Whether you like Donald Trump or not and there are many things to dislike, as a marketer he is teaching politicians and all of us about the power of great marketing. When he entered the race he was dismissed as a Clown, an Egomaniac and a Loud-mouthed promoter looking for publicity and many other unflattering comments. He has been harshly criticized for his outrageous pronouncements, and his policies, but he has continued to lead the Republican primary contest and has a good chance of winning the nomination and the Presidency.
Most people thought this could never happen! How could this Businessman soar through the primaries against seasoned politicians and do so well? The answer is that Donald Trump is a master marketer who knows how to promote his Brand and he has embraced all the classical marketing elements to promote and build his candidacy and none of his competitors seem to understand how he is doing it.
This article is not an endorsement of his candidacy, but it will show how the clever use of tried and proven marketing techniques have propelled him onto the leadership position.
Here are the marketing elements that he is using:
- Know your market– Trump knew from his own Research that many Americans were frustrated with how the country was being run. They were angry with politicians for doing nothing to address their problems and they were looking for a change.
- Differentiate your Brand– We forget that when Trump started his campaign there were 17 other people in the race. Within one month he had established his Brand as the anti-politician who knew their issues and who would fix them.
- Unique Sales Proposition– Trump quickly identified and owned the key issues concerning the electorate- Immigration, Jobs and Security.
- Single Focused message– He created a simple but highly effective slogan that encapsulated what he was all about. “ Make America Great Again” This aspirational message immediately resonated with Americans and made him the point man in the campaign.
- Brand Leadership– By owning the key issues Trump’s Brand became the leader in the campaign and all other candidates had to address the issues that he had identified.
- Dominate the Environment– Great Brands create their own media space using all vehicles of communication. Trump started his campaign with high visibility from his TV show and he has built on that situation. He has totally dominated the environment. He uses public relations (earned media) with Experimental marketing (Public Rallies), along with social media and paid media to outshout his opponents. It’s a classic see, touch, feel campaign.
- Integrated Campaign– By utilizing all the above media vehicles, his visibility and positions are way above all the other candidates and all aspects of his campaign reinforce each other.
- Cost Efficient– Trump’s campaign is the most cost efficient political program seen in a long, long time. He has received over $2 Billion Dollars in earned media (free) and spent only $10 Million Dollars in paid media up to the end of March. His opponents have spent up to ten times that amount in Paid media with minimal earned media exposure. His ROI is fantastic!
What we are seeing is a textbook lesson on how to run a marketing program. This phenomenal marketing program is reaching Americans like no other political campaign in decades. He is deploying proven marketing techniques that have been used by many great Brands over the years and it is working.
The genius of his campaign is that he is in a win, win, situation. If he does not win the Presidency he will have had the greatest National exposure of any Brand marketing campaign in recent years, which he can employ to further his Business in the future.
Brilliant!