Out with the Old, In with the New: The GOP Gets a Bold New Brand Reboot as the “Grand Opportunity Party”

The new GOP is here and with your help, it’s here to stay. The GOP – the “Grand Old Party” - for better or worse, has been typically associated with and older, homogenous generation of conservatives who are out of touch with today’s younger generation and values. This reputation is fueling what’s wrong with today’s Republican Party. I propose a movement to unify the conservative party and bring revolutionary change with a newly rebooted GOP, as the Grand Opportunity Party^TM. I believe this is urgently needed if the GOP is to remain a viable force in American politics, win future elections, and avoid becoming a permanent minority party. I’ve formulated a powerful new strategy for the GOP, with updated messaging, branding, and a party platform built for the 21^st Century electorate that Millennials and the other generations can all support.

As a brand marketer, I have often been challenged to produce branding solutions and updates for a given product or company. Any change to a brand requires balancing the heritage of the original brand with the desire to update its image to attract a new generation of customers. In respect to the new rebranding of the GOP as the Grand Opportunity Party, the challenge is similar. While no one wants to try to produce a New Coke^® (a rebranding effort that failed terribly), there have been many other examples of successful re-branding that have worked spectacularly. Old Spice^® has done an excellent job of re-branding in recent years. Their image is very different than the original brand positioning from years ago, and it is very successful. The long-term survival of many organizations is dependent on their ability to update their products, messaging, and branding to make themselves relevant to new and evolving audiences – or, in this case, new portions of the electorate.

How does this relate to the GOP brand reboot? Some in the industry have called the 2010 Old Spice brand reboot “the perfect branding campaign”. It took an old brand dating back to 1937, featuring an outdated whistling sailor, and turned the brand’s longevity into strength to attract younger customers by combining its experience and masculinity in an assertive, straightforward and edgy way with a young, confident actor.  It went from “your grandfather’s cologne” to the leading deodorant for men, having successfully built new market shares with a younger audience. The new Star Trek^® movie series reboot from director JJ Abrams also took on the challenge of updating the 50-year-old TV series and movie franchise very successfully, keeping the roots and philosophy of the original while refreshing Star Trek for a younger, tech-savvy audience.

If we can give the Grand Old Party (GOP) a similar new brand and messaging update, perhaps a Grand Opportunity Party can be the revolutionary vehicle for conservatives to usher in a new era of freedom and prosperity that will attract younger generations for decades to come. As a marketer, the word “old” in the GOP brand name is highly problematic from the start, with our absolute need to attract Millennials and future generations of young voters[1]. While the word “grand” also feels a bit outdated, removing and replacing the word “grand” would be reaching outside the “zone of credibility” with the Republican base, in my estimation, as would changing the acronym of the GOP itself to something entirely different.

Like Old Spice and Star Trek, the GOP is faced with the challenge of shifting and crafting its brand and message to attract a changing electorate, while maintaining the rich history, values and roots dating back to 1856. We need to strike a balance of outreach to an evolving audience, while retaining the core values of the party. Conservatives are similarly challenged with being considered our “grandfather’s party” by many, and especially by Millennials - and progressives who currently dominate the news media and the culture. Liberal commentators go so far as to call the GOP the party of “angry old white men”.

I firmly believe we desperately need to shift course and adopt a bold new brand reboot now, and I believe that we ARE the Party of Opportunity (whereas, the Democrat Party can be more accurately labeled the “Party of Government Dependency” or the “Party of Authoritarian Government Power”). As stated in the preamble of the 2012 GOP platform:

“The pursuit of opportunity has defined America from our very beginning. This is a land of opportunity. The American Dream is a dream of equal opportunity for all. And the Republican Party is the party of opportunity.”[2]

The Grand Opportunity Party -The revolutionary new face of the GOP - and the

 American Conservative movement.

The logo brand for the Grand Opportunity Party that I created is shown below. The font style is dynamic, bold and current, reflecting our new refreshed style. While the Republican elephant logo may be red, white and blue (as is the Democrat donkey), the primary identifying GOP party color is changed from all red to a red, white and blue colored theme. The prominent and larger blue “O” communicates the primacy of “Opportunity” for all, while the star reflects a symbol of American heritage and strength, reminiscent of the old style US Air Force logo (called the Roundel and also referred to as the National). The font style of the letters closely resembles the font used by the GOP as shown on the GOP.com website (www.gop.com), maintaining a clear familiarity and brand consistency for the Republican Party.

This brand and message reboot,= represents all demographics and generations, and the new GOP logo and name change reflects this ideal.

With my strong passion for the conservative party, I am promoting my marketing strategy through my book and new media project, Cues for Conservatives. This book reflects my ideas and thoughts on how to market the young generation to get them on board with the Republican Party. It is a party that has great economic values that is healthy for the country and one that many can agree with. If it is done correctly, this approach can help inform Millennials the benefits of today’s new conservative party. They are the future and it is important for them to be informed on the conservative values.

If you are passionate about the American people and want the best party to be rebranded so it may connect with more people of all backgrounds, please consider supporting my efforts through my Indiegogo.com crowdfunding page. Together we can start a new conservative movement.

Campaign Link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cues-for-conservatives-book-multimedia-campaign#/story

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[1] http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/a-deep-dive-into-party-affiliation/ aspects of tform and eligious texts, teachings, publications and mosques.  Anti-sharia Muslims only practice these recal eful co

[2] https://gop.com/platform/preamble/

Turning The Tables on Campus- Anti-Free Speech Codes, A Creative Strategy to Use Progressives’ Anti-Free Speech Codes

Do you think that the First Amendment protects your right of free speech at American colleges and universities?  Think again.  The political Left – or as Kirsten Powers labels them, the “Illiberal Left” in her insightful new book, “The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech”, has been working tirelessly to clamp down on free speech rights on campus, and viciously attacks anyone who doesn’t parrot their radical progressive beliefs and world view.

According to scathing new report from FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, more than half of America’s colleges and universities – 55% - maintain severely restrictive speech codes—policies that clearly and substantially prohibit protected speech. These speech codes often include entirely unconstitutional “free speech zones”, where free speech is only permitted in extremely restricted areas and at restricted times, as governed by the schools. 

This anti-free speech movement has been fueled significantly by the Obama Administration to undermine both students' and faculty free speech rights here in the US. There is a  “federal blueprint” - in the form of a joint letter from the Departments of Education and Justice to the University of Montana - states that only an overly broad definition of sexual harassment—"unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature"—will now satisfy federal statutory requirements. This explicitly includes "verbal conduct," which is otherwise known as free speech.  Now, everyone on a college campus has the “right not to be offended”.  Huh?

Ask someone on a date who says no?  You may be guilty of sexual harassment.  Make a sexually charged joke as part of your comedy act?  Yes, that could be harassment, and expect heavy-handed disciplinary action from the university. Dare to assign a book that a student might find offensive?  Gotcha – harassment, and your tenure as a professor is now in jeopardy.

No wonder why great comedians like Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld have made headlines with their refusal to perform on US college campuses, citing the overly PC student audience with no tolerance for the slightest offense.  How does any comedy act possibly work under such impossible restrictions? We’re raising an entire generation of thin-skinned intolerant youths who will graduate with the expectation that they must never be offended by anyone when they leave college for the real world.

Just a couple of examples of these atrocious anti-free speech codes, according to a FIRE report:  At the public University of South Carolina, their campus speech code prohibits “teasing,” “ridiculing” and “insulting”.  The taxpayer-funded University of Connecticut requires all students and employees to “refrain from actions that intimidate, humiliate, or demean persons or groups, or that undermine their security or self-esteem.”   Really? So if you dare “insult” a progressive’s political views, or say anything critical in a class debate that undermines another student’s self-esteem, you’ll be cited and potentially disciplined or expelled.  What an education!

FIRE has done incredible work with many successes filing lawsuits against schools across America to protect free speech and combat these unconstitutional campus speech codes. 

Here’s another innovative idea:  let’s use these preposterous speech codes against these schools, until they wise up and rescind them on their own.  It will be cheaper than fighting a lawsuit, potentially more effective, and ideally embarrass the daylights out of these schools’ administrations – with the desired outcome of the anti-free speech codes being rescinded, one by one.

Here’s some ideas to try out:

-       You’re a “right to life” female student feeling threatened and your religious beliefs violently attacked – by attending a class where the issue of “choice” and abortion is discussed by progressive students and faculty.  You are having nightmares of doctors aborting and killing your unborn baby, and your security is severely threatened. All discussion and speech supporting “pro-choice” and abortion must be immediately banned on campus.

-       You’re a college male and have been made to feel demeaned and abused sexually by women on campus who have checked you out working out at the campus gym. These women’s dashing glances are surely sexual in nature.  You demand that no women be allowed in or near the campus gym, in order to preserve your rights and dignity and prevent this obvious sexual harassment.

-       You’re a woman who is feeling threatened while taking a class on the religion of Islam.  In this class, the Koran is required reading material, and it describes Mohammed’s marriage to a 6 year old girl and sex with her when she was 9, and countless other stories of Mohammed’s sanctioning of child rape, sex slaves and wife beating. You demand that the entire subject of Islam, and copies of the Koran, be completely banned from university as demeaning hate speech.

-       You’re a female student who has been asked out on a date by a male student. You feel extremely offended, humiliated and insulted when other students find out about this, because you believe your are clearly a “10”, whereas this man is, in your view, only a lowly “5” at best and no match for you.  Not a single other student should ever suffer from such an embarrassing encounter - you demand a complete and permanent ban on ANY college males asking ANY females out on a date so this never happens again.

-       You’re a Christian male student who is feeling intimidated and demeaned by liberal students and professors for expressing your religious points of view on family values and God.  You demand that all criticism of your faith and politically conservative beliefs ceases immediately, lest you feel demeaned and your self esteem lowered.

If you’re a student at one of these anti-free speech college campuses, try beating progressives at their own game by making them take some of their own bad medicine, and see how fast they change their intolerant speech codes.

http://news.yahoo.com/annual-report-shows-most-colleges-remain-anti-free-124822505.html

http://mic.com/articles/14516/5-worst-freedom-of-speech-violations-on-us-college-campuses

http://mic.com/articles/14516/5-worst-freedom-of-speech-violations-on-us-college-campuses

Official Press Release: Crowdfunding Campaign for Cues for Conservatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                           Contact: John Paul

Email: johnpaul1096@hotmail.com

Office TEL:  805-450-7087

Liberty Hill Publishing Presents A Bold New Book And Multimedia Project Aimed At Engaging Millennials And Uniting The Conservative Movement – Launches Crowdfunding Campaign At Indiegogo.com

Boston, MA — Conservative activist, writer and marketing executive, John Paul, has completed his bold new book America, Cues for Conservatives – How to Engage the Millennial Generation and Unite the Conservative Movement in support of a new brand of political conservatism. As part of this monumental multimedia project, the national crowdfunding campaign, found at Indiegogo.com, has launched on April 13. Visit the following campaign page to learn more: https://igg.me/at/CUES/x/13389060

John Paul channels his extensive knowledge of American politics, Millennials and his 20+ years experience as a professional corporate marketer to guide a new generation of conservatives to effectively defend and promote conservatism – and fight back against the radical progressive agenda.  The timing couldn't be more urgent with the upcoming 2016 presidential election and the mounting divisions within the Republican Party.  

The crowdfunding campaign for Cues will be used to fund the publication of the book, create a series of engaging animated videos, produce a multimedia campaign to reach Millennials and other Americans. As part of this endeavor, copies of Cues for Conservatives will be sent to every conservative and independent member of Congress. Contributors will have the opportunity to order advance copies of the book – in both digital and print – and support the cause to Bring America Forward.

The Cues for Conservatives campaign videos – including an animated overview highlighting a key chapter of the book – can be found at the Indiegogo.com campaign page referenced above.

The author stresses the importance of this effort. In brief, America's political future will very soon lie largely in the hands of the Millennial Generation, people born between 1981 and 1999. Millennials are now coming of age and beginning to take over the workforce. Soon they will control American politics, too – leaning heavily toward liberal, socialist and Democrat parties. What will this mean for the future of our country? How can conservatives respond to this alarming trend?

How can we better reach, inspire and engage this younger generation to save our country from the failed and destructive liberal agenda? The political Left, leaning ever more radically progressive, has succeeded in persuading Millennials and other key demographics, significantly out-messaging conservatives with their mastery of political marketing and domination of the media, entertainment and education. If Republicans do not build a unified front and have a clear strategy to win the support of younger voters, we will quickly become a permanent minority party. 

Cues for Conservatives is a book that focuses on how the Left has managed to win Millennial voters and other key demographics, and how conservatives can use some of these same methods, in addition to some bold new tactics of our own, to win them back. It is the how-to handbook and multimedia blueprint for proactively defending and promoting conservatism with our changing electorate.

Liberty Hill Publishing, a division of Salem Media Group, is a self-publisher dedicated solely to protecting and sharing the conservative message. Retailers may order Cues for Conservatives – How to Engage the Millennial Generation and Unite the Conservative Movement through Ingram Book Company. The book will be available online through libertyhillpublishing.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.