With both the Democratic and Republican conventions now over, it’s time to reflect on how each of the two major parties are faring from a branding standpoint.

Let me start by saying that I’ve always been fascinated by political branding, and by how most people still don’t get it. One common complain you hear a lot is that candidates don’t talk specifics about “the issues”. What those people don’t understand is that a political campaign is just a marketing campaign, subject to the same immutable laws of branding.

Rather than talking about “the issues” (plural), successful candidates must talk about “The Issue” (singular and in caps). In other words, they must discover and hammer down on one major concept, one mantra that resonates with their target audience, clarifies their positioning and rallies voters around them (think Bill Clinton in 1992, who, after talking about “the issues” for months finally started getting some real traction when he focused on “The Issue” of the day: “It’s the economy, stupid.”)

From a branding standpoint, I would divide this campaign in three rounds, with the third one still to be fought.

Round one clearly went to Barack Obama, who coming out of nowhere was able to find his “Issue” (Change) early on, stuck to it and, through a brilliantly executed campaign that showed consistency, focus and the impeccable use of new media, was able to defeat the powerful Clinton political machine.

However, after the events of the last few days, I have to chalk up round two to John McCain. In my opinion, the tide started to turn to McCain’s side when Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate. While this move may have been intended to bring some experience to the ticket, I think it undermines Obama’s brand message: if your mantra is “Change”, choosing a 65 year old Washington insider as your VP is not going to help.

McCain, in turn, was true to his “Maverick” brand and picked someone who nobody expected: Sarah Palin. This move went against conventional wisdom and is not without risks, but it is perfectly consistent with McCain’s brand, and he must be given enormous credit for having the clarity of mind and the guts to make this move.

By doing so, he has also energized a party that was going through an identity/positioning crisis. With Palin, McCain has returned the Republican party to its conservative roots and reinforced its core values (brand elements) of God, country, family and limited government. He has changed the game and in the process significantly increased his chances of success.

Round three should be interesting, since now it really comes down to just one thing: execution.

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