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 PartyTM.
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 21st 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took an old brand dating back to 1937, featuring an outdated whistling sailor,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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