In 2024, a new wave of political brand building is being credited to the marketing tactics borrowed from Trump’s re-election campaign. Elements of this strategy can be useful to design agencies looking to expand their reach and engagement. Based on the original and quiet to the edge approaches that were used in the course of the run, design agencies can learn how to build striking and effective campaigns that can capture the interests of large populations.
A Strong Message combined with the Brand’s Voice
Trump has also used cut-through polarizing messages that have stimulated voter emotions that are either negative or positive towards his candidacy during his campaign. This approach can be adapted by design agencies as a strong and distinguishable brand identity can be created. An agency can use the strategy of being outspoken about notable cultural or social matters, without estranging essential clients and creating a present simply being present in a competitive industry.
Bypassing Traditional Gatekeepers of Mass Communications
Conversing with supporters and handling media the traditional way was not Trump’s style, whose campaign took to Twitter and other social media networks to mobilize supporters and communicate in a more straightforward manner. This campaign clearly demonstrates the need to have a solid and consistent voice within the digital world. For a corporate design agency, leveraging platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok can offer an unfiltered avenue to showcase their work, communicate directly with clients, and establish thought leadership. Real-time communication, similar to Trump’s “tweets,” allows agencies to present new design ideas, respond to client feedback, and build a sense of immediacy and relevance.
Creating Memorable Visual Content
Trump’s achievement started with a well-known visual campaign and focused attention-grabbing imagery and videos, no wonder his presidential campaign video captured over 200 million people. This is a lesson for all marketing firms that executing design isn’t enough, they have to create a stunning narrative and immerse their audience. In the same manner, design content should be the focus of design companies in the modern environment. Behind the scenes videos and testimonials of clients, animated explainer videos of the agency’s design process, etc., can also be the agency’s marketing assets. Trump’s aggressive marketing with appealing graphics (posters during the campaign and even rallies) brings another important point. Establishing an emotional connection in a marketing campaign is great but giving the audience something to remember is even better.
Building a “Movement” Around the Brand
The best marketing tactic for 2024 was Trump’s ability to take his campaign and turn it into a whole movement. His followers did not just support him politically; they were behind the culture he endorsed. Such a template could also be applied to corporate planning and design agencies: build a strong brand community. This can be in the form of movement or any ideology in which clients and other partners are incorporated to join and co-design. Clients who are attracted to agencies that project a strong social brand invite them, because the agency may run a social campaign, “Design for good” where they will work pro bono for charity organizations.
Influencer Partnerships and Brand Ambassadors
An asked yet effective approach used by Trump is being as persistent as possible and using big names to help promote his message. Corporate design agencies could apply the same principle and find industry influencers, be it key opinion leaders, big clients or social networks celebrities, and work with them to boost their brand image. These could include joint webinars, taking part in design competitions, or being guests of narrow-focus podcasts. Influencers and other ‘risky’ people associated with the agency’s message can put the agency’s work and other activities on a sneaky level of even higher business opportunities than before.
Controversial Stunts and Guerrilla Marketing
There were countless occasions when Trump’s campaign focused on high-octane stunts to monopolize media feature stories. For design agencies, this kind of capitalism is a creative way to get the word out and also make an important statement. These kinds of things include throwing surprise parties or creating large scale beefy artworks in public places and those kinds of activities usually get attention and can sell. The trick is remaining true to the agency’s positioning while stretching the limits of what is standard within the design market.
