Progressive Rock peaked in the late 1970s when incredibly talented, mostly British musicians took Rock ‘n Roll into places of extravagant virtuosity and innovation. Abandoning traditional pop formats, bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Rush experimented with classical and jazz influences, elevated keyboards and studio technology, composed esoteric lyrics and lengthy concept albums. Grand stage sets, elaborate costumes, and obsessive solos dominated their live shows.

Then came a backlash. Angry and visceral, Punk Rock emerged to satisfy those who yearned for the raw energy and authenticity Rock-n-Roll once embodied. Three chords and a passionate delivery. Torn jeans and a black T-shirt. Back-to-basics, finally.

Establishment political consultants are Prog Rock. Elite, intellectual, and distant, their themes are over-cooked, their sound is cliché. The audience is weary of the epic compositions, the cost of production is too expensive, and the overall vibe no longer feels “progressive.” It’s just not working anymore.

“Of course, it is not enough to appear in social media if the content does not attract interest and promote sharing. So activate a virtual content production studio and establish a unique content calendar for each major social media platform. The creative community heavily leans progressive and is rife with world-class talent who want to help. Enlist them and dedicate the resources to relentless, platform-specific production.” —David Axelrod and David Plouffe, The New York Times

We’re offering a Punk Rock approach to political communications.

And if you buy our argument, that’s a good thing. We have over three decades under our belts as design, branding, and communications professionals. We have the skills needed by Democrats to help produce effective messages in all platforms that will help us win in November.

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.

“The Democratic Party doesn’t stand for anything clear. The Republican party in today’s world stands for tax cuts, stands for anti-immigration, and stands for building a wall. It’s really that simple for them. The Democrats need to stand for something clear, simple, and easy. It needs to fit on a Post-It Note.” —Robert, The Wilderness Podcast

Here are some words that, in our opinion, illustrate Republican vs. Democratic messaging:

This is not a statement about the Democratic Party’s values, it’s an assessment of our content. Donald Trump is a pathological liar, yet he is deemed “authentic” by his supporters. Why? Because being simple, clear, bold, emotional and audacious feels authentic. Whereas complicated, nuanced, incremental, and careful feels… distrustful. Is it possible to trust someone whose message you don’t understand?

Democratic Party messaging should be simple, clear, and infused with our purpose and values. This is a strategy implemented through creative tactics.

Republicans gain and hold power in order to extract wealth from people and the planet, then deliver it to the 1%.

Is that an extreme assessment? Look at every policy, strategy, and tactic the Republican Party puts forth. Now, I realize most Republican voters don’t see the world in this way. But Mitch McConnell does. So do House Republicans. Charles Koch and Robert Mercer sure do. We need to be clear-eyed about what we’re up against.

On the other hand…

“I don’t know what Democrat Utopia looks like. If the government were 100% Democrat, what would America look like?” —Democratic Voter, The Wilderness Podcast Focus Group.

Can our purpose be summed up in every policy, strategy, and tactic the Democratic Party puts forth? If it could, would Democrats be more effective at everything they do? We believe so. Democrats must articulate a clear purpose that inspires everyday Americans—and stick to it until that message becomes part of our DNA.

So, the purpose of the Democratic party is… ???

There’s abundant evidence Democratic communication strategies are too reliant on the press and old-school media. We need to be in the digital spaces where voters actually live. This means creating pipelines of content targeted specifically to demographics (young voters, old voters, women voters, Black, Latino, and Asian voters) and issues (jobs and the economy, access to healthcare, the climate crisis, income inequality, immigration reform, gun control, education, etc.)

“We really need to focus on coming up with new tools and new strategies that reflect the modern age of politics. There’s still a huge emphasis on television advertising and direct mail, not enough focus on digital advertising and digital organizing.” —Dan Pfeiffer, Pod Save America

Campaign Strategy 101

• Understand what drives voters  =  RESEARCH
• Develop targeted content that speaks to those drivers  =  CREATIVITY
• Leverage media and technology to deliver that targeted content  =  DISTRIBUTION
• Read data to quickly adjust and adapt  =  INTELLIGENCE

Why do Republicans seem to own the concepts of “freedom” and “patriotism”? Because Republicans are better at branding—themselves, their policies, and Democrats.

An example:

Tax and Spend Democrats vs. Fiscally Responsible Republicans

I was recently talking with a friend about his conservative parents who voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and did so again in 2020. Once Mom & Pop business owners, they’re now retired and remain staunch Chamber of Commerce Republicans. I’m a business owner too, so I get their perspective to a degree.

The fact is, however, Republican administrations have squandered resources (Bush: Iraq War), cratered the economy (Bush: Financial Crisis), and exploded deficits (Trump: 2018 Tax Cuts). Meanwhile, Democrats fail to get credit for cleaning up the messes (COVID-19) and leaving the country on sound financial footing (Clinton, Obama, Biden).

So, why do these labels endure? Effective, consistent branding.