THINK ABOUT IT: The Worst Marketing Award For 2024

My ignominious award for the worst marketing of 2023 goes to Bud Light. The proof is in the proverbial pudding: The brand has still not recovered sales and market share from the pre-Dylan Mulvaney debacle.

But what about 2024? Can anything match or surpass Bud Light's colossal failure?

Well, when I’ve posed this question to a few brand marketers, the answer I receive from both left- and right-leaning marketers is "the Democratic Party."

Without a doubt, I agree. Wholeheartedly! I shouldn't be surprised that we’re on the same page. It’s not political. It’s reality.

Before you write me off or respond with hateful comments, please note that I’m NOT taking sides or making a political statement. I'm neither advancing nor supporting any candidate or political party in this blog.

Instead, this is about marketing—pure and simple.

Smart from dumb.

Please, consider these facts:

• Kamala Harris outspent Donald Trump.
• The candidate who spends the most typically wins an election. Trump is the only candidate who was outspent to win the presidency since the late President Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford some 40-plus years ago. (Trump did it twice—2016 and again in 2024.)
• In addition to outspending Trump, Harris also received 66% more air coverage from the legacy media.
• Moreover, Paul Bedard, writing for the Washington Examiner, reports that the Media Research Center (albeit from conservative sources) found that Vice President Harris received 84% positive coverage from the legacy media (i.e., ABC, CBS, and NBC), compared to 89% negative coverage for former President Trump.

What should have been a cakewalk for Harris-Walz turned into a route for Trump-Vance. The Trump-Vance ticket swept all seven swing states, won a higher percentage of votes in the vast majority of counties in 2024 versus 2020, carried the House, lifted the Senate, and won the popular vote.

Now, some of us might not like what happened, but it is what it is. End of story.

Well, not quite. We need to know what led to my selection of the Democratic Party to receive the dubious award of The Worst Marketer of 2024.

Dumb Marketing

Well, if we’re brutally honest, as we should be in conducting a post-mortem and preparing to rebuild the Democratic Party to better serve our nation and its citizens—which are you, me, and all of us—we could cite:

• Policies of the Biden-Harris presidency that led to crushing inflation.
• Mis-spending campaign funding (e.g., for payroll, production, celebrity appearances and performances, etc.).
• The unwillingness or inability of Harris to separate herself from Biden’s policies. (Remember, the question asked of her on The View, “Would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?” More importantly, recall the response of Vice President Harris, "There is not a thing that comes to mind.”)
• The narrative that President Biden is as "sharp as a tack" and "runs circles around everyone." Really?
• The alleged “lawfare” that backfired.
• Gaslighting the American voters that the border was closed despite record numbers of immigrants crossing and even being flown into undisclosed cities in the dead of the night courtesy of the Democratic administration.
• Doling out billions of dollars—as if they’re nickels—to care for (illegal) immigrants and other countries (including our enemies) while ignoring American citizens in need, such as our homeless, veterans, those stricken by natural disasters, and victims of crime.
• The Democrat presidential candidate’s campaign of “Hope and Joy.” We all know that “hope” is not a strategy. And there’s no “joy” in shouting down dissenters (“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally.”), trashing voters from the other party (calling them "garbage!"), and shouting that your opponents are “Nazis, fascists, dictators.”
• Running a campaign that misses the core issues, like inflation and the border.
• Failing to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, which serves to raise funds to support Catholic charities, thus alienating tens of thousands of Catholic voters.
• Appearing on Call Me Daddy Podcast and passing up the opportunity to tap into Joe Rogan’s fan base.
• Demonizing the opposition instead of clearly laying out their policies and solutions to “turn the page forward.” (By the way, did candidate Harris or Walz ever specify what an “economic opportunity zone” is, how it’s going to work, and how it will benefit Americans? If they did, I missed it.)

Marketing is not about what we say in speeches that candidates read from a teleprompter, or advertising, or promises you don’t intend to keep, or telling prospective customers what they want to hear.

Marketing is everything we do to create a winning experience for our customers—in this case, voters.

Excuse my French—I'm growing dismayed as I think of the fall of the Democratic Party—but the last four years have been a shitshow! There’s so much more I could point out that I have not. (Please, don’t get me started on the pullout from Afghanistan and claims that it was a success. Or, why the current administration is not inveighing for the release of hostages held by Hamas since 7 October 2023!)

Dumb, dumb, dumb. How could so many smart and experienced people (I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. Would you?) do such dumb marketing?

The Critical Issue

However, there's something here that's far more fundamental to the Democratic Party's earning this award. Do you see it?

Hint: it's the same as the Bud Light marketing error of epic proportions.

It goes to positioning, the blueprint for the development of the brand and its stewardship. It’s also about better serving current and prospective target customers.

Bud Light's marketing management, who chose to grow by capitalizing on Dylan Mulvaney in reaching out to a new demographic segment, showed that they didn't understand the brand's positioning and the potential alienation their choice would have with their core customers.

The Democratic Party has unknowingly or intentionally departed from its positioning in a radical way, abandoning its core franchise base—working-class Americans.

My father's Democratic Party has always been for the working class. It was a party of providing opportunities for all to get ahead. It was God, country, and family—freedom and justice for all. Sorta like, hey, “this Bud’s for you and all that you do.” It was recognition of hard-working Americans—the middle-class and middle-America—who helped build this great nation.

Today, the party appears to celebrate and advance the elites—fat cat executives, uber-wealthy, Hollywood celebrities.

It appears to favor ruling over governing, defying the needs and interests of many Americans.

Party members debate and refute what many Americans are experiencing. No, they don’t appear to be here for the people. Instead, it’s more like they’re here for themselves and pandering to special interest groups despite tearing the fabric of our country.

It’s “divide and conquer,” anything to stay in power—even lie about the cognitive capability of the President and who’s running this country. (Who is running the country?)

It all comes down to not adhering to the party’s positioning, knowing and building upon its brand, and not honoring or listening to its customers. For these reasons, I choose to award the Democratic Party as the Worst Marketer of 2024.

THINK ABOUT IT

• Why do you believe the Democratic Party failed to win what many call "the most important election in our lifetime?"
• Going beyond the Bud Light disaster of 2023, what other customer brands have made critical marketing errors and suffered serious consequences?
• What are some of the most critical marketing errors that snatched defeat from victory in this election and brands that have fallen from grace?
• What critical marketing errors might you identify that your brand is engaged in making?

MAKE YOUR MARKETING MATTER (EVEN) MORE

1. Ensure you have an “official” Brand Positioning Strategy (BPS) for your brand, which has been memorialized and approved by senior management.
2. Make sure everyone on the team knows and understands the BPS.
3. Stick to it!
4. Use your Brand Positioning Strategy Statement to direct all marketing development activities.
5. Use the BPS as a filter to ensure sound stewardship of your brand.
6. Evolve your BPS proactively.
7. Do not make revolutionary changes to your BPS. You'll squander investments in the brand and risk alienating your customers.
8. Listen to, reflect on, and honor your target customer in the BPS and in everything you do!
9. Don't chase after new customer targets, ignoring or alienating your current users. You'll never, ever, make up for those you drive away. Think Bud Light. Think New Coke.
10. Identify and fix the marketing errors your brand is making. Do it pronto!

Interested in reading my follow-up articles on this subject and all matters marketing? Please follow me on LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/richarddczerniawski/, where I share my perspectives from more than 50-years of successful worldwide “brand” marketing experience across many business sectors.

Avoid Critical Marketing Errors - Read my latest book, AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS – How to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing. It’s available on AMAZON.

Peace and best wishes in making your marketing matter (even) more in 2025,

Richard D. Czerniawski