Call Me GOP

Well, the process took a little longer than expected, but we’ve come to the end of our Call Me, G.O.P. experiment. What have we learned?

It seems the core of the Republican Party is no longer in charge, and it’s driven by the far-right fringe, who are often pushing a personal agenda (Rush Limbaugh is reportedly looking into buying an NFL franchise…can’t make this stuff up, folks) at the expense of more inclusive party principles.

The G.O.P. needs to regain control to be a whole party again. And soon—before history passes the Republicans up. The squabbling about social issues must stop, and the party needs to focus on what they agree on, mainly limited government and fiscal responsibility. As the economy continues to fall apart, the G.O.P. can be a credible voice of experience, leveraging its conservative heritage to bring good sense to complex financial issues. But it can only happen if party members are encouraged to put the party ahead of themselves to make it stronger as a whole, before their differences destroy the platform.

And the process? Well, it’s been interesting, to say the least, but we learned a lot. One insight: some brands are just not easy to create a platform for. But every brand has a story to tell, as we’re fond of saying, and inviting you guys to join the fun of helping the G.O.P. find its soul really delivered some powerful insights. We hope it was as fun for you as it was for us.

Overall, we enjoyed the entire process. In fact, we decided to turn the “Call Me…” rebranding exercise into a series, where we take different brands through our process and help them find their voice…whether they’re ready for us or not. And we’d love for you to continue to play along. Next up? Financial services. Who’s more troubled—and in need of finding their soul—than the banking industry? They’d better look out…we’re on their case.  Watch this space for details!

The Dems may have hit a rough patch, but that doesn’t mean the Republican Party is in the clear yet. At least, that’s Gerald F. Seib argument in today’s Wall Street Journal. He points out that Obama’s falling approval rating alone won’t fix the party. To get ahead, what challenges does the G.O.P. face and what issues do its members need to address?

As we near the end of our process, one of our final steps is to find the archetype for the G.O.P. Why do we do this? Well, finding a brand’s archetype helps us understand its impact on consumer psychology. It helps us understand what attracts consumers to the brand.

We’ve got to decide which — if any — is appropriate for the G.O.P. Does the Republican Party fall under more than one archetype? Is it the ruler? Or maybe the hero with a splash of the outlaw? Or do we need to create a new category entirely?

Tell us what you think in the comments and why you feel this way.

Meet the twelve after the jump.

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Every political party will inevitably try to put a favorable spin on things. Currently, Democrats are concentrating on a so-called “nonsense feedback loop” — highlighting the theories of Birthers and fears over “death panels.” It seems to be a common political strategy: focus on the lunacy of extremists more than a moderate, rational voice.

The Daily Beast argues that having a Democrat in the White House could have possibly created a more passive party. The energy has dissipated. Momentum has been lost. Well, have they lost the edge? Are the Democrats feeling too secure in their position? What can the G.O.P. do to take advantage of the situation?

The next step is the metaphor exercise. Metaphors are powerful tools in storytelling because of the impact they can have on the audience. In our process, we use them to understand how people feel about a brand. For example, comparing a brand to a mouse or a Porsche almost immediately captures the audience’s perception of it.

It looks like this: I’ll set up a few examples and you fill in the blanks. And don’t be afraid to come up with your own comparisons. It’s time for you to get creative with the G.O.P.

• As an animal, the G.O.P. is ________________ because _______________.
• As a car, it is ________________ because _______________.
• As a movie genre, it is ________________ because _______________.
• As a food, it is ________________ because _______________.

I’ll start by giving an example: As a tree, the G.O.P. is an oak because it’s strong and old, with long roots.

Get the picture? This should be an enjoyable exercise — so have some fun with it!

In Washington and all around the country there’s a political battle for America’s future. And while Americans are beginning to find faults in the Democrats’ proposals, an article in The Examiner claims that they’re not being presented with any alternatives. For the G.O.P. to be successful, it needs to “get their act together” and engage in a debate that does more than just criticize liberals and their plans. What’s your advice to the G.O.P. for moving forward and taking on the Democratic Party?

Democrats issued a harsh statement against the G.O.P. yesterday. They described the “mob rule” of far-right extremists who are more interested in “destroying” the presidency than discussing the issues. The G.O.P. responded that what Democrats call “mob rule,” most people call Democracy. But is it even either of these? Do these people get so much attention simply because they’re loud and radical or is there something to the group that says more about the Republican Party?

(via CNN)

Since the G.O.P. has been unable to make gains with non-white voters, they may consider reverting to a “white voter strategy.” Reminiscent of its “southern strategy,” which was effective when parties were more clearly divided along regional lines, this new focus targets white voters whose opinions of Obama have fallen.

The Huffington Post reports that it’s unlikely the G.O.P. can attract Hispanic voters based on the Republican stance on immigration and, more recently, their opposition to Sonia Sotomayor’s appointment. Similarly, its unlikely to gain the African-American vote given the loud “race-baiting commentary” from the far right. In fact, among Hispanics, Obama’s ratings have slipped only insignificantly, and he’s gained points with African-American voters. But a Gallup poll reports that his approval rating has dropped from 75% to 58% since January.

However, this “white voter strategy” seems dangerous for many reasons. Is this another example of the G.O.P. being an exclusionary group? Especially as our country becomes more diverse, how can the Republican Party win without significant support from Hispanic and African-American voters?

A recent Rasmussen report states that support for Republican congressional candidates is at its highest level in over two years. 42% polled said they’d vote Republican while only 38% would back their district’s Democratic candidate. But is the G.O.P. counting its chickens before they hatch? Is this gradual trend toward the G.O.P. a result of failures from the Democratic Party or positive efforts from the Republicans?

The G.O.P.’s pool of female political talent has been shrinking, while it’s been on the rise in the Democratic Party. One theory is that media attacks on influencial women in politics have deterred others from stepping up. But there must be other causes, right? The Christian Science Monitor asks: Why are women having such a hard time in the Republican Party?