A
brand is a calculus, the sum of which fluctuates depending on a consumer's interaction with it (
O'Keefe). A
brand manager is responsible for building or reducing infrastructure to implement change around the 5 P's; position, product, price, place, promotion. A
consumer is also a content creator.
Our next President needs to recognize voters as content creators. He or she needs to be a better brand manager, not for his or her own personal brand, but for the USA brand. During the presidential race, the candidates needs to clearly define the current state of the USA brand and which pieces of infrastructure he or she would build or reduce to implement change. The earlier that the candidate can build a vision for cross functional partners (ie voters), the better the chance that the vision will be implemented. I highly doubt that any of the candidates are listening to me; however, I thought that I would offer some free advice from the perspective of a brand manager, just in case.
Position
The most creative nation in the world.
Creativity is neither Democratic nor Republican. Creativity is American. Creativity is also a currency right now. Just look at the value that Facebook placed on Instagram ($33 per user). The candidates need to inspire all individuals to feel like they have the capacity to create more than they are creating right now. After all, it's the collection of little business owners who pursue their dreams that will put the economy back on track.
Product
Intellectual Capital
A vehicle and a computing device are relatively similar things. They take you from point A to point B. You encounter other "drivers" along the way. The government requires a license to drive a car, why wouldn't they also require a license to navigate the internet? Implement a license to navigate the internet. Teach topics of personal privacy, intellectual property and content creation. Use it as an opportunity to create awareness about government websites. Hire the most creative digital agency in the US (
R/GA) to make it fun and entertaining so that for a middle schooler, using the internet becomes an exciting stage of life. Give people a customized badge to pin once they have been awarded their license. At $10 per internet license for people on Facebook in the US alone, that is $1,690,000,000 in revenue. Have 5 year renewals as technology and related topics evolve.
Price
GDP + Personal Income
Penny profit. It's a simple and easy way to manage margin that works for both small businesses and large corporations alike. Allow the US residents to take a margin on their own personal content creation as measured in traffic per piece of content. Traffic ("bandwidth") is good not only for the corporations and advertisers, but an individuals own personal brand. Encourage citizens to produce quality thinking, not just quantity. Increase our exports. Pay for it by charging two pennies per international view. Keep a penny for yourself. Make our thoughts count to the local and international economy.
Place
Access
In the most thoroughly modern sense, if citizens cannot create digital content, they cannot contribute to the economy. Work on bringing internet access to every inch of the US. Improve infrastructure and encourage states to go wireless. Innovate. Empower each individual to become a contributing factor to the intellectual capital of our economy.
Promotion
We have a Nobel Peace Prize. Institute an
Intellectual Capital Prize. Allow content creation to become a revered and respected philosophy. Let the reward be a break from taxes during the year in which the prize is awarded and give him or her international exposure. Praise individuals who contribute in valuable, compliant and legal ways. Create an emotional connection with your voters / consumers / content creators.
