What Howard could have learnt from the Toyota Corolla

THURSDAY 1 MAY 2008

John Howard and the Coalition made elementary marketing mistakes that cost them the chance to win last year’s election – something they wouldn’t have done if they’d followed the lesson of the Toyota Corolla and reinvented Howard for consumers, according to marketing researchers at The Australian National University.

The report by ANU College of Business and Economics’ Senior Lecturer Dr Stephen Dann and Andrew Hughes found that the Coalition made simple marketing mistakes throughout the campaign that left them on the back foot and playing catch up to Kevin Rudd’s savvy and up-to-date marketing techniques.

Their findings, published this week in Monash Business Review, reveal five lessons learnt from the election campaign where Labor beat their opponents, including having a less confusing message, using better communication, reducing the risk the voters, not taking votes for granted and successfully using celebrity candidates.

Andrew Hughes said the Coalition’s campaign came unstuck before it had even begun, and that the party should have listened to what their research was telling them.

“The Coalition marketing campaign was just terrible – they got it so wrong. It started badly, continued badly and finished badly,” he said. “The marketing research the Coalition had was ignored when it should have been listened to. Opinion polls are great market research, and if the Coalition had acted on what those polls told them they could have stayed in government. But the marketing people should have told Howard it was time to go.”

He added that there were plenty of opportunities for the Coalition and John Howard to alter the course of the campaign but time and again these were missed.

“John Howard could have learnt a thing or two from the Toyota Corolla. It’s been a top selling car for many years, but while the brand is the same the car has changed over time to meet the needs of consumers. In Howard’s case they should have looked at the product they were trying to sell to the electorate and seen it wasn’t working. They could have repositioned him by moving him away from the right, speaking about signing the Kyoto agreement or indigenous policy – those things meant a lot to the electorate and could be done at practically no cost.”

Labor’s branding on the other hand, said Mr Hughes, far better met the expectations of voters. “ALP branding was, in the end, everywhere. Rudd did a really good job of it – he was like Rove McManus in a way; appearing on FM radio, cracking jokes, taking the mickey out of himself. He showed he had a human side. It made him appear to have the benefits of John Howard, plus appeal to those who wanted a change but without too much of a radical shift.”

For more information or to arrange interviews:
Andrew Hughes – (02) 6125 4872
Martyn Pearce, ANU Media Office – (02) 6125 5575 / 0416 249 245