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6 Critical Marketing Lessons from a Trump Victory

Authors: Jay Baer Jay Baer
Posted Under: Digital Marketing
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Image via Unsplash

My original career was as a political campaign consultant, so I watched this election with particular fascination.

Regardless of your political leanings, I suspect most of us will agree with David Meerman Scott’s post that the best marketer has been elected President.

I wanted to drill down on that concept more, so I created the video above, and these lessons:

6 Critical Marketing Lessons From a Trump Victory


1. Different is Better than Better

Trump created more contrast than Clinton, and contrast creates clarity.

2. Memorable is Better than Thoughtful
Making people think is a barrier to action in a short attention span world.

3. Impact is Better than Accuracy
The truth of your information is less important than its resonance.

4. The Wizard is Better than The Wand
Clinton had a huge ground game and big data advantage, but that was ultimately overcome by an opponent that created a higher passion level.

5. Authenticity is Better than Cultivated
Clinton has had an authenticity problem for many years. Even Saturday Night Live pilloried her for it. Whether Trump’s positions as a candidate are authentically his remains to be seen, but he was perceived as far more authentic than the electorate.

6. Relevance is Better than Budget
Trump was outspent significantly, but was the more relevant candidate to his supporters. Exit polls show that Clinton failed to turn out large numbers of Obama voters, indicating a relevancy challenge even with the historic base.

(Please watch the video for additional context, and please keep comments below about marketing, not politics. Off-topic discourse will be deleted.)

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