A number of focus groups with voters have led to a blunt words on what Democratic candidates need to do going into every election. Pollster Brian Stryker says the Democrats have a national branding problem that’s deeper than a lot of strategists suspect.

What’s the problem? Voters think democrats are focused on social issues rather than the economy—and the economy is by far the number one issue. It always is.

“The No. 1 issue for women right now is the economy, and the No. 1 issue for Black voters is the economy, and the No. 1 issue for Latino voters is the economy. I’m not advocating for us to ignore social issues, but when we think broadly about voters, they actually all want us talking about the economy and doing things to help them out economically.”

Senator Jon Tester, Democrat from rural Montana agrees. Tester believes his party’s message is “really, really flawed.” The Senator says Democrats must to do a better job developing a message so that rural Americans can say, “Yeah, those guys, they think like I do.”

“The problem isn’t that the country’s skewed against the Democrats; the problem is that the Democrats have not done a very good job talking about what we believe in.”

Check out both interviews here:

Pollster Brian Stryker

Senator Jon Tester

In an election campaign, most of the money is spent on buying media. Vast sums are channeled into expensive TV spots, print ads, and pay-per-click, along with printing and distributing direct mail, brochures­­, lawn signs, stickers, buttons—and on and on. But if the message doesn’t resonate, all those printing and media dollars are flushed down the drain.

The MOST effective message and the LEAST effective message cost exactly the same to distribute. The difference is design.

This paragraph by Jane Mayer in ‘The New Yorker’ recently caught my attention. Creative, clever, humorous, fun (!) messages and branding demonstrates competence and professionalism. It lifts you above the fray. It takes your message viral. It makes the most of your budget.