Personal development coach and branding expert, Omobabinrin Adeola Osideko, has said that the candidates vying for the office of the Nigerian president in the 2023 election lack professional branding strategies to market their ideologies and manifestoes to the electorate.
Osideko, who is also a social media influencer, made this known while reacting to the unhealthy competitions, conversations, blame games, propagandas, and maneuverings among presidential candidates, their political parties and their teeming supporters on the mainstream media and the social media.
The major presidential candidates for the 2023 election are Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), Rabiu Kwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Prince Adewole Adebayo of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Omoyele Sowore of African Action Congress (AAC), among others.
Osideko said she is not satisfied with the strategies these candidates and their supporters are adopting to market themselves and their agendas.
She also lamented that tribalism, ethnicity, and religion are clichés used by political candidates to describe or analysis various forms of anomalies in the country. She added that these clichés affect voters’ psyche and also create hate and suspicion.
She emphasised that the best political and campaign brands are people-orientated, issue-based, result-driven, inspire loyalty, and convey a sense of ideology in a glance.
“If they want to be elected, people must know and trust them, and they must have passion for their cause as well as for various points of views,” she said. “They should not forget their audience, and they should always communicate effectively using words and phrases they understand.”
Osideko used Donald Trump and Barack Obama presidential campaigns as good examples of personal and political branding.
She added that in 2016, Trumps logo and clear message appealled to conservative values; will Obamas 2008 campaign, which marked a turning point in American political branding, appealled to young, diverse voters ready for a progressive change.
She urged presidential candidates and their political parties to emulate Trumps and Obamas campaign strategies, to have a set of values they are committed to upholding, which can serve as bases for their campaigns and marketing strategies.
While speaking on how presidential candidates can constructively market their image and manifestoes, she noted that though politicians are often criticised for having bad image and influence, there are best practices they and their political parties can adopt.
According to her, some of the strategies include developing a distinct brand identity, maintaining interactive websites and social media presence; building mutual relationships with voters, supporters, and other politicians who share similar view with them; and connecting with journalists to spread their ideologies in the media.
“They should develop a social media strategy for both personal and political purposes, and speak confidently about their policies to the public,” she said. “They should also share content that is relevant to national and people’s interests.”
On how the followers and supporters of presidential candidates can help them with their public image and branding, Osideko stated that the social media and politics have become inseparable, and that navigating them during campaign and election periods can be tricky, especially when there are toxic conservations and arguments among political supporters who are trying to convince other people that their preferred candidate is the best.
She advised politicians and their supporters to respect other peoples presidential candidates and opinions.
“Fighting or insulting others because they did not support their preferred candidate will result to a bad public image for their candidate,” she said.