党派立场决定消费口味

    自然，在大多数情况下，受访者之间确实存在分歧。民主党人在电子产品类别中偏好索尼（Sony），在保险服务类别中偏好前进保险公司（Progressive），在咖啡店类别中偏好星巴克（Starbucks），而在电子游戏类别中偏好任天堂的Wii。而共和党在这些类别中则分别选择了夏普（Sharp）、好事达保险公司（Allstate）、邓肯甜甜圈店（Dunkin' Donuts）及微软的XBOX。

    但其中一些值得注意的例外表明，有效的营销可以在一个品牌背后建立起“两党共识”。苹果公司（Apple）在发动“Mac vs. PC”广告攻势四年之后，于2009年放弃了这个广告战略。现在，苹果不再是一家初出茅庐的新公司，不再怀着游击队的心态、向一个已牢固建立市场地位的PC行业发起挑战。证据不仅在于该公司目前市值已高达5,390亿美元，而且还在于民主党人和共和党人都把苹果列为自己喜爱的科技品牌这个事实。

    同样，他们在维萨卡（Visa）、谷歌（Google）以及（或许令人惊讶）可口可乐（Coca-Cola）这些品牌上也意见一致。别忘了，正是百事可乐（Pepsi）在2008年总统选举之后发起的广告运动引发外界非议，该广告似乎唱和了奥巴马总统的竞选口号。辛格推测，可口可乐通过旨在促进幸福的品牌定位成功突破了政治鸿沟。正如杰夫•科尔文在本期《财富》杂志（Fortune）中所指出的那样，百事可乐近年来的市场营销近年来还没有完全使自己脱颖而出。

    辛格曾向英特尔（Intel）、麦当劳（McDonald's）及纽约证券交易所（the New York Stock Exchange）提供有关品牌宣传及管理方面的建议。他认为这项调查的结果对政界和商界都有意义。而这些品牌自身则可以更好地理解“他们及竞争对手之间存在的细微差别，从而在用户中培养更强的忠诚度。”

    对于政界人物而言，辛格的此项研究进一步确认了皮尤报告所确定的一个趋势：对于美国政府应该在美国人民生活中担任什么样的角色，共和党人和民主党人在这个问题上存在的分歧进一步扩大到了前所未有的程度。正如辛格所说：“在深层次上，共和党人和民主党人之间存在一种哲学差异，民主党人寻求的是由一个中央政体来助使我们所生活的世界更加美好一些；而共和党人则主张更加放任自由的政策，联邦政府把权力下放给地方政府，让老百姓自己来解决问题。”

    眼下，奥巴马正在紧锣密鼓地为竞选连任做准备，这是他倾向于留心的一个教训。正如周二他在巴尔的摩募集资金时告诉与会者：“即将到来的大选将呈现出前所未见的强烈而鲜明的党派差异。”

    For the most part, naturally, they disagreed. Democrats favor Sony (SNE) for electronics, Progressive (PGR) for insurance, Starbucks (SBUX) for coffee and Wii for gaming. Republicans respectively opt for Sharp, Allstate (ALL), Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), and XBOX.

    But some notable exceptions suggest effective marketing can forge bipartisan consensus behind a brand. Apple (AAPL), which abandoned its "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign in 2009 after a four-year run, is no longer a guerilla-minded upstart challenging an entrenched industry. The evidence for that is not just in the company's $539 billion market cap, but in the fact that Democrats and Republicans both list it as their favorite technology brand.

    They likewise agree on Visa (V), Google (GOOG), and, perhaps surprisingly, Coca-Cola (KO). It was Pepsi (PEP), after all, that raised eyebrows after the 2008 presidential election with a new campaign that appeared to echo President Obama's message. Singer speculates that Coke has broken through the political divide with brand positioning aimed at promoting happiness. And as Geoff Colvin notes in the current issue of Fortune, Pepsi's marketing hasn't exactly distinguished itself in recent years.

    Singer, who's provided branding and management advice to Intel, McDonald's, and the New York Stock Exchange, sees insights in the results for both politicians and corporations. The brands themselves could better understand "the subtle differences between them and their competitors and develop stronger attachments to their users."

    For pols, the study offers further confirmation of a trend identified by the Pew report: Republicans and Democrats are further apart than they've ever been on the proper role for government in American life. As Singer says, "At a deep level, there's a philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats, and what Democrats are looking for is a central body to help make the world we live in a little better, and what Republicans are advocating is more laissez-faire, local, let the people work it out."

    It's a lesson President Obama, for one, is inclined to heed as his drive for reelection gears up. As he told the crowd at a Baltimore fundraiser on Tuesday, "you'll never see a sharper contrast" between the parties than in the upcoming campaign.