increase share rapidly by attempting to diverse audiences, front-runners should do so deliberately. Olson likens the Republican campaign to soft 
drinks and cereals. “If you think about cola brands, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are leaders, and they have seen some market share slip in soft drinks. Mostly they have lost it to upstart beverages, not to each other. First it was Snapple, then water and energy drinks. As long as the GOP field is crowded, as soon as someone doesn’t like the taste of something, they can pick a different brand. Meanwhile, Romney was the flavor that his fans knew and stuck with.” While it may be tempting for Romney to segment the market and pick off certain segments, Olson urges careful timing. “Original Cheerios are great for General Mills, but they can keep more people with the brand as they add Honey Nut, fruit flavored, frosted etc. Romney is waiting to add his different flavors until the most of the challengers to his front runner brand have left the race.”
Third, be real. It’s tempting to try to paper over a candidate’s weakness with audience members or customers, but front-runners who do so risk seeming false. “If your candidate is weak,” McKinnon urges, “don’t try and pretend he’s Superman. He doesn’t have to be. He just has to be stronger than the other weaklings. Too many campaigns try and oversell and then their candidate can’t deliver and they come up short. John McCain’s campaign fell apart in the summer of 2007. He was able to recover because he ate his humble pie and stuck it out with almost no staff and no money.” Olson agrees: “Don’t confuse people. Simple and stable strategies work for brands and politicians. Don’t get too cocky. Go for modest, incremental growth.”
Fourth, be nice be less mean. Ragone notes that attacking opponents is usually a risky strategy for front-
runners, whether they’re weak or not. “There’s an old saying in boxing: Never punch down to an opponent. Attaching weaker opponents only diminishes the front-runner. Mitt Romney was smart not to attack Newt Gingrich directly, but rather allow his Super PAC to do it. And the same holds true for brands. A good communications strategy enhances the positive attributes of the person or brand and minimizes any shortcomings.”
The corporate world is full of companies and even entire industries that inspire misgivings among customers. Like Romney, market leading cellphone companies, banks, oil companies, and cable companies all have large customer bases yet remain vulnerable to upstarts with seemingly attractive combinations of selling points. With thoughtful strategies, public relations firms can keep challengers at bay and the weak front-runner on top over the long run. Yet firm and clients can avoid frustration and demoralization by retaining relatively modest goals for their strategies. Notes Ragone, “There’s always a limit to communication strategies, whether it’s for companies or individuals. At the end of the day, you’re only as good as your candidate or product.”
- In: 2012 Election
[...] Council of PR Firms offers expert advice to Mitt Romney and other political front-runners in When It’s Not So Lonely At the Top: Selling the Weak Front-Runner. Here are the [...]