Why Authentic Brand Positioning Always Defeats Spin

A Critical Lesson from the 2024 Presidential Election

I've spent over five decades in the trenches of brand marketing. Through economic booms and busts, technological revolutions, and shifting consumer landscapes, I've observed one constant: authentic brand positioning always trumps spin.

The 2024 presidential election and the Democratic Party's widespread defeat offer a master class in critical brand-building principles.

Please note that neither this nor any other article in this series on what we can learn from political and customer marketing attempts to make a political statement. Instead, it is about marketing—pure and simple—and what we can learn from each other.

The Reality Check

The Democratic Party suffered a decisive defeat in 2024:

• Republicans captured the presidency, with Trump winning 312 electoral votes to 226 for Harris.
• The popular vote margin exceeded 2 million votes for President Trump.
• All seven swing states went to President Trump.
• He won the popular vote in more than 85% of U.S. counties
• Republicans maintained control of the House and won the Senate.

In brand marketing terms? A comprehensive market share collapse.

The Denial Phase

Conducting a comprehensive and thoughtful post-mortem is essential whenever a brand experiences such dramatic or unanticipated loss.

However, four months after its defeat, the Democratic Party remains in denial, a perilous position I've witnessed destroy once-mighty brands across industries.

A brand cannot chart a recovery course until it gets beyond denial and acknowledges reality.

Consequently, we're witnessing classic market disarray, with Party leaders attributing their loss to everything except causal factors.

The emperor, indeed, has no clothes.

Beyond Messaging

Many Democratic strategists claim their defeat stems from "having the wrong message."

This naivete fundamentally misunderstands brand building.

Messaging isn't the brand. It's not even the product.

My grandmother—a wise woman who shaped my early understanding of authenticity—counseled me as a young boy: "Get beyond what people say and watch what they do."

After five decades of guiding brands through challenges and triumphs, I can affirm her wisdom and its relevance to brand building.

The Brand Positioning Imperative

The Democratic Party of 2024 bears little resemblance to the Party of Kennedy, Clinton, or even Obama. This transformation echoes classic brand positioning failures I've analyzed throughout my career:

• New Coke abandoning its heritage.
• Bud Light alienating its core customers.
• Jaguar departing from its luxury performance positioning.

Many lifelong Democrats who voted for Trump in 2024 express a sentiment I've heard from countless disappointed voters: "I didn't leave the Democrat Party; the Party left me."

The Spin Trap

Creating compelling new messages without addressing fundamental brand positioning is merely "spin."

Spin is marketing deception. Avoid it!

“Spin” is not authentic. It’s inconsistent with the brand positioning strategy.

"Enhanced interrogation" is spin. By any other name, it’s still "torture."

"Inseminated person" is spin. By any other name, it’s still a "mother"—in this case, the spin diminishes the person's identity and role.

Spin shapes narratives—misleading voters and customers alike±—while avoiding core issues?

Customer Connection

When polling and marketing research shows your brand underwater on virtually every performance metric by 3-4x margins, you face a fundamental problem.

The product is flawed. It does not address customer or voter needs.

Its positioning is inauthentic.

Is the Democratic Party niching itself by focusing on the 20 – 25%? Perhaps.

But the inescapable truth: voters aren't buying what the Party is selling because it isn't staying true to its brand positioning and addressing voters' needs.

Actions Speak Louder

During this week’s recent Capitol Building event, where President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress and American citizens, I witnessed Democratic politicians remaining seated while everyday citizens were honored.

If your brand positioning claims to champion "the people," yet your visible actions contradict this claim, you've created a devastating authenticity gap.

As I've counseled marketing managers for decades:

• Perception is reality.
• What you do speaks more loudly than your words.
• Listen to and serve your customers (voters are customers) better than your competitors.

The Path Forward

The Democratic Party—like any brand facing existential challenges—must:

1. Move beyond denial and conduct a comprehensive and thoughtful post-mortem.
2. Get its house in order, starting with the brand positioning strategy.
3. Ensure messaging faithfully reflects authentic positioning.
4. Align strategies and actions with claimed values.

THINK ABOUT IT

• If you conduct a thoughtful pre-mortem, you may never need a post-mortem.
• You cannot conduct a post-mortem until you overcome denial.
• When you abandon your brand positioning strategy, you're departing from your customers—not vice versa!
• Winning votes or customer sales requires more than messaging—it demands authentic brand positioning and a great customer experience.
• "Spin" overlooks causal performance factors, creating self-delusion and masquerading inauthenticity and lies as truth.
• What you do speaks more loudly than your words.
• Nothing kills a brand faster than a poor product wrapped in compelling spin.
• Messaging isn't the brand but must faithfully reflect authentic brand positioning.

MAKING YOUR MARKETING MATTER (EVEN) MORE

1. Be a faithful steward of your competitive brand positioning strategy.
2. If a change becomes necessary, engage in PROsitioning rather than REpositioning. PROsitioning evolves the brand lifecycle upward and rightward, while REpositioning represents a revolution that negates previous investments and alienates your core audience.
3. Think beyond the product you're selling to focus on the experience you're delivering.

Continue to Progress Your Journey to Marketing Excellence

What I've shared today reflects just one of my many insights from my 50+ year journey guiding iconic brands and their marketers through triumphs and tribulations. Follow me on LinkedIn for weekly battle-tested and authentic brand-building insights, principles, and practices that take years on the job to discover. Make your marketing matter more on the never-ending journey to Marketing Excellence.

Additionally, my book AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS: How to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing will provide you with a comprehensive framework to take your marketing to the next level—to better serve your target customers, outdo your competitors, and drive real results. Brand Positioning, covered today, represents just one chapter in this essential resource for seasoned marketers committed to achieving authentic marketing excellence. Available now on Amazon and other major retailer. Invest in your marketing future today.

Peace and best wishes for making your marketing matter (even) more on your journey to achieving marketing excellence,

Richard D. Czerniawski