Designing winning communication strategies, lessons from Donald Trump

"….. 90% of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections." - Justice William O. Douglas, Supreme Court Judge USA), *

As the dust settles in the just concluded American elections, questions are likely to arise on what went wrong in Secretary Hilary Clinton’s campaign camp. Many people were of the opinion that Hilary Clinton was likely to win. Their observation was backed by opinion polls that gave her a between 4-8% lead over President-Elect Donald J. Trump.

Secretary Clinton had a good message going. She spoke policy and the continuation of President Barrack Obama’s legacy which had seen the American economy register significant growth compared to when President George Bush left White House in 2008.

What concerns me is the role played by strategic communication advisers for Donald J. Trump that left the Clinton camp stun and with egg on the face. Their role provides crucial lessons to any practising or aspiring strategic communication professional on how best to conduct a winning campaign.

From the outset, the Donald Trump camp did not accidentally win. They stuck to a simple message that resonated well with the people and which they hammered in the appropriate forums and mediums. Trump spoke immigration, unemployment and economy. “Let’s Make America Great Again” was a message that would capture the minds and hearts of Americans in a way that was not fathomed by the competitors.

Strategically speaking, the message exploited emotions rather than logic. The use of emotions appeals to the mind and heart rather than reason. People are told what they want to hear. Emotional appeal is also based on the premise that the mind is most likely to reject traditional messages. The use of this appeal was the vote earner that ended up stunning and humiliating Hilary who was certain that the White House was hers for the taking.

Secretary Hilary stuck with the official line of the message. She spoke foreign policy, global politics, health care and the economy all borrowed from the official government handbook. Whereas this was reality, and reflected what was happening in the government it did not actually stir the minds of the voters.

The use of the reason to appeal to voters may not be the best approach in making a strategy that wins an election. This is because it is widely documented that people make emotional decisions and justify themselves with facts later. Further, elections and their euphoria do not provide voters with enough moments to digest and act on the message.

One can argue that the Kenyan situation is largely different from the American elections because our politics is largely ethnic based. However the basics remain the same. Communication strategists must be ready to advice their clients that if they want to go to an election, they must be prepared to deliver simple messages that appeal to the people. Aspirants in government must be prepared to throw away the glossy policy and development record book because no one will be listening.

Similarly, opposing aspirants must also refrain from overselling their agenda because no one will be particularly interested with its contents. In a nutshell, it’s a propaganda moment and only the exploitation of emotions might carry the day.

The Communication strategist must advice on the need to understand audiences so that they can be reached within the mediums that they consume. From the elections, it was clear that while Clinton stuck to the traditional door to door campaign method that won Barrack Obama the presidency, Trump pursued the use of online mediums to reach millennials individually and at the comfort of their seats. The next general elections in Kenya might just be won by how well candidates will be ready to exploit the use of online platforms and communication strategists must be prepared to how best to optimize reach, effect and voter action.

Ends……..