PRRD HAS TAKEN THE RIGHT ROAD. DOES THE MARCOS REBRANDING WORK?

 

October 2, 2021: “Today, I announced my retirement from politics.” (PRRD)

Right after PRRD’s announcement, I wrote in my ATABAY blog entitled “Looking at PH Political landscape With Management Analytical Eyeglasses” my insight which I am reposting below. This is valuable to those in the same boat today with PRRD, age-wise, health-wise, and career-wise, who finally have taken the lofty road to retirement.

WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE

When Steve Jobs died 10 years ago, tributes poured, and here’s one by Forbes:

“A visionary. A designer. An exacting CEO. An entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. The greatest businessman of the century. The man who redefined the Digital Age. The man who understood what politicians didn’t. One of the most important American leaders of his generation. The man who changed industries, redefined business models, fused technology and art. The Thomas Edison of the 21^st century. A genius.”

 

Most of us, for sure, pale in comparison to Steve Jobs. But for a 76 years old leader [PRRD] of more than 100 million people, leaving a legacy is a fitting yearning, by the right person, at this appropriate time. Psychologist Erik Erikson called the 65-years-old-and-above bracket’s final stage of psychological development – the “age of integrity or wisdom.” The other side of the coin is called the “age of despair.”

 

Amid the global pandemic deaths closing to the 5 million mark, Erikson challenges us to not only find the gift in the death of a loved one but also to find the gift as we face our death and the diminishment that old age brings. Have you ever asked yourself, “What do I need to do before I die?” M. Scott Peck, M.D. author of “The Road Less Traveled” suggested:

 

“If you are suffering from a sense of meaninglessness or ennui, there is nothing better I can suggest to you than that you strike up a serious relationship with the end of your existence … Because as you struggle with the mystery of your death, you will discover the meaning of your life.”

 

Alfred Nobel became rich by inventing dynamite and explosives. A newspaper mistakenly printed his obituary instead of his brother who had died. Alfred was shocked in reading his obituary that would leave his legacy for making a fortune out of weapons of mass destruction. He had changed his life before he died by using his fortune in rewarding endeavors that benefit humanity. Alfred’s legacy is known today as the Nobel Prize.

 

To leave a legacy, PRRD seems to make his way in the final stage of his life’s journey as an “age of integrity and wisdom” by these latest twin moves:

1. He said he would be ready to face charges against him before the ICC.

2. He announced that her daughter Sara will not run for president in 2022 indicating he may “get out of the way” to bring about a level-playing-field election.

It is never too late to change life’s direction. Only the sky is the limit to God’s second chances.

 

A pertinent excerpt from my article “Three Converging Opportunities to Transform PH In 2022 Elections” I am reposting below.

 

The last two minutes in Leadership is defined by the words of the former world No.1 tennis player Billie Jean King who said, “Create your legacy and pass the baton” – a profound metaphor for legacy-making and leadership succession. John C. Maxwell in his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” stressed, “A legacy is created only when a person puts his organization into the position to do great things WITHOUT HIM” (Underscoring mine). As to the leadership succession, although passing the baton makes or breaks the races that take just a blink of an eye, it is the HEART of the passer that matters in the fullness of time.

But, a fast-paced circus-like juggling of events followed.

November 13, 2021: PRRD to file his COC for VP.

November 16, 2021: PRRD joined the Senate race.

Finally;

December 14, 2021: PRRD dropped the Senate bid.

“My administration will ensure an honest, peaceful, credible, and free elections in May. It will be my highest honor to turn over the reins of power to my successor knowing that in the exercise of my mandate I did my best to serve the Filipino nation.” (PRRD)

I’m glad to know PRRD has taken the right road to retirement I had envisioned in my ATABAY blog article.

CRUCIAL QUESTION: DOES THE MARCOS REBRANDING WORK?

            Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Brittany Kaiser exposed:

“When I joined Cambridge Analytica in 2014 we had already worked in the Philippines. There was a national campaign where my former company had gone in and undertaken national research to figure out what was the type of persona that would resonate best with voters...

“We had a request straight from BONG BONG MARCOS to do a FAMILY REBRANDING [Underscoring mine]. This was brought in through internal staff at Cambridge Analytica and was debated. Some people didn’t want to touch it and there were others like our CEO Alexander Nix that saw it as a MASSIVE FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY and asked us to write the proposal anyway. So, as you call it HISTORICAL REVISIONISM [Underscoring mine].”

Rebranding is the process of changing the image of a company or product. For seven years now, Marcos Jr. has been rebranded since 2014 obviously in laying the groundwork for his vice-presidency run then, and ultimately for his presidency run today.

Surveys are unreliable. US Real Clear Politics, one survey source, gets its average figure from the top 10 of droves of surveys by averaging pollsters like Reuters, Rasmussen, Economist, Politico, Gallup, GU Politics, IBD/TIPP, The Hill, NBC/Wall Street Journal, and NPR/PBS/Marist, among others.

 

Yet, right after the US 2020 election, New York Times headlined: “A Black Eye: Why Political Polling Missed the Mark Again.” Why did sophisticated US election surveys miss the mark? Pew Research Center found the culprit: “Nonresponse bias” -- generated by an “unrepresentative sample” – a flawed survey condition – in both 2016 and 2020 US elections.

 

Election surveys do more harm than good. A survey is a device that influences public opinion, Peter Hitchens asserted in his book “The Broken Compass” that results in voters “jumping on the bandwagon” for the “winning horse.” To the bitter end, surveys could impact the whole election landscape. Though unreliable, most people believe the surveys. That’s why, for election campaign operatives, topping the survey is a prize catch -- at all costs – three words that can pervert the whole electoral process.

 

Now, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that our local latest surveys (old-timer SWS & Pulse Asia and new arrivals Publicus & Laylo) are correct. Since Marcos topped them, it means, Marcos rebranding is working pretty well. Here’s a two-cent countermeasure for the opposition campaign.

 

British Petroleum (BP) rebranded itself, in 2000, with a new logo and a slogan “Beyond Petroleum” with a rumored price tag of $211 million plus $125 million annual improvement executed by brand consulting firm Landor Associates. Portrayed to be more eco-friendly creating a sense of trust and loyalty, BP’s claim was a complete hoax with its new green logo dishonestly reflecting the rebranded company. There’s nothing ecofriendly about drilling oil – a shoddy attempt to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Ten years later, BP set off the largest marine oil spill in petroleum history. The oil spill thrust BP back into the media spotlight for the wrong reason. Paying millions of dollars in penalties, the rebranded BP became a symbol of environmental disaster.

 

Let’s set Marcos rebranding side by side with BP rebranding

1. Both has taken years of rebranding process:

    BP since 2000

    Marcos since 2014

2. Both paid off a bulk of money:

    BP -- $211 M plus $125 M annually

    Marcos – “massive financial opportunity”

3. Both hired a rebranding consultant

    BP – Landor Associates

    Marcos – Cambridge Analytica (dissolved by scandal)

4. Both claims: a hoax

     BP oil drilling is not ecofriendly

     Marcos Martial Law Years is not the “golden age”

5.  Both thrust back to media

      BP – Oil spill

      Marcos – COC cancellation

6. Both infamous symbols

      BP – a symbol of environmental disaster

      Marcos – a symbol of the dark legacy of corruption and abuses.

7. Both rebranding must fail.

     BP – a notorious example of rebranding failure.

      Marcos – in parallel MUST be a notorious example of rebranding failure.

 

BP Lesson Learned: You can’t put perfume on a pig. Don’t try to make your brand look like what it is not.