An armchair enthusiast gets revved up
OPINION: Right now, the news is all about the National Party leadership race.
So I took a quick look at the personal brands of the contenders for the top spot using one of the methods market researchers use to measure brands: to imagine a person or product as a car.
By the way, you can also do this exercise by likening them to celebrities or animals if you fancy a bit of fun at morning tea.
Using a bit of very unscientific straw polling over the past few days, I talked to a few friends and workmates and came up with a surprising level of agreement on the main leadership contenders.
The general consensus about Judith Collins was that there’s no way she’s ever going to put her ‘‘crusher’’ image behind her – so she was most frequently likened to a tank, or Humvee.
Though one person did think Audi, with a dent in the back end.
Collins has been consistently described over the past week as ‘‘the nuclear option’’, referring to the most drastic response to a given situation.
And she’s already showed her combative side in calling out Amy Adams for making her announcement with a coterie of supporters around her. So, she’s certainly delivering on her brand.
Simon Bridges was seen as a Mazda MX5 or Subaru WRX, showing there’s a bit of sporty, flashiness in there he might like to dial up to get that spark of leadership in front of people’s minds when thinking about him.
Amy Adams certainly came back as dependable and reliable, with options like the Toyota Caldina or a Ford Focus.
Whether National needs another dependable and reliable option right now is questionable but given there’s little chance the next party leader will be anything other than a caretaker, National needs to decide whether they want to play it safe.
Those yet to declare whether they are running or not include former police officer and dark horse Mark Mitchell. Literally noone had a view on what kind of car he would be, aside from a police car, of course.
Brand Mitchell needs some quick work if he’s going to make a tilt for the top role.
Paula Bennett was likened to a Toyota Rav4, ‘‘something nippy and colourful and mid-range’’.
Right now, she might be better off looking for a life raft to stay afloat as deputy leader.
Steven Joyce reached the more statesman-like end of the market: a Mercedes being a fairly consistent view. I’d say he’s more of a stealth bomber than a car. You probably won’t see or hear him coming, but he’ll be delivering the goods.
But back to the top three contenders. They have certainly done their homework in trying to differentiate themselves to various segments of their peers, and ultimately voters.
Adams is going for the ‘‘there’s no ‘I’ in team’’, ‘‘consensus-styleleadership’’ and is putting forward her credentials as a champion for fiscal responsibility.
Bridges is going for the ‘‘right person for the time’’, ‘‘new, younger blood’’ approach, with a side order of environmental accountability.
Collins is about strong leadership, ‘‘I’ve got the experience’’ and ‘‘you need someone tough for the toughest job around’’ message; so Collins is clearly playing to her brand.
In a personal brand analysis, I’d say Bridges and Adams both need to quickly develop their personal brands. Collins has already got a strong brand; now her job is to convince her peers that it’s the brand they want.
Let’s see what other vehicles roll into the car yard this week.
❚ Sue Allen has worked in journalism, communications, marketing and brand management for 15 years in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.