The Marketing Success of Scott Brown: Four Reasons Why He Won

Here in Massachusetts we had a front row seat to one of the biggest upsets in political history.  In the Bay State, politics is both an art form and a contact sport.  Though it is a small state, we have had our share of national figures – JFK, Tip O’Neil, Barney Frank, Mike Dukakis, John Kerry, Mitt Romney and now Scott Brown replacing Ted Kennedy. 

Many of the pundits and spinners around the country are blaming Martha Coakley and the campaign she ran, but that is not the real story.  Many are comparing her to Bill Buckner of the 86 Red Sox, who let the World Series go through his in legs to let the Mets win.  Actually, I’d compare her to Grady Little, the Sox manager who left Pedro Martinez too long against the Yanks in 03.  Martha made some bad decision, but the players really blew the game.  In this case the players are Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Ben Nelson etc.  Voters, particularly independents were voting against healthcare, government spending and the perceived leftward direction of the President and Congress.  Exit polling shows Brown cleaned up among independents – and middle class/working class voters by huge margins

How did a State Senator with an unremarkable record who was unknown 4 months ago topple the Democratic establishment and win a seat that belonged to the Kennedy family since 1953?  With very good content marketing and the knowledge of how to own his media channel.  Here is how he did it and the lessons to be learned:

1. Have a brand that resonates with your audience and communicate it clearly.  Brown understood his audience and what they cared about: Economics, healthcare and terrorism while staying away from divisive social issues.  This translated to jobs and spending, the healthcare bill and the administration’s decision to treat terror suspects as criminals and not enemy combatants.  He didn’t dance around it, instead he was blunt and clear – even about water boarding.  He signed “41” after his name to make it clear he was going to be the vote that kills the health care bill.  His line about the “people’s seat” was brilliant in its brevity and power.  In an age when politicians don’t sound like real people, he sold it straight.  Brown’s use of content was far superior to his opponent.  Coakley was hampered by having to take positions to the left of Obama in a tough primary battle so she appeared out of touch by the majority of independent voters. 

2. Use powerful visuals as messages and storytelling.  Sometimes images and design can tell a story as well or better than words.  Brown’s ads were excellent – from JFK morphing into Brown, to the iconography around his old GMC truck and ever present barn coat.  He let his fellow suburbanites know he was one of them and he knows how they are feeling - frustrated.  It was telling that elitists like Martha Coakley and Pres. Obama were making fun of his truck – the definition of tone deaf.  I found it comical that the guy who ultimately runs GM would rip on a candidate who was proud of his reliable GMC truck.  Coakley made it clear that she’d rather spend time with other politicians and union leaders rather than shaking hands with ordinary people – not exactly a recipe for popularity. 
 

3. Scott Brown created his own media channel.  Brown didn’t get big contribution money until the last two weeks, so had to make do with “free” media.  His team owned face book – his fan page grew from 17K fans when I started tracking it to over 130K by Election Day.  Many were members from around the country who also contributed funds.  He was on Twitter and had a YouTube Channel that was viral.  Having these social media channels are not exactly state of the art, but the way he combined the content, passion and messaging with the communities were powerful.  There is little doubt he swamped Coakley who never had more than 20K fans.  He also used the free media a.k.a PR. Brown made himself available for a myriad of radio shows and reporters while Coakley stayed under wraps.  He gained a lot of good will from the media by being friendly and accessible.

4. He stayed mostly positive while Coakley ran hundreds of negative ads.  The DNC and other PACs supporting the Democrat poured millions into a carpet-bombing of nasty attack ads against Brown.  And they worked – driving up Martha Coakley’s negative ratings. It backfired badly.  Brown’s ads were great – showing him in his infamous truck interacting with people and his family.  Her ads featured her as a talking head in a conference room.  The contrast was striking.  While Brown created an integrated media channel, Coakley took the old school approach and relied heavily on broadcast advertising.  Brown owned his media channel while Coakley rented hers. In the end she wound up with what renters usually end up with - nothing but an empty bank account.

The marketing team behind Scott Brown was successful by knowing the needs of their audience. This knowledge helped them craft a simple and positive benefit oriented message. They created compelling content while utilizing all media platforms for their strengths.  You can expect to see this model a bit in November and that may not be a bad thing.  My advice to politicians running in 2010 – keep it simple and benefit oriented, stay positive, create a community and tell a compelling story across all media channels.  Good luck Senator Brown.