Sunday Times 2
Salman saga: Even endorsement by Clint Eastwood could not put Mitt Romney in White House
“I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be in control of it” — an interesting and witty quote attributed to Clint Eastwood alias Dirty Harry, American actor, filmmaker, musician and politician. I don’t think he needs any formal introduction.
The 84-year-old’s infamous rambling gravel-voiced conversation with an empty chair – supposedly supporting an invisible Barack Obama – proved a bizarre and confusing warm-up act for Romney during the Romney coronation in 2012. A veteran and iconic Hollywood star speaking to invisible Barack Obama at the Republican convention, berating him over invasion of Afghanistan became viral in no time. Clint Eastwood endorsed Republican Mitt Romney in the race for the White House and made great efforts to bolster Romney’s fundraisings. The Dirty Harry star said he was endorsing the Republican because “the country needs a boost somewhere”. The Presidential challenger was lost for words after receiving this tremendous support. Despite this very visible, impressive, influential and compelling endorsement Mitt Romney ended up being the loser, why?
It seems famous and versatile Bollywood actor Salman Khan was in town recently. It is alleged he was here to extend support to MR and complete a lucrative assignment. The amount to be raked is rumoured to be millions of rupees.
“Instead of inviting Salman Khan spending Rs. 700 million for a political carnival, I advise the President to desist engaging in cheap politics and spend the money on thousands of desperate people who are affected by the floods,” said common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena.Alongside Salman Khan, doing the rounds was Sri Lankan born Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez. Salman Khan, doubtless, is a talented actor with that rare Bollywood coruscation brimming all over him. He has a following across the vast spectrum of both Indian and international communities. Salman Khan also courted lots of controversy during his career spanning nearly three decades. The Indian court ruled that he should face the charge of culpable homicide for a hit-and-run incident in 2002. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2006, but spent less than a week inside before being released on bail. Khan was also arrested in the western state of Rajasthan for illegally hunting and killing a protected blackbuck deer in 1998.
President Mahinda Rajapakse (L) gestures with Indian Bollywood film actor Salman Khan (C) and Sri Lankan Bollywood film actress Jacqueline Fernandez at a charity event in Borella this week. AFP.
Stories about his opprobrious brawls at parties have long filled Bollywood gossip columns. His link-ups with some of his leading ladies have also proved controversial. In one of those outrageously notorious incidents, an angry Khan was reported to have emptied a bottle of cola over the head of an ex-girlfriend in a restaurant. Cola companies and men in general should not construe this as an emerging niche market for Cola. Another relationship with actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai ended acrimoniously with Ms. Rai later making allegations that she was beaten up by Khan. How “Khan” he do that? In the past the actor has worked arduously to shed his “bad boy” image – with some really image changing acts. A few years ago he started a charity to help the underprivileged through education and healthcare. “Salman Khan’s fans are mainly in small towns; his appeal is strongest for men who feel left behind in India’s race towards progress and development,” said a film critic. “To be like Khan was a way for these men to deal with a compulsion toward material success – to “prove themselves”.
Can celebrity endorsement make a difference at the polls? As a student of marketing I can state with some degree of confidence this is a delicate issue and has to be done with a good measure of care and wisdom. It’s not an uncommon sight to see political candidates standing on stage with some weird, outlandish rock stars sporting outrageous earrings dangling from ear lobes and ungraceful capillaries of adornment supposedly warming-up to shoot out to an unknown planet. They smile, wave, and clap with choreographical testament.
The effect of celebrity endorsements has in the past been a controversial one. On one side there is a school of thought which states that celebrity endorsements have no effect whatsoever. On the other side people who run celebrity-led campaigns believe that it can positively change perceptions of people. There is this sort of contrasting set of opinions that’s quite difficult to reconcile. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. I remember quite well sitting for my “Behavioural Aspects of Marketing” paper in stage 2 of the CIM UK exam almost three decades ago. The question if I remember right was, can a cadaver be dolled up and sold for public office? In other words can anyone be groomed and sold sans value, attributes etc. In essence it was probing the student’s knowledge on utility, value addition, product attributes for successful market entry. The very thought of grooming a cadaver is repulsive if not downright absurd. Such an enterprise is tantamount to cynically undermining the intellectual integrity and moral judgement of a society.
According to Philip Kotler, an economist and renowned marketing guru, a product is more than a tangible ‘thing’. A product meets the needs of a consumer. In addition to a tangible value this product also has an abstract value. For this reason Kotler states that there are five product levels that can be identified and developed. To shape this abstract value, Kotler uses five product levels in which a product is located or seen from the perception of the consumer. These five product levels indicate the value that consumers attach to a product. The customer will only be satisfied when the specified value is identical or higher than the expected value.
From the point of view of Political/Candidate Marketing the five product levels can be briefly summed as following. The market environment here is that of a healthy functioning democracy with entrenched commitment to transparency, good governance and fiscal discipline. For sure rogue states or banana republic legislators will not emulate this model. They’ll certainly find it unpalatable and repudiate it with vigour.
Core Product – This is the basic product. The focus is on the purpose for which the product or service is intended. The candidate presents himself or herself to the public and demonstrates to the best of one’s ability to represent the wishes, needs and aspirations of the people. This is the core and constitutes the base. You’re here to serve and that core element must be accentuated. Without this fundamental intention the individual will not go far.
Generic Product – This represents all the qualities of the individual. The candidate must be above average in intelligence, cognisant of the various issues facing the constituency and by extension the country. The individual must be personable, friendly, and accessible and endowed with a deep sense of empathy. The individual must be able to demonstrate his or her commitment to public service. Though there is no education pathway to follow when you decide to become a politician. However, some formal education, life experience will help and can enhance your product. In the west most politicians have degrees in law, economics, or business. Such a culture is badly lacking in Sri Lanka.
Expected Product – This is about issues the voter expects to get when they vote for a candidate. This is all about expectations of the constituency. How well the individual will work to defend the fundamental needs of the people. The candidate will have to project the image of a doer, a contributor not a custodian. Specifically the individual should be able to plausibly elevate expectations and fulfil them: To maintain if not improve purchasing power of the people, keep the cost of living within controllable limits, getting good paying jobs and maintaining exemplary law and order service etc.
Augmented Product – This refers to all additional factors which set the product/ candidate apart from that of the competition. And this particularly involves brand identity and image. An uncorrupt track record though a rarity will go a long way. A technocrat who understands the socio-economic milieu will be at an advantage. One who is able to identify the opportunities and threats and address them well.
Potential Product – This is about augmentations and transformations. This is a situation where the candidate by virtue of his or her leadership traits, charisma, knowledge, International standing is able to cogently portray and credibly sell the targeted vision to the people. This will include the objectives for the short, medium and long term.
Working on the premise that larger the campaign budget the greater the chances of victory is not only a risky assertion but is downright delusional. You may be able to pour in millions of dollars into market research and advertising campaigns and yet fail. Whether it is, a tangible product, service, idea, political candidate or destination fundamentals will have to be well examined before going to elaborate planning. Every product has its inherent life cycle which attempts to list the lifespan of a product. ‘Product Life cycle’ (PLC) is used for determining the lifespan of products, namely Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline. Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayewardene are still in peak maturity stage even though they wish to retire. In the arena of politics two terms or eight years in office is more than enough for the people to retain whatever residual affection for the incumbent. President George Walker Bush had the dubious distinction of not just drifting to decline and oblivion. Had he tried to amend the constitution and tried a third term the American people may have crucified him upside down.
Even in the commercial front we have many examples of miserable product failures despite obscene sums spent on advertising and promotion. HP Introduced its TouchPad in July 2011. Hewlett Packard’s attempted to compete with Apple’s iPad. With a powerful video capability and impressive processing speeds, the TouchPad was widely anticipated to be among the only product that could give Apple a run for its money. Despite large scale press events and promotions, the HP TouchPad was a colossal failure and was discontinued almost immediately. As a result of the TouchPad’s failure, the company wrote off $885 million in assets and incurred an additional $755 million in costs to wind down its webOS operations, ending all work on the TouchPad’s failed operating system.
Pure Ceylon Tea is a multibillion dollar brand and it’s axiomatic. The crisp aroma and vintage taste of Pure Ceylon Tea is unrivalled and unparalleled. God forbid, imagine a situation if the quality drops drastically and a successor nation take the position forever. In such an eventuality is there any point in putting big bucks to this product? Can Sanga or Mehela do anything meaningful to boost or reinforce the brand of Pure Ceylon Tea? The fundamentals of marketing any product or service are to meet a genuine consumer need. Products that meet a genuine consumer need have a basis for long-term consumer interest and purchase. Also one should ensure product performance measures up. Products that don’t fulfil on their promise or fulfil the wrong need miss the mark and the market. Proper positioning and differentiation is another issue. You put your big bucks and big celebrities only after you’ve done all your due diligence.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the controversial Prime Minister of Turkey. He has dominated Turkish politics for more than a decade. He can be certainly called the rare exception to the rule. He rules to this day because he’s a proven performer whose message and performance resonated well with the people of Turkey. Erdogan is revered by many as a man of the people who ushered in a period of economic prosperity — a kind of prosperity that was truly experienced by the people. Though some revelations were made recently about some corruption allegation it far outweighed the prosperity his leadership ushered in.
Coming back to the issue of celebrity-led Marketing, TV host Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of then Senator Obama as a presidential candidate had a huge impact for Obama’s first term. Oprah Winfrey dubbed as the “Queen of All Media”, and ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century and the greatest black philanthropist in American history. The mega-celebrity had never publicly backed a candidate before. She is also extremely popular, with a high amount of influence. Oprah’s popularity played a key role in certain states. There was a distinct fit between the candidate and the celebrity. She was not endorsing some random rascal. Researches sat that Oprah’s endorsement was worth about one million votes for Obama, which is a significant number. An expert in the field said “In politics, if you could guarantee that you could turn a million more people towards your candidate you’d certainly be happy.”
How many people remember the legacy of the iron Lady Margaret Thatcher? She enjoyed international reputation as a conviction politician. She symbolised “principled politics” in contrast to both her own successor and her political opponents, who were perceived more ambiguously, bowing to public opinion and/or party pressure. The world may have not agreed with her on the Falklands issue, yet contemporary Britain is what its today because of her. If we are to see a different Sri Lanka in 2030 change is simply inevitable.