One joke really raised the roof when Sir Menzies Campbell spoke to his party
at the end of the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton this week. There
were wittier remarks in his text, but it was this that struck the chord:
“Gordon wants to be like Maggie. But he doesn’t want to be like Tony. Tony
also wanted to be like Maggie. But Maggie only wanted to be like Ronnie. Now
Dave, he wants to be like Tony. But he doesn’t want to be like William, or
Iain, or Michael. And certainly not like Maggie either.
“Confused? You must be. But you can be clear on this: I don’t want to be like
any of them.”
There followed a great, spontaneous roar of approval. Lib Dems love feeling
different, but Sir Menzies’s joke appealed to more than that. It would have
resonated anywhere in the country. For he was taking a crack at something
that is really beginning to get up the British people’s nose. Market
positioning. As a nation we’re learning how to spot it; and we don’t like
it. It makes us suspicious.
Marketing politics, marketing personality, marketing toothpaste, marketing a
football club: they’re all converging on the same game of market
positioning, the trick of finding out where your audience would like you to
be, and locating yourself there. The electorate are unnerved by too much of
this. It starts them asking what you’re really for, and where the real you
is to be found. They do not look to political leadership for a mirror image
of themselves alone.
Beneath the many polished surfaces of modern Britain, beneath the appeal of
the slick, professional crafting of brands, narratives and messages, there
is an aching hunger for authenticity. The immune system of this nation is
developing antibodies to mere marketing. The whole priesthood and its
methods are beginning to trigger an allergic reaction. And the people least
likely to warn us that this is happening in the market are the very people
we hire to tell us about markets: the marketing priesthood.
Look what they’ve done to Kate and Gerry McCann. Here were two people
deserving of the most intense public sympathy. On a superficial level they
got it – by the media bucketload. Yet did you not sense from an early stage
an undertone of irritation at the couple? I’ve sensed it everywhere I go:
not a sign of doubt about their innocence, which most of us take for
granted, but a feeling, nevertheless, that they in some way invited trouble
– though we banish the thought as brutal and wrong.
Which it is. So why the ungenerosity? I believe it is because Kate and Gerry
McCann have allowed an impression to arise that they and their advisers are
marketing their own tragedy. Where we would have expected to see parents
distracted and disorganised by grief, we have seen a professionally run
campaign to find out what the media want, and give it to them.
This has been done for a most defensible reason: to enlist the entire European
public as amateur detectives in the search for Madeleine. But now her
parents have ended up looking like film stars in a Hollywood weepy. Do those
who have contrived this, or the couple themselves, have any inkling of the
damage that professional marketing has done to this family’s image? And does
Alastair Campbell, even now, have any inkling of how he and his trade
damaged the Labour Party?
For there is a lesson here wide enough to embrace all those with a cause, a
set of ideas or even a party leadership to popularise. The lesson is that to
enlist conspicuously the marketing profession and its wisdoms risks saying
more about you than any “messages” that the profession may subsequently
craft for you can do.
By the very act of outsourcing his own reputation a man shapes it. He reveals
himself as someone anxious to take advice on how the world wants him to
seem, before deciding what he is. For a would-be leader to consult those he
would lead on where he should position himself in the market is profoundly
unsettling, not least to the market.
Whatever his failings, Gordon Brown, who takes the Bournemouth stage in the
coming week at his party’s conference, does in some strange and buried way
understand this. David Cameron and his new Conservatives, whose conference
follows in Blackpool the week after that, need to wake up to it – and time
is running short.
There is a danger that market positioning, intended to rescue the 21st-century
Conservative Party, could ruin it instead. At first, and under Mr Cameron’s
new leadership, the nation saw a party freshly aware of its old failures,
confident of its virtues, repentant of its errors, and anxious to put things
right. Some called it “detoxification”. I defended it strongly and still do,
because I saw Mr Cameron (and still do) as a man with a quiet inner
certainty about the meaning of Conservatism who is in many ways a classic
Conservative, but who understood that the party had attracted an unpleasant
aura that needed to be forcefully and publicly dispelled. There were real
defects to be remedied. Tories needed eagerly to embrace, not grudgingly
concede, the modern view that there are some big, important things that
government alone can do.
But this is common ground between parties, and though it is vital that the
Cameron Conservatives show Britain that they occupy it too, it cannot alone
amount to a Tory application for the post of Prime Minister. It invites from
the voters the question: “Yes, yes, but what else?
“You’re not racist – good; you’re not sexist – super; you’re not homophobic,
obsessive about Europe, blind to the importance of public services or deaf
to the cries of the poor and weak. Cool. Two cheers for all you’re not, two
cheers for all that does not set you apart from the other parties. But what
does? What are you?”
And here we reach the limits of the usefulness of market positioning, a
science likely to point you where it has pointed your competitors too.
The Tories now need something more. Something from within David Cameron needs
to break through: authentic, distinctively Tory and obviously him.
As he prepares for Blackpool in the week ahead, Mr Cameron needs to turn his
mirror not upon the market – the electorate outside – but upon himself.
Looking into it he should ask what the man looking back at him inwardly
suspects Britain has to get to grips with. I would be surprised if that man
has no answers; and Mr Cameron might be surprised how many voters, facing
the mirror too, might answer the same. We’ve all just seen for the first
time in our lives a run on a bank. There’s a feeling of profligacy about the
age, and governments should not be stoking it.
This is an authentically Conservative response, and if it’s David Cameron’s
too he should stand up and say so.
For those disadvantaged by not being around 50 years ago, Vance Packard’s 1957 book “The Hidden Persuaders†is probably still worth reading. So, whilst there's nothing fundamentally new here, your essay is yet another of your intelligent interpretations of events, Mr Parris.
Ed Burrows, Knutsford,
Let me offer the working class view - and, honestly, I really am a working class male who lives in a council house.
Marketing and PR? They stand out like a winos big red nose. And keeping with the idea of the nose, marketing gurus noses seem to grow as per Pinocchio's every time I hear them spew forth their propaganda.
We know that what the PR guru says is connected to his salary. He is paid to try and "get in our heads". Of course, they do get "in our heads", but not in the way they think. Our thoughts start to connect to "manipulation and control" (well, their attempts at it).
We also think in terms of what they are NOT telling us. We simply hear the "good news". Yes, we resent this and reject the messages and their scripts.
We "know" they attempt to control the body language and so on of the person who pays the piper. We know they play games that emanate from psychobabble books as per suggestion and association and deflection and rumor mongering. We are not daft.
Joe, Glasgow, Scotland
Good article indeed! In a way marketing makes life devoid of colour. All smoke and mirrors and at some point one looses the track of what's real.
Pam, St.Petersburg, Russia
Painfully true. Spot on!
Soon it will lose its sheen as media savvy/advisers continue their trend to get publicity this way.
Laxman Karajgikar, Jersey,
Brilliant article! Read it and do something about it David!
serge, hong kong, hong kong
A brilliant article! Keep 'em coming!
Liz, London, UK
`By the very act of outsourcing his own reputation a man shapes it.` Amazing! Matthew Parris , please stand for Parliament! You will definitely get my vote!
Charlotte Browning, Bolton, England
Matthew Parris you are a genius! People in the public eye need to be more careful which marketers they trust with their reputations!
Sam, Manchester, England
Congratulations Mr Parris. That was a superb article.
MD, Hong Kong,
Cameron is a marketing creature. There is nothing else there. His friends laid bets to make him the favourte after his Tory conference speech and the BBC etc jumped on the bandwagon. At a time when the electorate craved authenticity, the left-biased media and Cameron served-up spin. He is now reaping the rewards. All the things that needed changing about the Conservative party have now become things the electorate wants. Cameron got his marketing cycle hopelessly wrong. He, the party and the country will pay the price. Cameron has made stealth-tax-Brown look right-wing.
Richard, Chelmsford,
This is the best insight into the McCann tragi-comedy I have read so far. Matthew Parris has hit several nails on the head with this one.
Andrew Morrow, Raphoe, Donegal, Ireland
Of course it's an excellent article. It is the kind of great writing that we, even those of us on the political left, have come to expect from Matthew. However, the link between the McCanns and Gordon Brown is a tenuous one, which is unimportant. The thing is that it is a dangerous one. This is far more important. Why! Because the article is dangerously correct. Therefore, it should not be used to make a political argument. The McCanns have used the press, in their own way, as the Beckhams use it. This is why they have (possibly unfairly) lost some of their public support. Gordon Brown has his own problems but, as Matthew will surely admit (even if only in private) Mr Cameron is not one of them.
Marc, St. Barthelemy,
Thanks to Matthew Parris for an excellent article.
Whatever the Marketing men and their clients may think, spin and slick marketing are instantly spottable to the man on the street these days.
The days are gone when the British public had no other choice but to rely on what they were told for their knowledge and opinions - when we are repeatedly and obviously being 'spun' an angle we wonder WHY? And with internet resources at our fingertips we will set about researching for ourselves.
For the first time in our history, Honesty and straighforwardness are values which an increasingly spin savvy public seek, and marketing not only fails to project these virtues, it screams of 'something to hide'.
Paula, Bedford,
Mr.Parris has hit the nail on the head as usual. But I would like to go one step further....I am albeit a Tory voter but I am not interested in party positioning or "Brands". I would vote for any one from any party who was capable of showing true leadership and transparent honesty, rather than evasiveness and obfuscation. We need the man (or woman), not the party, to lead the country out of the mess it is in.
Nicolas Duke, Warsaw, Poland
Well done MP. As always we must count on you to say things that not many dare too, or even cant see them coming. As a profet of modern age you rightly say that we are tired of modern marketing- WE ARE FED UP. And they still keeping treting the public like idiots, blocking wast amounts of space and time in the media that can be spent on something more useful and daily bombarding us with messages/ noise and ideas that are neither useful nor that we need them.
Insightful, precise and analytical.
`By the very act of outsourcing his own reputation a man shapes it`
I am writing this down.
thank you Mathew!
-----
Blendi, London, uk
Refreshingly true! As I work myself in the field of corporate communications, the obsession about "branding" issues - how to differenciate yourself from competition, which every single competitor does exactly like you - has gradually become an exercise with no other goal than to justify its own existence and budget. In itself, it's mostly useless nowadays. The best branding campaign will still be utterly useless if the product or service isn't any good. However, your article is one of many readings on the wall that the excesses of the communications industry are slowly becoming obvious. I now fear that appearing inocuous to branding issues will be seen as the best possible branding strategy...
David Laufer, vevey, switzerland
I agree this is useful thinking. I don't think that it is good marketing / positioning that has decreased our immunity to MRSA (Marketing raises sham anticipation) I think it is as simple as old fashioned fibbing. All those years ago 'labour wasn't working' in reality and the ad / marketing resonated. Politically, now though, the roots are in a government that has been a bad parent - do as I say not as I do (we will not increase income tax....). But closer to home just look at your local pub: 'good home-cooked local food' (where none of these words strictly justifies its place on the sign?) I don't think anybody belives anybody anymore until they have actually proved themselves.
Jon Overton, Uley, Glos, England
I hope Mr Cameron takes note of your article Matthew it was not only a very interesting read but also puts a perspective on something that definitely niggles the brain in an unsettling way.
d case, nequay,
The Tories picked the wrong leader. I understand why they did it but they got it wrong. Cameron came along at the wrong time. He is an answer to a problem that no longer exists, namely Tony Blair.
Matthew is perfectly right that people are suspicious of the posture politics we see nowadays. As Newsnight showed the other night, and as I wrote to Cameron to point out, the public are suspicious of the lectures and sermonising on the environment and climate change. Many are unconvinced by what we are told and the proposed solutions which are almost always more taxes. Tories default position should be that government can't do everything.
The Tories need a leader who is prepared to go out on a limb and say what he thinks and believes not what he believes people want him to believe. Instinctive politicians don't need focus groups. In the good old days people went into politics because they saw a problem and resolved to do something about it. Wouldn't that be a refreshing change?
Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK
Bang on the button.
Mr P please send the article in a personal note to Cameron. He really has lost it and with no opposition in sight we are doomed to GB and his strange view of the World which is not to our English liking. It will end in tears for all unless we have English people for an English Parliament and clearly David C is not the answer.
John Albert , Lisbon, Portugal
Very perceptine!
This is one of your best articles.
John Charlesworth, Sleaford , UK
Excellent article Mr Parris but please do not lead it under the McCann's problems as it is more worthy than that. It is commentary on the much bigger issue of truths and lies in public and how we should all stand up for substance and integrity instead of packaging and positioning.
M Lim, London, UK
A good, courageous piece - especially in linking public feeling or the (albeit well-intended) efforts of the McCanns to the Conservatives' recent rebranding.
The paradox that makes this all so interesting, what Brown understands and Cameron doesn't, is this: 'substance' is merely the new market position; what the public wants, and what designers of 'product' (whether political, commercial, or other) will strive to deliver.
It's just market positioning 2.0 - generating the appearance of not consciously using market positioning. It can be seen in Brown's 'earthier' politics, just as in the feelgood associations people have with Innocent smoothies' "chatty" product copy. And as Parris notes, it doesn't always provide political answers. The danger is that in jumping on 'conviction politics', either/both Labour and Conservative Parties merely pick their new convictions out of a populist hat, as part of just another new marketing drive.
Patrick, nr. Salisbury, UK
Matthew Parris, you are a 21st century prophet. It's only to be expected that some just won't see it... but please don't give up.
Willem Ginckels, Mechelen, Belgium
I am not sure I precisely agree with your title. I think link or dependence might be more apt than flaw but there is a qualitative difference between the two. The McCanns have got caught up in the marketing milieu - one could call it promotion - whereas Cameron is inevitably involved in that process as a politician. The feature of convergency in modern politics has necessitated the marketing environment. It is the politics of aura. The Conservative party has recently had a variety of wrappings provided by the differing publicities given to a succession of leaders. David Cameron provides a different wrapping to Michael Howard, but it s the same old brick underneath. Cameron clearly has to convince his party that his packaging will sell the brick and I am sure he could do it. His problem is whether the marketing men may prefer a different image for their own purposes. It might also be the Conservative Party s problem too.
Henry Percy, London, UK
Matthew Parris can say what he likes about David Cameron but I notice he isn't predicting a massive landslide victory for the Tories at the next election. Perhaps he realises only too well that Gordon Brown will walk all over them and that Cameron will resign the following day. However, it's the general election after that which will be the really interesting one. If the Tories don't win that under whoever will be leading them next, they really will be finished.
K Philips, London, UK
an incisive truth
john, nice, france
Superficial rubbish. Why do the McCanns feature in a political opinion piece? The Portugese police drew the wrong conclusions, the over-excited media pack followed, and now there is a sound of collective retreat as both the media pundits and the Portugese police scramble to retreat from their Bridge Too Far. And the linkage of the McCanns with Alistair Campbell is another cheap shot; they are trying to rescue their daughter, not market the toothy Blairs. Why the "ungenerosity" to the McCanns? Human nature, and media pundits who turned on them out of boredom, or worse motives. Draw your analogies more carefully, Mr. Parris.
Robin Hughes, Dubai,
Why on erth don't you stand for Parliament again?
G. Pasley, London, UK
Gordon Brown is the ultimate master of spin, and has focused on nothing else but market positioning since he became Prime Minister. His first objective was to whip the BBC into line, which he as done succesfully.
Brown is a ruthless operator, and t will be interesting to see how long this can carry on before he is rumbled.
Bill Rees, Exeter,
He has hit the target, exposing a modern nasty.
Don O'Connell, Milton Keynes, Bucks
I had to read it twice it was that good. Well said.
wui, andover,
Good article. It seems that doubting the McCaans is treated in some quarters as akin to blasphemy.
Hamad lone, ex-pat brit, Middle East
But the economy would collapse - everything is built on convincing the public they need block-paving drives and gates that look as though they belong on Blenheim Palace. Remove the marketing men and 90% of businesses in Britain would go bankrupt. So 'bye, off to order my new hand-made kitchen now, with eye-level grill, integral microwave, carousel and built-in sound system that plays Jerusalem when you open the cupboards.
eric campbell, harrogate, uk
Indeed ! Wake up David !
Time is running out !
Dave , Swindon, Wiltshire
Thank you for being brave and honest enough to highlight what has been an increasingly bizarre attempt to manipulate media outlets and emotions. I listened intently to Ms. McCanne's interview on Women's Hour (Radio 4) with an open mind, but was increasingly hearing all the code words and half truths that are normally reserve to product promotions and political spin. The interview was increasingly becoming a sales presentation, devoid of any real emotions. The McCanne’s will be doing themselves lots of good if they will simply disappear from the media for a while and reflect on their bizarre attempt to become famous by proxy.
R. Klein, London,
Sound article,spot on about over marketing an issue.Unfortunately for the Tory Party Camerom is the pinacle of PR BRANDING HYPE and SPIN.Marketing was his profession and it runs in his blood.Cameron does not understand the word called substance.
Bill Rees, Truro, Cornwall
Excellent article. A great pity it has to be 'marketed' on the opening page ("The impression has arisen that the McCanns and their advisers are marketing their own tragedy More...") as being about the McCanns, when it is not.
Ross, London, UK
Mathew is a cream of crop of the British journalism. He is honest and at least tries to think.
kakhi, London, The UK
I totally agree.
Jame4s, meinsud B.C. , Canada
An excellent and insightful article.
Karl Baxter, Inverurie,