Focus, not thoroughness. Have a story.
Democratic candidates are circling overhead looking at incumbent GOP Congressman Greg Walden. They think he is weakened.
It is time for Democratic candidate to create and perfect their brand.
He has a bright red district, in exactly the kind of mountain west rural geography that votes heavily Republican, but he is wounded, they think. His 70%-30% margins of past years are irrelevant, they think. He has the stink of Trumpcare on him, and Democratic candidates smell political upset.
It is time for Democratic candidate to create and perfect their brand.
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| Damaged brand |
The professional political people say the race is impossible. It is a Republican district, duh. Republicans vote for Republican officeholders because the officeholder does Republican-supported things, and Republicans in the House voted to repeal and replace Obamacare. That means he should be safe. In this case, no. That vote is what Democratic candidates consider the bleeding wound that puts Walden in their sights.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidates are starting to emerge and get gossiped about. Politically engaged people are hearing names and stories:
"Did you hear about the Hood River cowboy and stone mason?"
"There is a blind woman, young, a big athlete, who sounds promising."
"Last year's candidate is back, only this time he is going to try to raise money and win."
"There's a guy from Salem, moved to Bend, who is interested, I just learned."
"There's a psychiatrist from Klamath Falls with lots of friends, check her out."
"The woman who is leading Indivisible in Ashland is a fireball, who might be great."
Potential candidates understand there is a lot for them to learn. They think they need to have good, clear positions on a lot of issues, including all the national ones including trade, immigration, guns, healthcare, drug sentencing, marijuana, climate change, fossil fuel use, net-neutrality, etc. They also need position on 2nd District specific issues, including:
Jordon Cove Natural Gas pipeline.
Harney County occupation.
Siskiyou Monument boundaries.
Water allocations in Klamath.
Klamath River dams.
Federal support in lieu of timber harvests.
Observation and advice: The conversations candidates are having right now with citizen activists in the environmental community, the Democratic Party, Union halls, among reproductive rights activists are essential, but are simultaneously a distraction and mis-direction. The conversations will lead candidates to thing the election is about their positions. It is not. It is about you, your character, who you are. Your brand, vs. Walden's brand.
The successful candidate will create a brand and the brand will be simple and understandable in about two sentences.
Two things need to happen for a Democrat to have a chance. The first is that there is some widespread bipartisan disappointment with Walden, so that people are open to considering a change. The Walden brand needs to seem tired and flawed. This is happening.The drag of the Trumpcare debate, Walden's long tenure in office, and the work of Indivisible and general progressive activism are making Walden look shopworn.
The second is that the Democrat is understandable at a glance as a viable alternative.
Voters have very little mental "shelf-space" for a candidate for Congress. What they will know is the person's party, their gender, their "place in life". i.e. approximate age and occupation. The candidate can hope to get about two more things onto the mental shelf space. Examples of positive things that might be are:
"She's really popular with farmers."
"He was a brilliant lawyer."
"The hospitals and doctors all think he is great."
"Two thousand people showed up to see her in Medford."
"She's the one who is famous for ______."
"He made Walden look silly in Bend."
Serious candidates for Congress have a choice right now. They need to decide what their brand is. They need to decide what it is before their opponents decide what it is. Their views on issues need to be consistent with that brand. And that brand has to be simple and focused.
The brand is not a list of issues and positions. People do not vote for the person whose issue positions best match theirs. Candidates who spend energy working on their positions are wasting their time and confusing the conversations they are having with a thousand activists with what is going on in the minds of voters. The activists are important because they are opinion leaders but the voters they influence only have mental room for one or two things. Democratic candidates need to decide what that is.
Take a moment to consider a brand, one that has spent hundreds of millions of dollars advertising to you over your lifetime: Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes. What do you know about the brand? That it is by Kellogg. That Tony the Tiger says they are Grrrreat. That they are corn flakes with sugar frosting sprayed on them, just like the name says. What else do you know about the brand? Well, you know that sugar and frosting are almost certainly fattening, but you know that from life experience, not the brand. What else? You didn't even know it had vitamin D, which is why they had to put it on the box.
Take a political figure, Kate Brown, governor of Oregon. What do you know about her? Well, that she is governor and a woman and her name is Kate, which hints I already gave you. Readers likely know she is a Democrat, she is from Portland, that she was elevated to the position from Secretary of State after Kitzhaber resigned. Readers may remember that this is--or was--bisexual, or remember hearing something about it, although they may remember vaguely that she has a husband, maybe. Readers probably have a sense that she is liberal, and remember that she reluctantly supported Measure 97 last year. Local ones may remember that she got picketed for some reason by anti-pipeline activists. People who have seen her in person or on camera know she is physically petite and may recall that she wears glasses.
OK, stop a moment and reflect. If that pretty much exhausts what most readers know about Kate Brown, who just won statewide election and who previously won two elections as Secretary of State what will they know about the Democratic candidate for Congress? Less.
Draw from this reality of the difficulty of getting mental shelf space a plan: In the week before people vote you will be known as the Democrat, your gender (inferred from your name) and your occupation, and maybe one or two other things. Decide what they are.
Examples:
John Doe is a former TV anchor from Medford, a Democrat, and he wants a bare-bones version of Medicare for everyone, paid for by a 3% tax on all incomes including dividends and rents.
Jane Roe owns a ranch outside Madras. She's a Democrat who challenged Walden to rope and brand steers with her and he chickened out. She said her steers have more balls than Walden.
Mary Doe is an Iraq veteran with one leg, lost in combat. She said she would kick Walden in the ass for taking health care from people but she can't kick anyone, so she is running for Congress instead.
Bill Roe is a lawyer from Bend with major support from Republicans who think Walden was a toady to Ryan and sold out his district.
I understand that candidates who read this will resist the utter simplicity and facileness of what I think voters can absorb. But I urge them to take a moment and ask themselves: exactly how much did they themselves know about the candidates when they last voted for a judge on the Oregon Supreme Court. Almost nothing, I suspect.
The candidate story has to be memorable. It is best if it intentionally excludes or offends some people because a story that is universal lacks authenticity. "If I get in there I will work really hard" is not a story. It is mush. It actually proves that the candidate thinks voters want mush, so it is positively bad.
"I want to get in there so I can reverse Trumpcare, and I want people to know that going in" is a much better brand. Some people will disagree with the statement, which is better than OK. It is necessary. It shows the candidate represents a point of view and doesn't simply want the imagined adoration of universal popularity.
Candidates: it is time to decide who you are. Write it out on a sticky-note or put it in a tweet. That is about how much space you have.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidates are starting to emerge and get gossiped about. Politically engaged people are hearing names and stories:
"Did you hear about the Hood River cowboy and stone mason?"
"There is a blind woman, young, a big athlete, who sounds promising."
"Last year's candidate is back, only this time he is going to try to raise money and win."
"There's a guy from Salem, moved to Bend, who is interested, I just learned."
"There's a psychiatrist from Klamath Falls with lots of friends, check her out."
"The woman who is leading Indivisible in Ashland is a fireball, who might be great."
Potential candidates understand there is a lot for them to learn. They think they need to have good, clear positions on a lot of issues, including all the national ones including trade, immigration, guns, healthcare, drug sentencing, marijuana, climate change, fossil fuel use, net-neutrality, etc. They also need position on 2nd District specific issues, including:
Jordon Cove Natural Gas pipeline.
Harney County occupation.
Siskiyou Monument boundaries.
Water allocations in Klamath.
Klamath River dams.
Federal support in lieu of timber harvests.
Observation and advice: The conversations candidates are having right now with citizen activists in the environmental community, the Democratic Party, Union halls, among reproductive rights activists are essential, but are simultaneously a distraction and mis-direction. The conversations will lead candidates to thing the election is about their positions. It is not. It is about you, your character, who you are. Your brand, vs. Walden's brand.
The successful candidate will create a brand and the brand will be simple and understandable in about two sentences.
Two things need to happen for a Democrat to have a chance. The first is that there is some widespread bipartisan disappointment with Walden, so that people are open to considering a change. The Walden brand needs to seem tired and flawed. This is happening.The drag of the Trumpcare debate, Walden's long tenure in office, and the work of Indivisible and general progressive activism are making Walden look shopworn.
The second is that the Democrat is understandable at a glance as a viable alternative.
 |
| Click here for the description of brand mapping |
Voters have very little mental "shelf-space" for a candidate for Congress. What they will know is the person's party, their gender, their "place in life". i.e. approximate age and occupation. The candidate can hope to get about two more things onto the mental shelf space. Examples of positive things that might be are:
"She's really popular with farmers."
"He was a brilliant lawyer."
"The hospitals and doctors all think he is great."
"Two thousand people showed up to see her in Medford."
"She's the one who is famous for ______."
"He made Walden look silly in Bend."
Serious candidates for Congress have a choice right now. They need to decide what their brand is. They need to decide what it is before their opponents decide what it is. Their views on issues need to be consistent with that brand. And that brand has to be simple and focused.
Take a moment to consider a brand, one that has spent hundreds of millions of dollars advertising to you over your lifetime: Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes. What do you know about the brand? That it is by Kellogg. That Tony the Tiger says they are Grrrreat. That they are corn flakes with sugar frosting sprayed on them, just like the name says. What else do you know about the brand? Well, you know that sugar and frosting are almost certainly fattening, but you know that from life experience, not the brand. What else? You didn't even know it had vitamin D, which is why they had to put it on the box.
 |
| Kate Brown with Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine |
OK, stop a moment and reflect. If that pretty much exhausts what most readers know about Kate Brown, who just won statewide election and who previously won two elections as Secretary of State what will they know about the Democratic candidate for Congress? Less.
Draw from this reality of the difficulty of getting mental shelf space a plan: In the week before people vote you will be known as the Democrat, your gender (inferred from your name) and your occupation, and maybe one or two other things. Decide what they are.
Examples:
John Doe is a former TV anchor from Medford, a Democrat, and he wants a bare-bones version of Medicare for everyone, paid for by a 3% tax on all incomes including dividends and rents.
Jane Roe owns a ranch outside Madras. She's a Democrat who challenged Walden to rope and brand steers with her and he chickened out. She said her steers have more balls than Walden.
Mary Doe is an Iraq veteran with one leg, lost in combat. She said she would kick Walden in the ass for taking health care from people but she can't kick anyone, so she is running for Congress instead.
Bill Roe is a lawyer from Bend with major support from Republicans who think Walden was a toady to Ryan and sold out his district.
I understand that candidates who read this will resist the utter simplicity and facileness of what I think voters can absorb. But I urge them to take a moment and ask themselves: exactly how much did they themselves know about the candidates when they last voted for a judge on the Oregon Supreme Court. Almost nothing, I suspect.
 |
| Make a memorable brand, not a memorable antic. |
The candidate story has to be memorable. It is best if it intentionally excludes or offends some people because a story that is universal lacks authenticity. "If I get in there I will work really hard" is not a story. It is mush. It actually proves that the candidate thinks voters want mush, so it is positively bad.
"I want to get in there so I can reverse Trumpcare, and I want people to know that going in" is a much better brand. Some people will disagree with the statement, which is better than OK. It is necessary. It shows the candidate represents a point of view and doesn't simply want the imagined adoration of universal popularity.
Candidates: it is time to decide who you are. Write it out on a sticky-note or put it in a tweet. That is about how much space you have.
6 comments:
Trump liked to brand people. It worked. That's what people remembered. "Old and Tired Walden" could stick. "Poor Greg. He's had it."
Maybe you should run, Peter! <3
Peter run? What a great idea. I wish I had thought of it.
I had little hope of the possibility of unseating Walden until I looked at registration numbers for the district.
http://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/registration/mar16.pdf
It seemed to me that with an 80% voter participation rate there was no wiggle room for a Progresssive candidate. Republican hold on religious and other intolerant voters is unassailable short of some scandal involving stomach turning proclivities, so it looked as though any assault on the seat was Quixotic.
However, there are about 150 thousand independents, non affiliated and third party voters. Also, 50 thousand registered voters did not vote. There may be some unregistered people as well. Assuming Walden holds on to his constituency and has no challenger on the right, a slight possibility in my view, this represents a pool that could swing the election, with a candidate that can appeal to disillusioned voters.
I envision a Progressive candidate who is younger, a veteran, with family ties in the region, and who can be seen as patriotic in the sense that they are above and disdainful of the partisan anti-democratic melee in DC.
It seems every one of these shows up when I need it. Dr Melnick said that no one knows who I am. So I sent out a "bio". It's working. There were some exclusions which I would like to share at some point. Could get me elected or run out of town
Walden, the dreary little man.
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