Branding, as it applies to a business, is just as important as applied to politics.  A candidate’s brand creates an immediate impression on people, conveys personality, attitude, and other subtle qualities that sway public opinion. With a logo and brand that were beautiful and cohesive, Obama raised the bar for the branding of political campaigns.  His brand resonated with people and helped shape their perceptions about him.  As the Chicago Mayoral race heats up, we review each candidate’s brand for the good, bad, the ugly and ultimately who comes out on top (visually that is, this is not an exercise in actual politics). Let’s see how our candidates did.

Rahm Emanuel

With his ties to Washington, the Obama campaign and his deep political history with the city, Rahm Emanuel is considered by many as the front-runner. From a branding perspective, he certainly has the lead.

What is good: The logo is well-done and refined.  The website is polished, well-designed and robust as far as content and functionality are concerned. The background consists of memorable Chicago landmarks including the L, the Art Institute, the Merchandise Mart and the iconic Chicago bungalow. The layout is user-friendly with design elements and colors that are consistent and well executed. The homepage consists of a series of videos that allow users to watch testimonial videos singing Emanuel’s praises as soon as you land on the page, which is smart and strategic in this video age. The subsequent internal pages are full of relevant information and have the usual politician + noun (insert baby, senior citizen, everyman) photography.

Overall the website gives you a lot of information but it is laid out in a way that is not overwhelming. Though Emanuel is known for his “take-no-prisoners style” when it comes to politics, this attitude is certainly not reflected in his well-executed brand.

Carol Moseley Braun

Carol Moseley Braun was the first and only African-American Senator and now the race’s sole female candidate.  Though her legacy has been tarnished by scandal, she seems to re-invent her image with a well-done brand. Her logo, which is nothing head-turning, simply states “Carol for Chicago” which seems like a pretty bold move (perhaps she is taking a page from Hillary Clinton’s playbook).   She is noticeably the only candidate who didn’t borrow elements from the Chicago flag.

What is good? Moseley Braun’s site is bright and bold. The “Did You Know…” section is engaging due to its rotating nature – a smart and effective way to show achievements. The headlines, colors and design elements are all consistent and well done.

What could’ve been better: The width of the actual website is too narrow.  The background could have been utilized better with either images or a side bar/callout of some sort.

Overall the site is solid and refreshing.  The big bold headlines work well with the thick lines and the content was current and informative.

Gery Chico

Gery Chico has long been a Chicago political insider.  His resume is long and filled with key positions in many important Chicago institutions. He has a lot of support and money, so my expectation was that his brand would have been better.

What is good? The photos of him look professional and the accompanying video ads are well done. The best features of the site are the countdown ticker and the fact that he is the only candidate that has his site in Spanish, Polish and Chinese – key in a diverse city like Chicago.

What is bad? The multi-lingual sites require a Microsoft Silverlight install which if you didn’t speak English would make the translated site unusable. When “Issues” is selected, instead of going to an internal page, you get a 1.5 MB multi-page PDF.  This seems like a gaffe considering the abundance of mobile users. On the bottom of the page there is city skyline illustration that is filled with some miscellaneous houses that look awful.  Finally his tagline is treated like an afterthought, tucked in at the bottom of the site where a footer would normally go.

What could’ve been better: His logo is too spread out and does not highlight Chico’s name very well.  Considering the only place this campaign is relevant is Chicago, the City of Chicago in the logo is a waste of space. His website is missing any sort of hierarchy – the biggest graphics on the page are for voter registration and current news which is a mistake.  The focus should be on Chico, why people should vote for him and donations.

Overall the brand lacks professional polish. Both the logo and the website look generic and cut and pasted together.  The usability and functionality of his site is sorely lacking.  This all  reflects badly on a candidate that otherwise has an exceptional record of public service and is one of the most professional of the bunch.

Miguel Del Valle

Del Valle has been part of Illinois politics for over two decades and was the first to announce that he was running for mayor and get his website launched. This hurried approach combined with his refusal to accept campaign contributions from companies that do business with the city, may be a good reason why his brand looks haphazardly thrown together.

What is wrong? His tagline “A Mayor for All of Chicago For Every Neighborhood” needs editing.  Which is it? For All of Chicago or For Every Neighborhood? Pick one and go with it. The website is disorganized.  All of the design elements seem to contradict each other.  The wave element at the top of the page does not go with the rest of the very rectangular design elements.   Additionally the distressed font used in some parts of the page isn’t consistent with the logo.

What could’ve been better: His logo is ill-paired with inconsistent typography on the website. The information on the site seems truncated, requiring the user to go to a different page to read the rest of it. The color palette does not work.  There are at least five different blue colors used, a shifting scale of grey, and a mis-matched red accent color.

Overall the site is not well put together.  There is potential with the bold Chicago blue color and the distressed lettering but poor execution makes for an inconsistent brand and fragmented presentation.

We live in a time where branding and a professional web presence have never been more important. With people’s attention spans diminishing, first impressions are everything.  While a logo and website alone may not win a political race, candidates need to keep in mind that their website is the most accessible piece of information that the general public has.   As such, they need to be treated with the same professionalism, expertise and knowledge that they give to any other part of their campaign – give it priority, think through it strategically and most importantly, hire professionals.