Omobabinrin Adeola Osideko is a chartered accountant, branding strategist, and the senior director of Personal and Career Development (PCD) Academy. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, she speaks about the 2023 elections in the context of branding and the social media, among other issues.
HOW do you think branding relates to politics and elections?
Branding plays a significant role in everything, and politics and elections are not exemptions. When we hear the word ‘branding’, oftentimes, we cast our minds to just business. It goes beyond business. It is about reputation − and in politics, reputation and personal brand go together. Political aspirants’ or candidate’s reputation constitutes opinions and beliefs people form about them based on their collective actions and behaviours. When people think about you, what do they feel? Do their feelings align with your values and goals for the country?
Personal branding is a powerful tool for politicians and their political parties. It is the first impression you make, the relationship you form with the public. It is important to think about the impression you are giving off when you interact with potential voters on social media, at public events or in person.
Everyone is exceptional, and to clearly differentiate this exceptionality and the values they are bringing to the table, they need to do more than have a good reputation. They need to have an outstanding personal brand. If that brand aligns with the opportunities they long for, then they are more likely to secure them. This way, people will know who they are voting for and what exactly they stand for.
What is the role of branding in political campaigns and elections?
A strong brand is crucial to politicians. Therefore, it is important to be sincere, honest, and likable. Secondly, have passion for your cause as well as for various points of views.
However, in Nigeria, as long as political branding is concerned, candidates from ruling parties will try to brand the economy as outstanding and themselves as the cause of the nation’s success, while the opposition will try to brand the country as being on the wrong track and themselves as the catalyst for the needed change.
If you think elections are cerebral affairs decided by logic and facts, I have bad news for you. As psychologist Drew Westen explained, “Two-thirds of voters’ decisions to support one candidate or another could be accounted for by two simple variables: their partisan feelings and their feelings towards the candidates. Candidates’ positions on the issues had only a modest effect on their electoral preferences.”
How do political party ideologies influence the personal brand of a political candidate?
The social standing of candidates is supposed to be judged by their personal brand. However, the truth is, the ideologies of the political parties they are representing have a way of affecting their reputation and how the public perceives them.
A person enjoying a good reputation will be preferred by the masses, and this is a function of the political party’s mission, vision, core values, campaign strategies, and reputation. The way the party’s brand appears will affect how people perceive the party as well as the candidate. So, it is best not to do anything that would jeopardize its reputation.
How do you think ethnicity, religion, and tribal sentiments influence personal/leadership branding of politicians?
Tribalism, ethnicity, and religion are popular clichés used to describe or analyze various forms of anomalies in the country. They have a way of influencing the way a candidate is perceived in the society as a leader or as a personal brand, which affects the people’s psyche and creates a pattern or legacy of hate and suspicion.
Are you satisfied with the marketing strategies some political candidates are adapting to market their image and agendas in the media?
No, I am not satisfied. Their marketing strategies are channeled in the wrong direction such blackmailing, cyber bullying, and bribery − such as giving cash and consumables. People are wiser now. They know who and what they want. Some will collect these things and still vote for the people they want.
The best bet is to channel these resources to significant nation-building. When the results are evident, it will stir up a positive reputation which will inspire loyalty, drive bottom-line growth, and improve people’s confidence in a leader’s brand.
But a negative one will drive away people and potentially lose people’s confidence. Also, using social media influencers, who have bad reputation for promotion, will do a lot of damage to a politician’s marketing campaign.
Give examples of how personal and leadership branding has helped politicians win presidential elections in other countries.
Branding played a crucial role in the 2016 USA presidential election. Donald Trump would often say his campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. Branding took the center stage with the Trump presidency. He used repetitive rhetoric on purpose. As a master brander, he knows that repetition of catchphrases or an image is the way to affix concepts in the minds of his audience. His logo and clear message appealed to conservative values. His brand strategy was the antagonist, and throughout 2016, he crafted increasingly shocking tweets that resonated and built rapport with his voter base. He founded a niche of voters whose voices were underrepresented in American politics, and he built a brand that spoke directly to their frustrations.
In 2008, Barack Obama leveraged the power of the social media to create a political movement across Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, among others, meeting young, tech-savvy voters on their terrains. His campaign, which marked a turning point in American political branding, appealed to young, diverse voters ready for a progressive change. While his competitors bought television and radio airtime and spoke to middle-ground politics. He prioritized less-traditional platforms and spoke directly to a voter base that had long been ignored by mainstream politicians. The results of this strategy: mobilizing thousands of voters who usually do not show up to the polls. Ultimately, Obama’s efforts to stand out paid off. 2008 saw the most diverse voter turnout in the US history, as record numbers of Black, Hispanic, and Asian voters cast their ballots for him. Obama also drew two-thirds of the under-30 votes, reaping the success of his innovative social media strategy.
Nigerian political candidates for the 2023 elections, especially presidential candidates, and their political parties, should emulate Trump’s and Obama’s campaign strategies, and have a set of values they are committed to upholding, which can serve as bases for their campaigns and marketing strategies.
How do visuals and mainstream media/social media influence elections?
Branding and marketing are central to election campaigns. A strong logo, slogan, jingle, advertisements, imagery, and a strong social media presence help candidates to present their politics and to build a consistent message. The best campaign brands convey a sense of ideology with nothing more than a glance.
What is the best way political candidates can sell their images and portfolios?
With more people getting involved in politics, the image of a candidate has become increasingly important. This is essential to political success because it can show voters how dedicated you are to your beliefs. Politicians are often criticized for having a bad image. But if they have good personal/political branding, they can make themselves more likable to voters and increase their chances of winning elections.
There are many best practices for personal branding that politicians and political parties can use. The first is to develop a brand identity to promote their campaign and distinguish themselves from other politicians or political parties.
Others are to use the social media to interact with voters and get more followers, build relationships with other politicians who share similar views or are from the same party, connect with journalists to spread their message, build websites, and include their personal information, manifestoes and policies on them.
They should have active social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others. They should get people involved in their campaign with volunteer opportunities. They should use hashtags to get more views on their posts, create a logo and slogan that is memorable, and develop a social media strategy for both personal and political accounts. They should speak confidently about your policies to the public and share content that is relevant to people’s interests.
How can followers and supporters of political candidates help them with their public image and branding?
Whether we like it or not, social media and politics have become inseparable because so much political discourse takes place there. Navigating social media and politics can be tricky, especially when there is hot argument among supporters who are trying so hard to convince other people that their preferred candidate is the best.
Politicians’ supporters should learn to respect other people’s opinions and candidates. Fighting or insulting others because they do not support their preferred candidate is going to result in a bad public image for their own candidate.
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