I’m not one to get overly political, but January 20, 2021, was an extraordinary day. At approximately 11:49 AM ET, the world seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. There was a lot to be hopeful about with history being made on a number of fronts. Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first woman of colour to become the U.S. Vice President, and Joe Biden became the oldest person ever inaugurated as President. Mostly, the day was about hitting the reset button and returning some semblance of normalcy to a nation that needs it right now.
If there’s one thing I’ve heard people say repeatedly about the Biden/Harris ticket it is that they are both truly authentic people. What you see and hear is what you get. They are straight shooters and will execute the monumental task of leading their country out of a very dark period with authenticity, class and transparency.
That may all be very true, but if there was one person who truly exemplified the notion of authenticity and non-conformity it was everybody’s favourite curmudgeon of a senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.
Despite all of the truly iconic moments this Presidential inauguration had to offer, the one prevailing image from the day is a shot of Senator Sanders sitting cross-armed and cross-legged on a socially distant bridge chair somewhere in the vicinity of all the excitement. An instant classic and a meme generating machine (see below for my favourite).
Often times when I work with clients on communications strategy, I try to peel back the layers of their mission, vision and values to get to the core of who they really are as a brand or company. These sessions can take some time and even get a little uncomfortable as we probe around the words used to describe their business.
Once we land on a few key words or phrases that everyone is comfortable with, the next step is to look at the competitive set and do the same exercise for those brands. Often times what we find is that there isn’t much difference between the top three or four players in most categories. Their products deliver similar benefits in similar ways, and their brand promise to be the best, fastest, healthiest, smartest and most life-changing product in their category is almost universal.
The next question I always ask is, ‘how are we going to distinguish your brand from this sea of sameness?’ In other words, how are we going to be the Bernie Sanders at the inauguration? In a venerable sea of dark blue or black overcoats accented with merino wool scarves and dark leather driving gloves, there was Bernie, making his mark in a neutral gray ‘dad’ parka and knitted mittens. Talk about staying true to your brand and distinguishing yourself from the pack.
Whether by design or more likely by authentic accident, Bernie Sanders established himself as the true fashion icon of the inauguration (sorry Lady Gaga, JLo and Michelle Obama) by just being himself. Something every brand can learn from.
