Breaking Down Make America Great Again

Political pundits will, for years to come, dissect how political neophyte Donald J. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become our nation's 45th president. Only, equally much as nosotros can put politics aside, it's clear one determination each campaign made certainly helped the winner and injure the loser -- the slogans.

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Trump v. Clinton was likewise "Brand America Swell Once more" v. "Stronger Together," and, no thing where your political views sit, a week after this stunning upset victory, it'south clear Trump'southward slogan and accompanying #MAGA hashtag, resonated with the voters Trump needed to win, while Clinton's message simply didn't.

Why? There are a number of reasons.

A telephone call to activity.

"Make America Great Again" is a call to action. It's a rallying cry, actually, akin to Nike'southward "Simply Practice It." Not only does information technology give you a full general sense of the themes of the campaign -- America isn't great correct now so I'one thousand going to be the 1 to practice something almost information technology -- information technology involves the voters in the mission. It was nearly an social club.

Related: How Trump Won Using Strategic Branding, and What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Him

"Stronger Together" was designed to exist inclusive, simply it wasn't a phone call to activeness. Yep, people are stronger when they are united, merely the slogan seemed like a proposition to necktie all the lifeboats together and ration out the remaining hardtack and water. The electorate -- notable traditional working-class Democrat voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin -- was more interested in finding the captain'southward lifeboat and sinking it.

Simple.

Want to know how you tin tell a great slogan? Put it on a bumper sticker and run into if people accept a visceral reaction to it. Better yet, put information technology on an ugly scarlet baseball cap, with no logo and see if that works. It did. There was actually no thinking involved. If y'all felt America was no longer smashing and you wanted information technology to be great again, you constitute your candidate just by looking at his baseball cap.

In that location was a lot of complexity to "Stronger Together." It hinted that the land needed strength, simply didn't go all the way downwards the path of actually criticizing the current assistants, which Hillary Clinton couldn't do because she was really a part of it for several years. Also, "together" was meant to exist an inclusive word merely it failed with the voters, mostly -- and most ironically -- because information technology was considered exclusive. It reflected a kind of political correctness that some voters were actively rejecting and others were intimidated by. Or, as New York Times columnist Frank Bruni put it, that message of mandatory inclusiveness became "a handmaiden to smugness and sanctimony, undermining its own goals."

Definitive.

When you saw Donald Trump entrada, you saw "Make America Cracking Again" everywhere. It was on the podium. It was on the signs the crowds held. It was on his hat. In that location was no other rallying message. Yeah, afterward he was nominated, "Lock her upwardly!" became a frequent chant at his rallies, but Trump was never conducting that orchestra. Yes, he may have agreed with it (although his sentiments since the election on that and other issues have softened), but he was smart plenty to know he didn't want to send mixed messages from the podium.

Related: three Reasons Why Relying on 'Just Practice It' Keeps You From Getting Information technology Done

The Clinton campaign was never so definitive in its messaging. Before "Stronger Together," there was "I'thou With Her," and "Fighting for Us" and "Breaking Down Barriers." That search for a slogan reflected a lack of a theme for the campaign. Equally David Axelrod, the former counselor to President Obama, told NPR, "She, I think, was struggling in the Democratic primaries to identify a message and a tag line that summed up the purpose of her campaign."

A leader.

In that aforementioned NPR slice, Democrats noted that "Stronger Together" was a reaction to "Make America Great Again." More specifically, Trump started saying that he "alone" could prepare it.

"Yeah, those were actually Donald Trump's words in Cleveland and they should set off warning bells for all of united states of america," Clinton said during the Autonomous National Convention. "He's forgetting every last one of us. Americans don't say 'I alone tin can fix it.' We say, 'we'll fix it together.'"

Well… no. Really, as an entrepreneurial audience knows well, a lot of problems are stock-still by individuals. At to the lowest degree, in that location are a lot issues that are solved by individual ideas. So not only was Clinton immediately on the defensive with the slogan, she was doubling down with a supporting message that (in one case once again) ignored the philosophy and experience of a whole swath of the voting public.

A social winner.

Hither's the unkindest cutting for Hillary Clinton. "Stronger Together" was then much weaker on social media than "I'thou With Her." The electorate is always looking to exist energized by a candidate, even in years similar this when the two people running for the nigh powerful job on the planet had historically high disapproval numbers. #ImWithHer was a social star, as supporters enthusiastically tweeted and used the tag on Facebook and Twitter. #StrongerTogether never reflected that voter enthusiasm.

Related: five Donald Trumps Effectually the World

The hashtag boxing was the i fight in the war that Hillary Clinton could accept won, because "Make America Corking Over again" was non a not bad social slogan. It was shortened to #MAGA, and that had a kind of foreign feel to it. Still, information technology worked better than #StrongerTogether because Trump supporters were using #MAGA organically while Clinton supporters were using a slogan the campaign had abandoned. That lonely should have shown the voter disconnect that reflected poorly for Hillary Clinton at the election box.

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Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/285222

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