Harper's Branding Issues

[penlessej]

The Globe and Mail typically has good in depth articles. The one today by Martin Goldfarb is no exception. He talks about product branding (being a marketing expert he knows what he is talking about) and the ability of Stephen Harper to brand himself to the electorate.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080910.welxngoldfarb0910/

Comments

[sun_tzu]

That's a pretty good piece, actually. I missed it this morning I guess. It makes clear what I've observed about the Liberals all along. Dion was a poor choice as a leader and isn't going to build anything for the party - so they have to try to focus more on the Liberal brand than the Dion brand

[penlessej]

I liked the article because it nailed things that have struck a cord with Canadians that hold Harper back in their eyes. Whether or not people like us who focus on politics can justify back and forth what happen the public brand is essentially what is going to define Harper in the future (and Dion for that matter).

I am a believer that no politician does something to snub a segment of society for any reason. It may happen because inevitably that is the dark side of policy making -- someone loses out always. What matters is the impact that what you do as a politician has on the general public.

I think that Harper has done a poor job as Prime Minister branding himself as the leader that Canada needs. If that wasn't the case -- if he had branded himself better -- he would be much further ahead in the polls (especially if Dion is as bad of a leader as you continue to say that he is).

[sun_tzu]

I agree. He hasn't done a great job of branding himself. He doesn't photograph well, and Conservative marketing sucks too. He had the wind at his back in the last election when you could probably have run a monkey against the Liberals and won because the public at large was so angry at them

[in_da_lifeworld]

That strikes me as why the Republicans in the US could not really run on their merits, because they have every intent to screw the masses.

please elaborate.

[srahman24]

He may want to be Tim Horton's, but the Liberals can easily cast him as the Krispy Kreme of Canadian politics. The more people know, the less they like.
Ha. That's a fantastic line.

[allhatnocattle]

Author seems Tronto-centric.

See, and I think the same of Liberals. Career politicians, self-serving thieves trying to orchestrate society. I don't identify with engineering gov't owned monopolies to thrive... in healthcare, daycare, wheatboard, Petro-Canada, etc. I don't like it nor do I trust it. Makes me twitchy and nervous.

Where Libs fear Tories cowing to America, Tories fear Liberal cowing to everyone from Quebec to the UN while in defiance of the USA for no apparent reason. It's remarkable anyone buys it. We don't buy it in Alberta.

I suggested years ago that Dion should really stand for the environment. As a brand, when I thought of Stephan Dion, the one thing, the only thing that stood out in my mind is his dog is named Kyoto. Finally after months of nothing Green Shift was unveiled (kind of).

But Liberals (as a brand) are no more the Canadian natural ruling party then the RhinoParty is. It more depends on where you're standing. Otherwise the Liberals would have formed a dictatorship already.

[harry_beast]

The Liberals represent the Old Guard, the business and social elites of Toronto and Montreal, who, like any aristocracy, fight to maintain their privileges. For them, the Conservatives are not only upstarts and social inferiors, but also represent a challenge to the established order in Canada that places the country under the thumb of Ontario and Quebec.

People almost equate Liberal thinking over time with Canadian thinking.
Torontocentric, yes, but the article is definitely Liberocentric as well.

Otherwise the Liberals would have formed a dictatorship already.
I believe they called it the Chretien era.

[warrioreowyn]

I think the quote has it spot-on. Harper is making this election about personality and "leadership" because when it comes right down to it, Canadians don't agree with the Conservative ideology. People are basically centre-left: we like having health care, we believe the government has a responsibility to help out people who are shafted by the market economy, we prefer peace in international relations, and a government that is tough on crime and drug use is not our top priority.

If the Liberals (and NDP) are smart they'll ignore the whole branding thing and hit hard against the Conservatives: they squandered a giant surplus, failed to keep the economy in good shape, don't have any substantial achievements, certainly haven't "cleaned up government", are playing politics in the shallowest manner imaginable