Selling A Weak Front-Runner

Tunheim's Blois Olson shares his thoughts with The Firm Voice about the lessons the corporate world can learn about political communications from this year's presidential race.
Front-runners should be focused. While it’s tempting to try to increase share rapidly by attempting to diverse audiences, front-runners should do so deliberately. Olson likens the Republican campaign to soft drinks and cereals. “If you think about cola brands, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are leaders, and they have seen some market share slip in soft drinks.  Mostly they have lost it to upstart beverages, not to each other. First it was Snapple, then water and energy drinks.  As long as the GOP field is crowded, as soon as someone doesn’t like the taste of something, they can pick a different brand. Meanwhile, Romney was the flavor that his fans knew and stuck with.”  While it may be tempting for Romney to segment the market and pick off certain segments, Olson urges careful timing. “Original Cheerios are great for General Mills, but they can keep more people with the brand as they add Honey Nut, fruit flavored, frosted etc. Romney is waiting to add his different flavors until the most of the challengers to his front runner brand have left the race.”
Read the rest at The Firm Voice

Tagged Article Blois Olson Corporate Communications Mitt Romney Political Communications Politics Presidential Politics
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