So as a Marketer I am fascinated by politics. Building local
and national brands, gauging public sentiment and adjusting strategy to
optimize results. Politics is a Marketer’s dream.
Anthony Weiner's recent bid for Mayor of New
York is an interesting case study on Brand self destruction. I have to admit I
wasn't paying attention to the story until I saw his bid had legs and his
greatest opponent was himself.
Now I know that a great many of you are reading this from
outside the US so allow me to briefly lay out the whole sordid tale of Anthony
Weiner's damaged brand and how he tried to save it.
Anthony David Weiner
- Former Democratic Congressman from New York
- Previously fervent bachelor with notable affairs before marriage
- Preoccupation with sexting revealed on the Opie and Andy radio show
- Insistent denials coupled with a claim his Twitter account was hacked by opponents
- Investigation started by private security firm costing Weiner about $45
- More pictures forcing Weiner to admit to doing a “dumb thing” but with a refusal to drop out
- Under the stress of more claims and political pressure, resignation
So that’s the background and here we are two short years
later he wants a second chance as Mayor of New York. His was certainly not an impossible brand
resurrection to orchestrate. I mean I wasn't going to vote for him myself when
I first heard it but it would have been interesting to work on the campaign,
strictly from an academic point of view.
Let’s Weigh the pros
and cons:
Now if you've been following any of this you know it’s been
a train-wreck but not because of anything that happened 2 years ago. When
Anthony Weiner announced his run he was immediately propelled to the head of
the pack. Now that was partially because we don’t have strong candidates, not
many are passionately supporting Quinn but it's also because he had fairly
strong support from New Yorkers.
The Mayor of New York is a pretty big deal. Not to downplay
the other great Mayors in great cities but New York Mayors’ influence reach
far, with global name recognition like LaGuardia, Koch, Dinkins, Giuliani and
good ole Bloomberg. So the decision to vote for Mayor is more than just looking
at local politics and issues, it's selecting New York's representative to the
world and as past Mayors have proved you don't have to be likable but ya gotta
have gravitas.
Mr. Weiner torpedoed any notion of gravitas when it was
revealed recently that he continued sexting AFTER it had destroyed his
Congressional career and almost his marriage. He admits to sexting as recently
as last summer and that's only if you believe him. That's only after it was
revealed to a website called the "Dirty" by 23 year old Sydney Leathers with whom he had been
exchanging messages and pictures under the screen name CARLOS DANGER.
How does one rehabilitate a brand with a chronic problem? Understand… the real issue isn't about
sexting. If Anthony had the balls to own it, call it an embarrassing personal
issue in his marriage, something he continues to struggle with but something that
did not and does not affect his work, then maybe the brand could be saved. Bill
got blow jobs and ran the country fine, Noah was a drunk yet God trusted him to
build that ark. Sure voters would think twice about shaking his hand but he'd
get a pass as long as he did a good job and would only have to worry about the constant attacks from political
opponents. Maybe.
Instead what we have is a monumental display of arrogance
and deceit. The lies themselves are more damaging than anything because they reveal a fatal character
flaw, someone who is untrustworthy and lacks judgment because if you lost your
job, dignity and almost your family over something as minor as some dirty
Tweets and you can't stop, then why would I trust you with my
city?
What we saw after the
second unveiling is classic marketing with him bringing in his wife Huma
Abedin. It was actually more than a display of family unity and spousal
support, I think it was a failed attempt to help that weak brand.
Ok, advertisers sometimes leverage a brand's strength to
lift products or services under that brand umbrella. So for example, the Mercedes-Benz SLS which enjoys
quite a following but has a sticker price over $200K is only a dream for most people. By
positioning say the Mercedes-Benz’s SLK55 AMG costing considerably
less at about $72K, next to the SLR buyers feel like they're getting a piece of
that SLS technology under the Mercedes-Benz Brand. It's called the “halo effect”
and it works.
Huma Abedin's brand is impeccable. When the wacky
congresswoman Michele Bachman along with four other congressmen accused Abedin
of having family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood the claim was quickly refuted
by many including Republicans John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Scott Brown and Ed
Rollins.
Abedin is the Mercedes-Benz SLS but a horrible
miscalculation was made because Weiner is no Mercedes… he's more of a Toyota unwilling to accept full accountability. They were able to come back not sure he will be. Anyway, Abedin coming out and telling the
public she knew about the sexting and supports her husband actually had the
opposite effect. Perceptions about Weiner didn't change but many started to question HER judgment. The conservative right media even pulled out
the old false Bachman claims of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
In advertising the opposite of the “halo effect” is “cannibalization.”
So imagine a few millionaires deciding to go with the SLK55 AMG at $72K versus the
SLS, yeah it's a still a sale but at loss of $128K per sale instead of growing market share.
This is a little different, because Weiner isn't actually
stealing support from his wife, his brand is so weak and flawed that it has hurt
hers, even if it's only short term.
To make things worst his inability to see that his campaign
is over makes him look out of touch and creates a stage for further embarrassment
with each confrontation on the road. He is self inflicting political wounds that
he will not be able to recover from if he doesn't drop out and drop out quick.
He needs to take time, more than 2 years, devoted to the
causes that drive him and his constituents. Get involved in some sort rehab for compulsive behavior or sex
addiction, I know he mentioned being in therapy. Give the public time to miss
him, time to forget, and build a base for which he can return.
Or he can embrace Carlos Danger as a progressive radio show host. I'm sure he'd be able to get a deal on satellite radio, giving him a platform which he seems to like because his days as a public servant may be over.
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