Why on earth is Trump one of the world’s biggest successes?

Hi

I understand Donald Trump is an emotive issue for many, particularly when he makes controversial comments like blaming DEI for an air disaster.

But in this edition I take an objective, disinterested approach to analysing and demystifying his success … with plenty of lessons for communicators.

As usual, email me with any comments.

Thanks.

Ben

Why on earth is Trump one of the world’s biggest successes?

“I reckon Trump is a communications genius,” someone said to me recently.

There is no doubt that Trump has had remarkable success bending the world to his will simply through words and images.

But does labeling him a genius (evil for some) provide any useful lessons for lesser mortals? After all, you’re either a genius or not. It’s about as useful as dismissing him as a jumped-up salesman.

So when I sat down to look at whether Trump was in fact a communications genius, I was surprised to discover that – while he is an above-average persuader – the core of his success is not genius.

His success really stems from the disciplined execution of best-practice marketing, advertising and communications techniques over a sustained period.

In one sense, Trump is the Warren Buffett of communications. Trump has communicated effectively longer than almost anyone else; and the benefits have compounded with spectacular results in his later years.

(As Morgan Housel notes, 97% of Buffett’s net worth came after he turned 65. Similarly, Trump’s enormous power and success peaked after he turned 80.)

The beauty of analysing Trump through a ‘strategic communications’ lens is that there are lessons we can all learn.

Over many years, and in 2024, Trump used 10 best-practice communications and marketing principles that are available to anyone:

1. A relentless focus on brand, brand, brand

Most of Trump’s success comes down to good old-fashioned brand building. At its simplest: getting as famous as possible.

Advertising effectiveness gurus, Les Binet & Peter Field, define fame as “getting talked about”. Their research found that fame-driven campaigns outperform on all metrics. And “fame increases market share”.

Is anyone more talked about than Trump?

Many people were shocked that Trump survived so many scandals; but that merely showed the power of his brand.

As marketing expert Mark Ritson argues, citing the likes of Qantas and VW, it’s almost impossible to kill a powerful brand with a scandal. “Big brands are tough old things that ride out short-term sensationalism every time.”

One of Trump’s competitive advantages is that he believes attention is more important than reputation; he adheres to the dictum that “any publicity is good publicity”, allowing him to take more risks.

Trump used his brand – his fame – in business. But then he saw an opportunity to leverage it into politics.

2. Challenger brand positioning

In politics, Trump became a ‘challenger’ brand: attacking the Democrat, and Republican, incumbents.

A challenger brand takes risks and can push the envelope more than the incumbents, who remain imprisoned in conventional thinking.

Like Trump, challenger brands “break the rules”. Their hostility can also create a cult-like bond between advocates.

But there is nothing particularly radical or genius about that.

Attacking the incumbent – also known as ‘comparative advertising’,  ‘versus’ positioning, or hostility – is a positioning strategy as old as the hills … Virgin Atlantic attacked British Airways; small Japanese cars attacked big American cars; Uber attacked the taxi industry; Airbnb attacked hotels …

3. Using the power of earned media/PR

How did Trump build his brand?

He didn’t spend millions or billions advertising, he built his brand primarily through publicity/PR.

One commentator observed that Trump was abusing the mainstream media at a rally. He told them to get out, leave. But she cleverly noted that if the media did leave, Trump would “freak out”.

Trump knows – whether the coverage is positive or negative – there are fewer channels more powerful at brand and fame building than the print, online and television news media.

Trump has been dubbed the ‘king of earned media’.

Unlike paid advertising, ‘earned’ media is free. It is getting media coverage, word-of-mouth referrals and social media mentions.  

After winning in 2024, Trump said “… our biggest asset in the campaign was earned media and that doesn’t cost very much”.

As you can see in the chart above, one estimate found that, while Trump spent relatively little on traditional advertising in the 2017 election, he got $2 billion worth of ‘free’ coverage in traditional media and online.

It is old-fashioned publicity/PR – earned media – that builds brands.

4. Leveraging content across multiple channels

Trump is smart enough to leverage his brand across every channel, which is the hallmark of effective marketing and communication. He:

· Created thought leadership: The Art of the Deal book;

· Appeared on his own television show: The Apprentice

· Hosts live events and rallies, and

· Has become highly active on social media.

Many brands are obsessed with one channel – usually social media – and ignore other channels, particularly traditional channels such as print, television and radio.

Yet the most effective campaigns with the highest ROI straddle multiple channels and combine the power of traditional and newer channels.

In B2B, many companies create great thought leadership, but they don’t leverage it across multiple channels.

5. Creating distinctive brand assets

Another way Trump has built his brand is with ‘distinctive brand assets’.

Obviously, Trump has a competitive advantage with his name.

But his ‘look’ is one of the most distinctive on the planet, including his

· Trademark ‘orange’ glow 

· Iconic bouffant hair – which Vanity Fair described as a “complex superstructure” and Gentleman’s Journal a “peerless pompadour”, and  

· His suit and red tie.

Trump has been hounded to change his hair; but he knows it makes him distinctive and therefore memorable.

As Byron Sharp, marketing researcher at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and author of How Brands Grow, has argued, distinctive visual and audio brand assets – colours, logos, names – are vital to brand success.

They improve ‘mental availability’ – how easily a brand comes to mind when considering a purchase – and make a brand stand out. 

6. A relentless focus on audience 

Trump also gives the audience what they want.  

One could read Trump’s policies as radical and dangerous … or as simply what many Americans desire. 

One could have looked at basic polling research – or even spoken to ordinary people – to see that a large segment of the US population was concerned about the direction of the country; particularly the growing dominance of the so-called ‘woke’ movement, illegal immigration, and the economy, notably inflation.

As you can see above, US citizens were concerned about immigration long before Trump arrived on the scene. The Republicans and Democrats were not addressing the issue.

The ‘elites’ were telling the average American what they should think, not what they wanted. 

Trump just acted on basic “research” and seized the opportunity. What Trump did in politics, Rupert Murdoch had already done in the media when he launched Fox News to provide a cable channel for conservative viewers who felt disenfranchised by the left-leaning mainstream media. 

7. Tapping into emotion 

Trump effectively harnesses emotion, particularly the anger of his target audience. But also pride in their country and hope for a better future. 

Some might say playing on people’s emotions is unethical and leads to polarisation. 

But tapping into a crowd’s emotion has been key to persuasion since the ancient Greeks.  

‘Pathos’ – the emotional state of the audience – is the third leg in Aristotle’s trilogy of persuasive ‘proofs’, alongside ethos (character) and logos (logic/rational argument).

Emotion even works in the supposedly dry and rational world of B2B marketing.  

8. Crafting catchy slogans  

Slogans have long been at the heart of commercial and political success.  

Trump has been particularly effective in developing (or borrowing) slogans including “drain the swamp”, “drill, baby drill”, “no tax on tips”, and “build that wall”.

And above all, “Make America Great Again”, which brilliantly encapsulates the hopes and fears of his target audience in one phrase.

The use of slogans has been declining (see chart below), but not for Trump. He recognises their potent power.

TV ads containing slogans or website urls (%)

 Source: Kantar Link database

Again, there is nothing radical or genius about creating slogans. 

9. Communicating in simple language 

There has been a lot of commentary around Trump’s unique rhetoric and language. He does use interesting rhetorical devices such as repeating words for emphasis, sentence fragments, digressions, concession; and of course, one of his favourite communication tools, hyperbole. 

But underpinning Trump’s communication is simple, basic language.  

One analysis using readability scores found that Trump communicates at the fourth to fifth-grade level of education ( 9- to 11-year-olds).  

Other Presidential candidates communicated, on average, at the ninth-grade level (14- to 15-year-olds). 

Trump’s sentences are shorter and less complex. 

Obviously, some would argue this is evidence of a dunce talking to dunces; but there is research that shows that simple, clear language actually makes you appear smarter. 

10. Producing great creative 

Finally, Trump is great at ‘creative’ entertainment. He’s theatrical and imaginative. 

Great creative gets you noticed … and helps build your brand.

Most rankings of advertising effectiveness rank ‘creative’ only second behind brand size as a factor in success.

The beauty of creative is that it is democratic – anyone with imagination and risk can use it. You don’t have to be a giant brand, though huge budgets obviously help. 

It takes some creative chutzpah to co-opt YMCA, a 1970s disco hit, and use it as your campaign anthem. Why not Macho Man?? 

A playbook available to everyone 

It might be disappointing to realise that Trump has just rolled out a conventional playbook (available to everyone) very effectively over a very long time.  

It’s much easier to label him a one-off genius … or write him off as a sleazy salesman. 

(Of course the playbook can be used for good or ill; but value judgments are not the topic of this newsletter. And the playbook doesn’t necessarily lead to good governance.) 

Unfortunately, particularly with the rise of digital marketing, many organisations have underinvested or abandoned exactly the strategies and tactics (brand building, PR, slogans, etc) that have made Donald Trump so successful. 

If we set aside the emotion around the man (which, as we’ve seen, is what he wants to trigger) there is a lot to learn from Trump, whether you like him or not.