This isn't a celebration, endorsement of the Liberals, a reflection on the electoral system or media concentration and subsidies.
My intent is to talk strategy and to show you what you can learn on how to engage and persuade your audience from the Liberal Political Machine. They turned a tree of bruised fruit into Lemonade and they play chess while the others play checkers. They know how to amplify successes, bury or deflect failures, and keep their opponents on their back feet.
5 of their strategies can work for you:
Change the criteria by which the audience buys. O'Toole made it about Trudeau and his scandals, the Liberals made it about climate change and gun control. This trumped all by playing to our innate fear of survival. The Liberals then cast the Conservatives as Gun-toting and Land Torching.
Turn a weakness into a strength. The protesters that greeted Trudeau were quickly reframed as anti-vaxers and the 'type of rebels' that were taking down the conservative provinces out west. With the vast majority vaccinated, and as the election closed out, hospitals being overrun in Alberta, the Liberals turned the protests to their advantage.
Let things boil fast and then evaporate. The anger that many felt towards Trudeau calling an election during a pandemic, and the cost, evaporated out of news feeds and voters' minds. As did how we abandoned our Afghan allies, the mystery of the fired lab technicians, economic and inflation reports. In this age of noise, sometimes the best strategy is to do nothing. Especially when the majority of media is on your side. Sit back and watch the steam evaporate versus stick your hand in and get burned.
Mass versus me. The Conservatives campaign aged O'Toole with walking talking ads, suits and ties at podiums, and a big narrative about a better Canada. Singh relied on humour and a narrower audience with Tik Tok while the Liberals fly fished in highly personalized ads, based on personal biases, through social media. The more content is about 'me' the more it matters.
Direct versus indirect. O'Toole went head to head against Trudeau. Military strategists will tell you that is a dangerous play when battling any incumbent, regardless of how weak they appear. O'Toole would have been better served with an indirect strategy. A DC Comics books Justice League featuring an all-star ensemble of Conservative politicians like Pierre Poilievre, Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, PC MP and newly elected Melissa Lantsman. Attack Trudeau on many fronts.
Combine all with the Liberals playing their incumbent card by calling the election before inflation roars in, setting the rules and number of debates, positioning their leader at the center of all photo ops, knocking Bernier off the stage.
Today: 31.8% of voters are happy with the outcome, 34.1 % of Tories voters aren't, and 68.2% overall. Regardless, we can all learn strategy from the well-oiled Liberal Machine.
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