• by Robert Passikoff , Op-Ed Contributor, November 18, 2015

It was June and Presidential candidates were as thick on the ground as summer squash. There were five Democratic candidates and 16 Republicans. Until June 17, when real-estate tycoon, reality TV star, human brand, and hair icon Donald Trump officially launched his campaign for President of the United States.

If you thought, ”He’s got to be kidding,” you weren’t alone. The question was, of course, not whether he had the financial wherewithal to campaign, but did a Human Brand stand a chance at a real run for the highest office in the land? To answer that, we conducted an emotional engagement poll with the following results:

Can Brand Trump Become President Trump?

In 1968, Joe McGinniss wrote The Selling of the President, analyzing the marketing of Richard M. Nixon during the Presidential campaign. It was the first-of-its-kind introduction to the concept of stage-managed Presidential campaigns and a primer for how to take a human candidate and turn him into a brand.

Forty-seven years later, the American electorate faces a new paradigm shift; changing a brand into a candidate. No matter how you feel about Mr. Trump personally, his political positions, his standings in the polls, or even his hairstyle, one thing is undeniable — Donald Trump is a human brand extraordinaire! 

We’re talking real “Human Brand” folks. Not only a celebrity, but an actual human being who represents 100% of the values of the company he represents. “Human Brand” is a designation representing the highest level of imbued meaning, values, and differentiation any brand can be. And despite how marketers prattle on about everything and everyone being a “brand,” Mr. Trump is one of a very small club of Human Brands, with values and qualities that allow him to successfully diversify into categories well beyond foundation products like real estate and reality TV. 

Here’s a few: catering, sales and leasing, hospitality, golf, home furnishings, ice-cream, vodka, wine, men’s shirts, ties, jewelry, fragrances, books, bottled water, and the list goes on. Not all of these enterprises have contributed massively to his net worth, but try and launch a brand and see how easy it is!

When it comes to added-value – a critical obligation of 21st-century brands, and the ultimate acid test of Human Brands, adding the Trump name increases the perceived value of a product or service anywhere from 20% to 37%. And, in terms of consumer emotional engagement, adding the Trump brand causes the product or service to be seen as better able to meet consumer expectations for the values that drive positive behavior in a particular category.

So here’s the question: Can brand Trump become President Trump?

To answer that we looked at the category engagement drivers for how consumers see their Ideal President, which have been validated every Presidential election cycle since 1992. 

The order of engagement drivers (and the expectations voters hold for each) varies in terms of what’s important to members of different political parties, reflecting party views, values and affiliations. But generally speaking, the drivers (presented alphabetically) can be concisely described as follows:

Action: 

Does the candidate have a realistic, well-considered plan or capability for solving the problems facing the country?

Compassion: 

Does the candidate care about all the people? 

Perception: 

Does the candidate have an understanding of the problems facing the country? 

Resolve: 

Does the candidate have the strength and leadership to guide the country? 

Republicans view their Ideal President this way:

Resolve

Perception

Action

Compassion

To answer the question of whether brand Trump can become President Trump we asked 1,350 registered Republicans in the nine U.S. Census Regions to assess Mr. Trump using our emotional engagement questionnaire. Then we compared those results to the Republican Ideal for President. 

To facilitate comparisons, the Ideal’s category drivers have each been calibrated to100% to reflect expectations, with “Brand Trump” measuring up as follows:

Resolve: 84%

Perception: 89%

Action: 82%

Compassion: 79%

On the basis of those assessments – an overall 84% – the answer to the original question would be “yes,” it is possible to migrate this particular Human Brand to a Presidential Brand.

For those of you who had other parties and candidates in mind, remember that’s only one variable, absent a Democratic challenger, 496 days before Election Day. A lot can happen in that time. Just ask a candidate like Hillary Clinton. Or a brand like McDonald’s!

If you’re sitting there smirking that Trump has no chance, think again. Brands with the kinds of high engagement levels voters are exhibiting toward Mr. Trump always lead in the marketplace arena when it comes to sales. And given the general tenor of the electorate these days, that could very well translate into votes in the political arena.

Of course, a lot can happen between now and the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses. Just ask a once-iconic brand like Volkswagen.