November 10, 2009

GOP Branding Blunders

By Lyall Swim
In his book Focus, world-renowned marketing strategist Al Ries remarked, "In the long run, winning companies are ones that are the most focused." This marketing guru's counsel stands in stark contrast to the political advice recently offered by Elliot Schimel in American Thinker.Mr. Schimel is just one of the many voices arguing for the GOP to ignore the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, et al and continue implementing one of the classic product marketing blunders: overextension and subsequent dilution of the brand.  These advocates make their strategy sound extremely viable. They use power-phrases like "big tent," "appealing to independents," "inclusion," and "coalition building" to articulate what appears to be a highly appealing and logical strategy. Who doesn't want to expand the base, get more people to vote Republican, and win more elections? Isn't that the whole point of the political game? While much focus of late has...(Read Full Article)