Romney isn't looking so good lately. He's had a number of gaffes in the media, with his 47 per cent comments being the most damaging.
Obama's recent ad against Romney hits HARD using the 47 per cent. The ad is well done in that the emotive resonance it achieves is that Romney is an elitist who only cares about those who are on his side and that he will leave average Americans out in the cold.
With Romney trailing Obama by as much as five-to-ten per cent in key swing states (those states that will ultimately determine who is president), one has to ask where has everything gone wrong?
Disconnect
In almost every media show in which talking heads give their opinions the consensus is that Romney is a flawed candidate and that people simply don't know him or connect with him. In addition, he's faulted for not having specifics in terms of his over-arching plan to restore America.
Both those things are true, but it's not really why things have gone so wrong. The real reason is that Romney's PR strategy has failed to understand his audience. He's understood his audience to the extent of core messaging the Republican base wants to hear, that part he's done fine on.
Where he has messed up is not realizing that 99 per cent of Americans never ever interact with a CEO. Even most people within a company never interact with their CEO. They report to their director, who reports to the VP, who reports to the CEO. So it's only the VP who really gets personal one-on-one time with the CEO.
PR folks though, get the unique opportunity to work closely with CEO's, which is perhaps why I'm spotting this issue with Romney's PR strategy.
Good Boss but Bad President?
And here's the irony. For all of Romney's failure to connect with the American people, if someone said to me "Would you like to work for Romney?" I'd be like "Hell ya."
There are all kinds of different CEOs; the different types run the gambit. There are naraccists, there are sociopaths, there are slave drivers, there are bipolar manic-depressive types, there are rational leaders, there are passion-based leaders, etc.
The absolute best type of CEO though is one who is calm under pressure, appreciates and motivates their staff, and who embodies the notion of accountability and responsibility. People love working for someone who isn't flying off the handle in fits of anger or who walks around apathetic to the workforce around them. Rather they create a stable, focused and appreciative work environment in which people thrive.
And when you look at Romney the one thing you do sense about this guy is that he's a nice guy. I can't imagine Romney yelling at someone over a mistake or grand standing when things go well. He seems like a steady-as-she-goes type of guy, which makes for an excellent boss.
But therein lies the problem. If 99 percent of voters had extensive exposure to CEOs in their daily lives, they would view Romney very differently, because they would appreciate that calm, collective and 'nice' CEOs are rare.
When on Mars
Romney's problem is that he has failed to recognize how 'alien' he appears to American people.
Even the way he handles himself in the press. Go and watch press interviews by various CEOs and they all talk like Romney (with a few exceptions mind you). They stick to the facts, they don't get over excited over anything, and they simply state their competitive advantages in the market place.
But in presidential politics those traits don't move voters. Soaring prose of rhetoric do and punch-lines to generate cheers do.
Voters want Their Guy
The reality is that most voters don't see the President as a CEO of a corporation (which they should, that's the problem today is that the gov doesn't run based on real-world forces. Rather, it's an endless parade of screw-ups because no one is ever really held accountable for anything).
Voters though aren't looking for a CEO, rather they see the President as 'their guy' - the guy who understands them and represents their interests. Which is why everything comes down to a popularity contest, where personality matters far more than substance.
Thisis also why everyone is saying Romney has to do something drastic now to save his campaign. But yet again, for those who have known CEOs, you'll know that they never react out of fear or panic. They always take things slow and steady. Which is what Romney continues to do - but to voters this merely compounds the disconnect because they want to see a passionate response.
And it's no surprise that Obama has been doing the 'beer' photo-op, because that makes him appear like he's 'one of them' (them being the voters). Romney can't do that because as a Mormon he doesn't drink alcohol.
And so that's the REAL problem here, is that the voting public doesn't really care whether or not Romney would do a better job than Obama, they care more about who they like more as a person.
Which is why even though Obama's approval ratings are horrible, Romney still can't mount a challenge because people simply don't feel like they know or understand Romney as a person.
A top official in the Romney campaign was even quoted as saying:
“Lousy candidate; highly qualified to be president,” said a top Romney official. “The candidate suit fits him unnaturally. He is naturally an executive.”
This official is bang on... except they need to take their analysis a step further. OK, he's a great executive and qualified to be president, so why aren't people getting that? It's because being a 'natural executive' to common every-day folks, is the same as being an alien from Mars, they don't connect with 'natural executives' because they never meet them in their daily lives.
So is Romney Toast?
Romney is not toast yet, but only if he recognizes that his problem is that he's an alien!
As silly as this sounds, if I were giving Romney PR advice I would sit him down and say 'Look, this is very simple. You have to understand that people view you like an alien from another planet. Whereas they view Obama as one of them. You aren't going to change this so what you have to do is convince them that while you may seem alien to them, you are here to HELP THEM. And you have the tools to help them that Obama does not have."
If he can get in to that frame of mind, he would naturally begin to change the way he talks. He would begin to preface everything he says by first dispelling fears and concerns that people have. He has to show that while he is not like them, he understand them. He doesn't have to win a popularity contest, but he does have to convince them that he's the guy who can turn this mess around.
And he has to acknowledge that while he may not come across as the guy running the local business, he is the guy who can help that local business owner become even more successful. He may not be like him but he has the skills to HELP HIM.
The Debates
The debates are going to be his last chance to do this.
Everyone knows Obama has failed to live up to the hype of his Hope and Change campaign of 2008. But if Romney can't spin this alien-paradigm that he's stuck in to something positive, then Obama could be the worst president ever and he'll get re-elected.
I would suspect that if you asked folks who have held VP roles whether they'd like to work with Romney the vast majority would say yes, because he has excellent leadership traits. If you asked them if they'd like to work for Obama (in a private business setting) I think most would say no (because Obama has shown that he's more about giving speeches than actually getting things done).
But VP's don't determine the next president. Average every-day folks do.
So we'll see how the debates go next week. Hammering Obama on his failures will be easy. The real thing to watch for though is whether Romney figures out a way to make himself an appealing candidate to American voters.
He doesn't have to win them over with personality, but he does have to intrigue them as to whether he might be the guy who can clean up the mess that George W Bush and Obama have created.
If he can get people to start thinking 'I don't need a movie star as president, or someone I'd go for a beer with as president, I need someone to clean this mess up!' then he could very well beat Obama. If he fails to do this, then this election will be nothing more than a popularity contest and Obama will win.
In fact, if I were Romney, at the debates I'd come out swinging with lines like:
"I realize most voters may not see me as the guy they'd have a beer with after work. And actually I don't even drink, so I guess I'd be designated driver. But I would really urge them not to make this about popularity or familiarity. What the American people need is someone to clean this mess up and I'm that guy. We voted in the guy you'd most like to have a beer with in 2008 and the economy is still a mess. So I may not win a popularity contest, but if you want to get this economy back on track and to start creating well-paying jobs again, send me to Washington, because I'm the man who can turn this around."
That's the kind of language Romney needs to start using. Embrace that he's an alien but then focus on how he wants to HELP people nonetheless.
Fair Disclosure
Based on policy views I'm not a fan of Obama nor Romney. I personally don't think either of them will fix anything in the years to come. So if I were an American I'd probably vote Libertarian or something as a protest vote. But for the sake of this post, I'm just looking at the PR aspects that have caused Romney to falter and what he has to do to regain his stride.
Obama's recent ad against Romney hits HARD using the 47 per cent. The ad is well done in that the emotive resonance it achieves is that Romney is an elitist who only cares about those who are on his side and that he will leave average Americans out in the cold.
With Romney trailing Obama by as much as five-to-ten per cent in key swing states (those states that will ultimately determine who is president), one has to ask where has everything gone wrong?
Disconnect
In almost every media show in which talking heads give their opinions the consensus is that Romney is a flawed candidate and that people simply don't know him or connect with him. In addition, he's faulted for not having specifics in terms of his over-arching plan to restore America.
Both those things are true, but it's not really why things have gone so wrong. The real reason is that Romney's PR strategy has failed to understand his audience. He's understood his audience to the extent of core messaging the Republican base wants to hear, that part he's done fine on.
Where he has messed up is not realizing that 99 per cent of Americans never ever interact with a CEO. Even most people within a company never interact with their CEO. They report to their director, who reports to the VP, who reports to the CEO. So it's only the VP who really gets personal one-on-one time with the CEO.
PR folks though, get the unique opportunity to work closely with CEO's, which is perhaps why I'm spotting this issue with Romney's PR strategy.
Good Boss but Bad President?
And here's the irony. For all of Romney's failure to connect with the American people, if someone said to me "Would you like to work for Romney?" I'd be like "Hell ya."
There are all kinds of different CEOs; the different types run the gambit. There are naraccists, there are sociopaths, there are slave drivers, there are bipolar manic-depressive types, there are rational leaders, there are passion-based leaders, etc.
The absolute best type of CEO though is one who is calm under pressure, appreciates and motivates their staff, and who embodies the notion of accountability and responsibility. People love working for someone who isn't flying off the handle in fits of anger or who walks around apathetic to the workforce around them. Rather they create a stable, focused and appreciative work environment in which people thrive.
And when you look at Romney the one thing you do sense about this guy is that he's a nice guy. I can't imagine Romney yelling at someone over a mistake or grand standing when things go well. He seems like a steady-as-she-goes type of guy, which makes for an excellent boss.
But therein lies the problem. If 99 percent of voters had extensive exposure to CEOs in their daily lives, they would view Romney very differently, because they would appreciate that calm, collective and 'nice' CEOs are rare.
When on Mars
Romney's problem is that he has failed to recognize how 'alien' he appears to American people.
Even the way he handles himself in the press. Go and watch press interviews by various CEOs and they all talk like Romney (with a few exceptions mind you). They stick to the facts, they don't get over excited over anything, and they simply state their competitive advantages in the market place.
But in presidential politics those traits don't move voters. Soaring prose of rhetoric do and punch-lines to generate cheers do.
Voters want Their Guy
The reality is that most voters don't see the President as a CEO of a corporation (which they should, that's the problem today is that the gov doesn't run based on real-world forces. Rather, it's an endless parade of screw-ups because no one is ever really held accountable for anything).
Voters though aren't looking for a CEO, rather they see the President as 'their guy' - the guy who understands them and represents their interests. Which is why everything comes down to a popularity contest, where personality matters far more than substance.
Thisis also why everyone is saying Romney has to do something drastic now to save his campaign. But yet again, for those who have known CEOs, you'll know that they never react out of fear or panic. They always take things slow and steady. Which is what Romney continues to do - but to voters this merely compounds the disconnect because they want to see a passionate response.
And so that's the REAL problem here, is that the voting public doesn't really care whether or not Romney would do a better job than Obama, they care more about who they like more as a person.
Which is why even though Obama's approval ratings are horrible, Romney still can't mount a challenge because people simply don't feel like they know or understand Romney as a person.
A top official in the Romney campaign was even quoted as saying:
“Lousy candidate; highly qualified to be president,” said a top Romney official. “The candidate suit fits him unnaturally. He is naturally an executive.”
This official is bang on... except they need to take their analysis a step further. OK, he's a great executive and qualified to be president, so why aren't people getting that? It's because being a 'natural executive' to common every-day folks, is the same as being an alien from Mars, they don't connect with 'natural executives' because they never meet them in their daily lives.
So is Romney Toast?
As silly as this sounds, if I were giving Romney PR advice I would sit him down and say 'Look, this is very simple. You have to understand that people view you like an alien from another planet. Whereas they view Obama as one of them. You aren't going to change this so what you have to do is convince them that while you may seem alien to them, you are here to HELP THEM. And you have the tools to help them that Obama does not have."
If he can get in to that frame of mind, he would naturally begin to change the way he talks. He would begin to preface everything he says by first dispelling fears and concerns that people have. He has to show that while he is not like them, he understand them. He doesn't have to win a popularity contest, but he does have to convince them that he's the guy who can turn this mess around.
And he has to acknowledge that while he may not come across as the guy running the local business, he is the guy who can help that local business owner become even more successful. He may not be like him but he has the skills to HELP HIM.
The Debates
The debates are going to be his last chance to do this.
Everyone knows Obama has failed to live up to the hype of his Hope and Change campaign of 2008. But if Romney can't spin this alien-paradigm that he's stuck in to something positive, then Obama could be the worst president ever and he'll get re-elected.
I would suspect that if you asked folks who have held VP roles whether they'd like to work with Romney the vast majority would say yes, because he has excellent leadership traits. If you asked them if they'd like to work for Obama (in a private business setting) I think most would say no (because Obama has shown that he's more about giving speeches than actually getting things done).
But VP's don't determine the next president. Average every-day folks do.
So we'll see how the debates go next week. Hammering Obama on his failures will be easy. The real thing to watch for though is whether Romney figures out a way to make himself an appealing candidate to American voters.
He doesn't have to win them over with personality, but he does have to intrigue them as to whether he might be the guy who can clean up the mess that George W Bush and Obama have created.
If he can get people to start thinking 'I don't need a movie star as president, or someone I'd go for a beer with as president, I need someone to clean this mess up!' then he could very well beat Obama. If he fails to do this, then this election will be nothing more than a popularity contest and Obama will win.
In fact, if I were Romney, at the debates I'd come out swinging with lines like:
"I realize most voters may not see me as the guy they'd have a beer with after work. And actually I don't even drink, so I guess I'd be designated driver. But I would really urge them not to make this about popularity or familiarity. What the American people need is someone to clean this mess up and I'm that guy. We voted in the guy you'd most like to have a beer with in 2008 and the economy is still a mess. So I may not win a popularity contest, but if you want to get this economy back on track and to start creating well-paying jobs again, send me to Washington, because I'm the man who can turn this around."
That's the kind of language Romney needs to start using. Embrace that he's an alien but then focus on how he wants to HELP people nonetheless.
Fair Disclosure
Based on policy views I'm not a fan of Obama nor Romney. I personally don't think either of them will fix anything in the years to come. So if I were an American I'd probably vote Libertarian or something as a protest vote. But for the sake of this post, I'm just looking at the PR aspects that have caused Romney to falter and what he has to do to regain his stride.
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