Joe Biden proves there’s more to brand image than good PR

President Biden has officially dropped out of the race.

There have been weeks of anxious build-up to this moment.

Concerns over the president's age and competency have been a hot topic over the last few months. But the whispers have been going on since Joe Biden first took office.

His fall from grace serves as a stark reminder that PR can’t always save you.

It also highlights the importance of a strong personal brand in this day and age.

Obviously, the president has a little more public perception to worry about than most of us do. But the same rules apply when it comes to our own brand image.

When we witness the demise of somebody as high profile as the President of the United States of America, we’d do well to take notes of what went so terribly wrong, and what we can learn from it all.

For several years, the US president has made a string of embarrassing, and (literal) missteps in public.

But Biden had a cover--he had a long history of verbal slips and other blunders that made it hard to blame his age alone. 'I am a gaffe machine,' he admitted in December 2018 when asked about potential liabilities of his election campaign.

He also had physicians on his side claiming the was 'healthy, vigorous [and] fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.'

However, by the end of June, Biden had only given 36 press conferences. This was fewer than any president in the same timeframe since Ronald Reagan.

His lack of public appearances caused a constant decline in the public’s trust toward the 81-year-old.

For many, the alternative, Former President Donald Trump, was too much of a nightmare to fathom. This meant many people made excuses for the PR blunders Biden continued to have.

But, we can only believe what we see. And, as the situation became increasingly worse, it became harder to ignore the truth.

Now, public perception has declined to the point where less than 25% of voters consider Biden to be 'mentally sharp.’ This is a drop of nearly half since Fall 2020, a Pew Research Center poll showed. It seems his decision to drop out of the presidential race was inevitable.

Ok, so what does that have to do with marketing?

Well, just like public perception is crucial in choosing a presidential candidate, it has a huge impact on whether consumers choose your brand.

But before trying to create positive perception around your brand, you need to know how people feel about your brand right now.

According to Hubspot, 'Data can help you understand how consumers, employees, stakeholders, and competitors perceive your brand.

Since brand perception combines reviews, reputation, experience, functionality, advertising, social engagement, and customer use, you should gather metrics from multiple sources.'

Just like surveys offer valuable data leading up to an election, they're a great way to gauge what people are thinking and feeling about your brand. 

You can also see how you stack up against competitors.

For best results, ask questions that touch on emotional, cognitive, and action-oriented factors. For example, 'When you think of (your brand) what first comes to mind?' and 'How would you describe your last experience with (your brand)?'

Another way to do this is to engage in something called social listening. This is where you track online mentions of your brand using tools like Google alerts. You can monitor social media comments, online reviews, relevant hashtags and forums to see what the current sentiment is.

Social listening helps you understand your customers’ perception before you even think to change it.

If you do want to create a more positive image for your brand, the best way to do so is through customer centricity.

Listening to your customers' needs and tailoring your approach to prioritize them will ensure you build trust and differentiate your brand as a true partner.

As we learned with Joe, PR efforts can only take you so far. You can post a whole lot of smoke and mirrors online and tout your brand’s 'amazing work' all you want.

But how you make your customers (or voters) feel with your actions will ultimately be the deciding factor. 

-Sophie, Writer