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\nDonald Trump<\/p>\n
In 2015, no brand\u2019s stock has risen higher than Donald Trump\u2019s. More than a month after his candidacy announcement, which was originally dismissed, more or less, as a marketing stunt, he continues to lead the polls in nearly every category.<\/p>\n
How has he done it, and what can other brands learn from his example?<\/p>\n
\nDonald Trump<\/p>\n
1. Be Authentic
\nThis is, itself, misleading in a way. While Trump probably believes in some of the positions he\u2019s taken, he has just as surely chosen, and expressed them, to effect a sense of authenticity. Whether or not he\u2019s succeeded 100% in this effort, he definitely more authentic than conventionally cagey, practiced politicians. So, in addition to \u201csexy\u201d, \u201cinnovative\u201d, \u201cpremium\u201d, or whatever other qualities a brand might aspire to, \u201cauthentic\u201d should always be in the mix.<\/p>\n
2. Make Enemies
\nIt\u2019s common knowledge, if not common practice, that the attempt to please everyone is far more likely to please no one. Brands should commit to speaking directly to their target audience, with the understanding that that message might alienate others. In some cases, like Trump\u2019s, this might even create enemies. Brands should always be careful when making enemies \u2013 you don\u2019t want to write a check your brand can\u2019t cash \u2013 but brands shouldn\u2019t be scared of conflict, either.<\/p>\n
3. Understand Listeners
\nThe chief factor behind Trump\u2019s success has been the exploitation of many Americans\u2019 politically-incorrect \/ racist \/ xenophobic \/ misogynistic sentiments. This darker side of the country \/ GOP, which other candidates speak to only carefully, Trump endorses front and center, without mincing words. He understands what many republicans want to hear, and hadn\u2019t heard until him. Similarly, brands should keep in mind the desires of their audience while attempting authenticity. This sounds contradictory, because it is. It\u2019s a balancing act \u2013 one that Trump, presently, is dancing his way through.<\/p>\n
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\nDonald Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 2015, no brand\u2019s stock has risen higher than Donald Trump\u2019s. More than a month after his candidacy announcement, which was originally dismissed, more or less, as a marketing stunt,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-branding"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/URKDagg.jpg",1280,720,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":8,"uagb_excerpt":"In 2015, no brand\u2019s stock has risen higher than Donald Trump\u2019s. More than a month after his candidacy announcement, which was originally dismissed, more or less, as a marketing stunt,...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imagemme.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}