Let me start out by saying that I would call myself an independent as politics go. This isn’t about who’s right about this issue or that. As a design professional I am just struck by Democratic party’s continued inability to understand the power of branding. I cannot think of a single coherent message or brand that the Democratic party has articulated in the last decade or more. The Republicans, on the other hand, appear to have this mastered. If I asked 20 people on the street what the Republican party was about I would probably hear very similar things: “They’re about family values.” “They believe in lower taxes and smaller government.” “Strong military.”

Whether you agree with these policies or not, they are consistent and haven’t really changed in decades. Repeated over and over by Republican candidates in hundreds of campaigns around the country. Just as powerful as how they have branded themselves is how they have branded the Democrats. “Tax and spend.” “Elitists, out of touch with regular folks.” “Big government.”

While these messages may or may not be true (The Republicans say they are for smaller government and lower spending, they have increased government spending at a historic rate over the last 8 years) people remember and believe them because they are so consistent.

Recent events show the Democrat’s continued inability to use this powerful tool. With the recent failures of financial institutions brought on by the sub-prime mortgage industry, is there any better time for the Democrats to rebrand the Republican party? The most basic branding of the Republican party is “conservative.” Over the last 8 years the Republicans have presided over an economy that has been anything but conservative. The word that comes to mind is reckless. If the Democrats would seize the opportunity to brand the republicans as “Reckless” they might be able to turn the Republican’s own branding against itself. A reckless party can’t have very good values. Would you trust your tax dollars to someone who is reckless? Trust them with the military?

As I said, I’m not saying either party is right or better, it’s just interesting to watch the campaign from the perspective of marketing and branding.