No Mercy No Malice

What the RNC and DNC Teach Us About Effective Brand Strategy

Any great brand strategy clears these three hurdles: differentiation, relevance, and sustainability

“Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance.”
— Arnold Glasow

The DNC and RNC Zoom calls, posing as conventions, were all about shadows — not the parties or platforms themselves but perceptions of threats. The Republican Party decided, in another first, not to update its 2016 platform because, you know, not much has happened since Finding Dory and Lemonade dominated the box office and music charts and the Zika virus caused 5,230 symptomatic cases in the U.S., and one confirmed death.

“Make America great again, again” is the slogan, but the message is “I alone can fix these problems, even if they’re of my own making.” It’s more effective than it sounds. We gave Bush and Obama a second term to figure out Iraq and the economy, respectively.

The DNC Zoom theme was “don’t be afraid of us,” in contrast to the GOP’s “be afraid of them.” Biden argued America needs empathy and competence, and Trump laid out the case for a strongman.

“They’ll disarm you, empty the prisons…