Yello by Hunter Schwarz

Yello by Hunter Schwarz

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Yello by Hunter Schwarz
Yello by Hunter Schwarz
The difference in marketing to Republicans vs. Democrats
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The difference in marketing to Republicans vs. Democrats

Why consumers respond to different marketing messages based on their political ideology

Hunter Schwarz's avatar
Hunter Schwarz
Feb 10, 2023
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Yello by Hunter Schwarz
Yello by Hunter Schwarz
The difference in marketing to Republicans vs. Democrats
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Promotional image from Urban Outfitters’ 2016 capsule collection with Wrangler. Credit: Urban Outfitters

We use brands to signal something about ourselves — Nike is for champions, Under Armour is for underdogs, and Apple is for innovators — and whether we realize it or not, brands can also speak volumes about our political beliefs.

I’m not talking about whether a brand is ~woke~ or whether or not it changes its logo to rainbows in June for Pride. Democrats prefer Levi’s and Republicans like Wranglers, but the role of political ideology in marketing can be much more subtle than preconceived notions about brands or their political stances.

“Conservatives and liberals actually have distinct preferences, which is tied to their distinct worldviews about the social order and how they believe the world and society should work,” said Nailya Ordabayeva, an associate professor at the Dartmouth University Tuck School of Business who studies ideology and marketing. “We find that these beliefs and these preferences spill over beyond the voting booth to people’s everyday decisions about the types of products that they choose to purchase, consume, display, and so on.”

It basically boils down to one of two brand promises:

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