Starbucks, Nordstrom & Kelly Payne

OK, so to be honest, the title I really wanted to use was “Obama, Starbucks & Kelly Payne,” but readers casually perusing this website might see that outside of the proper context. I have no interest here in talking politics. I want to discuss marketing.

What all of these things/people represent are brands. There are a gazillion companies and even more people out there, but there are few viable brands. A brand is more than a logo and a slogan. It’s the entire package. Sometimes a brand is actually better than the product itself (I’m looking at you, Bud Light), and sometimes the product is better than the brand (R.I.P., Arrested Development) but my attention is more often drawn to brands that embody the product and present it in a nicely wrapped little package, easily presentable to (and identified by) the customer.

As I’m sitting here sipping on my grande, non-fat, no foam, no whip, sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce Latte (only 140 calories, but still delicious), I realize what a sucker I am for a good brand. We all are.

Too rarely, though, are people associated with brands. Better yet, it is too rare that people are brands.

One the right side of the political aisle, there are none. There hasn’t been one in a while. Sure, there have been charismatic people, and those who are bright enough and strong enough to make a difference, but none that I would call a brand.

The left, on the other hand…

Barack Obama won the election because he’s a brand. In fact, he’s one of the most successful marketing campaigns in decades. He’s no different than any other successful brand (substance behind the brand notwithstanding – I’m still looking at you, Bud Light). Everything from his immaculately tailored suits to his logos were near perfect. He didn’t just talk about hope and change, he was hope and change.

It was perfect. As a politician, he was the most successful brand (and maybe the only brand) since Kennedy. Again, don’t misinterpret my admiration for their marketability for admiration of their politics. Before Kennedy, I’d say Eisenhower (sorry, Reagan fans, while extraordinary as a politician and as a leader, I wouldn’t say he was a “brand,” and that doesn’t diminish his influence or his success). I mean, Ike was the Supreme Allied Commander in World War II, for goodness sake. That’s who he was!

McCain, well, he had the chance to possibly be a brand, but he chose to downplay his veteran experience (any reference to “war” was to be avoided at all costs in his campaign given the “hot button issue” of Iraq and Afghanistan, so let’s neuter the only likable thing about this guy!) in favor of calling himself a “maverick”. Lame. I mean, who gives themselves a nickname? Anyone who thinks they’re cool enough to give themselves a nickname deserves what’s coming, because that means that, well, you’re not very cool at all. It’s like people who say, “I’m blunt and I tell it like it is.” It makes my skin crawl. Don’t get me wrong, I like people who are blunt and tell it like it is, but if you have to say, “I’m blunt and tell it like it is,” you lose credibility with me. You’re just trying to sound cool, and you don’t.

Look at Nordstrom, the greatest retailer on the planet. If you’ve never been, go. If you’re in South Carolina, there’s one in Charlotte. Even if you go to buy a $10 pair of sunglasses from the Sale bin, go. Try on some clothes. If a salesperson asks if you need help, say “yes.” Then you’ll see why they are so wonderful. Their brand is their service. Sure, they have high-end clothes (and some medium-range clothes, too), but it’s their service that is so remarkable. I’ve been to more business and marketing conferences than I care to remember and Nordstrom is always used as an example of how it’s done, and rightfully so. Here’s the thing: if you ever see a Nordstrom ad, one thing you never see mentioned is service. They don’t have to. And besides, it’s white noise. Every business who has nothing to say talks about their service. Or my favorite, “what makes us different is our people.” No kidding. They don’t have to give themselves a nickname. Others do it for them. That’s how it should be. That’s the mark of a successful brand.

Now to Dutch Fork High School teacher Kelly Payne. I’d love to say, in all of my prideful, non-partisan stubbornness that this piece is not an endorsement, but it is. While I agree with her platform, it’s her as a brand that put me over the top. She’s running for Superintendent of Education. She’s the only candidate that’s a teacher, with success creating education initiatives for children all over the state. That’s pretty much all that needs to be said. Yes, she’s a conservative, but I don’t need to know that to know that she’s getting my vote. While fairly conservative, I’m not a party guy, so to me, she’s uniquely qualified whether she happened to be a Republican, Democrat, Green Party member, or a member of the Wombat Party.

[Wombat is a little-known political party I created in 9^th grade Government class when the teacher divided the entire class into Democrats and Republicans and we had to make every argument for the next six weeks as a member of that party. It was then that I developed my personal disdain for blind party loyalty without regard to value of ideas. I started my own party named after the first word I pointed to in an opened dictionary, and within two weeks, about 90% of the class had “defected” to my party completely ruining the teacher’s plans, but firmly establishing that the democratic process is alive and well, if only in 9^th grade. I got detention a lot in that class.]

I’ve heard Kelly’s own supporters say “we’re at a disadvantage because she’s in a classroom all day and can’t be out campaigning.” Umm, that is her campaign. I’ve also heard someone say, “it’ll be tough because she’s a teacher and not a rich politician. Wouldn’t it be great if she won and her competitors will be shocked that they lost to a teacher of modest income?” Yikes. Where to begin. I think her competition should be shocked if they beat a “teacher of modest income.”

Kelly’s a brand, which is a rarity these days. That’s especially true since she’s a conservative. Sure, I’ve never run a political campaign, but I’ve run successful marketing campaigns, and once the platform is established, and campaign logistics are hammered out, marketing and branding is what really matters these days, and I’d shove the fact that she’s a “teacher of modest income” down the throats of every South Carolinian.

Kelly has a legitimate story to tell, and she’s the only one in the field that can tell it. She’s never worked in school administration, but school administration is where most of the problems lie. That’s a good thing. She knows what affects children in the classroom. She knows the obstacles. She’s seen the success. She’s got the “street cred.” She doesn’t talk about what’s good for students, she lives it. She can’t stay out at fundraisers too late because she has to get home and write lesson plans and grade papers. Call this backwards thinking, but I think that’s a good thing! It’s an angle, and it’s a unique one. It flies in the face of convention, but looking at South Carolina’s education system, I’m not sure that “convention” is what’s worked. And by the way, successful brands have qualities that differentiate them from similar competitors. You have to be different to be a brand. Otherwise, you’re just one of a thousand listings in the Yellow Pages.

Grassroots is great, as are qualifications, but can you be packaged? If so, can it be done effortlessly or does it become a page of bullet-points versus a five word sentence that can sum you up? Candidates need more than campaign managers these days, they need marketing experts to help become the next Obama (from a marketing perspective). Yes, the media wanted to “put him on a plate and sop him up with a biscuit,” to quote the great Reverend Brown in Coming to America. But they had a camera-ready, nicely packaged brand to make their jobs easier.

Good brands can be summed up in just a few words. Norstrom? Apple? Coke? Sam Adams? Eisenhower? Gatorade? Starbucks? Piece of cake (or reduced fat banana chocolate chip coffee cake, to be exact). Obama as a brand can be summed up by “hope” and “change,” not just as because it was on his t-shirts, but because he was hope and change (whether it was for the better is a political argument, which I’m not here to make).

There’s one. Kelly Payne. She’s more than a candidate, she’s a brand. “Teacher.” Scratch that, “Successful teacher.” And as such, her marketability is infinite.