Is it too late for Hillary Clinton?

To change her brand positioning? To win the political marketing fight?

(Political) Campaigns are marketing, candidates are brands, and (Donald) Trump is the strongest in the race.

Brand power…results…from two features: a brand’s differentiation from other brands and its relevance to its intended public… By those two criteria, Trump dominates utterly. He is completely unlike all other candidates, and he is far more relevant because he’s real — he talks naturally, not like a politician…- Fortune

Hillary Clinton started her Presidential marketing campaign in June, 2015. Research on the debacle of previous campaigns revealed that people found her to be inauthentic, cold and emotionless. Hence, for this campaign, she had to rebrand herself and show her personality.

“Her problem is that she doesn’t represent the future — she is a tired brand in a market that is exhausted,”….“They’re looking for people to look at a new narrative of Hillary Clinton. But her brand is entrenched, so settled, it’s very difficult to wake up and say it’s a new Hillary Clinton.”- Politico

…Clark and ­Spence are focused on developing imaginative ways to “let Hillary be Hillary,.. and help her make emotional connections with voters– The Washington Post

Marketing Efforts

So she started off on social media like Instagram and Pinterest, taking inspiration from Taylor Swift.

Clinton lead all the other candidates in the diversity of her digital advertising buys– Scripted

It seemed to be working initially. But then came the whirlwind called Donald Trump. He completely upended political marketing rules and hogs headlines almost daily! Caught in the storm, Hillary Clinton has tried responding in a similar manner but that could do her more harm than good.

“Today, 10 months after her announcement, many of her speeches (New Hampshire), ads (Children), and campaign slogans (Hillary for America) are about ‘I’– she’s focusing on her product attributes, not benefits to voters,”- Jamie Prieto (O&M), AMA

So how can she fight Trump by staying true to herself while also connecting with today’s generation? I am itching to take on this challenge of coming up with clever and innovative ideas for her political marketing and rebranding campaign.

But to get clutter breaking ideas, the promise or slogan needs to be clear and consistent. Donald Trump has stuck to his very strong slogan ‘Make America Great Again’ from the start of his campaign. It spurs people to action.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has changed slogans almost 7 times from the start.

“Stronger together” is by some counts the seventh slogan Clinton has employed throughout her campaign. Others include, “I’m with Her,” “Make America Whole,” “Love and Kindness,” “Break Down Barriers,” “Build Ladders of Opportunity,” and “Love Trumps Hate.”-Townhall.com

So before I proceed with ideas, I am going to create a slogan for her and use that as the base for the ideas.

If I were marketing @ Hillary Clinton…

My USP or Campaign Slogan-

America fast Forward- It encompasses all the issues Hillary Clinton is supporting; it talks of the benefits to voters. It also says that if you have liked Obama’s government, we are going to build on it. It is energising and concise.

My Marketing Objective-

Communicate America fast Forward using a tone and manner that shows her as authentic

My TG-

1. Minorities (African Americans, LGBT)
2. Women
3. Middle Class families

Sticky Marketing Ideas:

1. Wifi branding

Tie up with the most popular and widely spread food chain or coffee chain such as Starbucks. Change the name of their in-house wifi every day. The password for accessing the wifi should be the same everyday- ‘Hillary Clinton’. This will act as a reminder to customers, everytime they connect to the coffee shop wifi. So each name could mention an issue she is campaigning for. The password acts as a signature- ‘Hillary Clinton’. Example- ‘Paid family leave can take America fast Forward‘ or ‘Delete your account’ or ‘Zero college loan can take America fast Forward‘, etc.

2. Mirror print ad

Do a full page print ad innovation in the leading dailies of select cities. The entire page will be covered with a lightweight thin mirror. The message at the bottom would say- Your vote will take America fast Forward. Be wise. Love, Hillary.

3. Car key wobbler

Take the fight to the ground. Get offline. Place a wobbler shaped like a car key on the side mirrors of parked cars in select cities. The message on the wobbler- Care to give a lift to your LGBT fellow Americans? Help America fast Forward! A wobbling car key on side mirror is unmissable and memorable.

4. Subway station announcements

Every hour, before the train is about to arrive at the subway station, an audio announcement commences- Paid Leave for Family can Take America fast Forward. Want to get onboard? Change the issue every hour but connect it to America fast Forward and getting onboard.

5. Twitter, Instagram and Netflix Countdown

Do a countdown to Election Day on Twitter, Instagram and Netflix (an uncluttered medium). Start the countdown at 100 days. Tweet one specific step that Hillary Clinton is going to take to ‘Take America fast Forward’, adding upto a total of 100 definite steps to achieve this. Donald Trump is all rhetoric and inflammatory comments, no concrete plans. So, in contrast, this will instill confidence and authenticity.

6. Hillary’s Day Out with Social Media people

Invite about 30 most influential social media people and journalists to spend an entire day with Hillary Clinton. They get to capture her entire day on a time lapse video and share it with their followers. Time lapse video can show the amount of effort she is putting in to take America fast Forward.

You can read the rest of the ideas at http://goo.gl/7cCqta

These are some of the unusual political marketing ideas for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Do you think they can help turn talks in her direction? I would love to hear your feedback in comments.

If you like any ideas, hit the green heart below :)