The Ferragamo campaign - Marketing your Brand

I dreamed last night of the "Ferragamo campaign" (think high end and interesting shoes) and I realized that running for office is a lot like marketing a brand.  Only the brand represents you and what you'll do in office.

 Marketing your brand is crucial to success. Of course you have to have a brand to start with. That’s why you need a good consultant, who can distill the essence of your issues into an easy to understand message that resonates with voters. Your brand is more than your logo, but a good logo can help identify your brand and make it stand out in a crowded field.  

The logo for GreenDog Campaigns, my campaign consulting site

You'll need the tools to market your campaign, a strategist to plot it out, a designer and a writer to get the message across.  And a message delivery system - mail, perhaps TV or radio ads, social media and good old fashioned door to door, ear to ear.

Yes, your best marketer is still you, meeting voters at the door, on the phone, at events and public places we're people gather, farmers markets, fairs and festivals.  Talking one on one and handing each one you meet a piece of well-crafted literature is important.

But if you're in a large race covering a vast expanse of real estate, you won't get to every voter in person, not by a long shot.  So make sure you have compelling materials to put in their mailboxes, strong ads that get their attention on the small screen.

Our candidate for County Assessor visiting some unique homeowners

You have to live your brand. Whether it's saving open space, growing the economy, getting more cops on the streets or fixing potholes, make it sexy, make it sharp, make it ubiquitous.

At least with frequent voters. Effectively targeting those voters is the topic for another day.