Bernie Branding: Some Practical Tips for Grassroots Bernie Organizing
By: Kristoffer Hellén
Tags: Bernie Sanders

How has Coca-Cola become such a successful company, being associated with sex appeal and laid-back summers lounging on the beach? It is certainly not by persuading consumers with logic and reason. Other cola brands arguably taste better. Their secret to success has been building a brand and getting the signature Coca-Cola meme out in the public sphere. Bernie organizers need to take note.

One critique I have with Bernie organizing lately is an overemphasis on logic and reason. Bernie activists feel that we need to have conversations with everyone to persuade them of the merits of Bernie’s platform. While explaining Bernie’s platform to voters is certainly valuable, our enemies in the mainstream media are not using simple logic to try to turn people against Bernie, but are relying on sophisticated propaganda methods that target people’s emotions subliminally. To fight back and take the offensive in this fight, we have to do the same and reach people at an emotional level. Simply getting Bernie’s name and image out in public is extremely valuable in itself because of its subconscious influence. In this article, I would like to make a case that building Bernie’s brand is a far more effective use of our time and energy than reasoning with voters. I then enumerate some concrete ways to accomplish it.

Our goal as a movement has to be hegemonic. Bernie has done a lot to accomplish hegemony at the national level: by tirelessly repeating his message over and over again on his national pulpit, his platform has gone from being fringe to being mainstream. But building hegemony has to take place at the local level too. Seeing Bernie’s meme in public places has a powerful emotional effect on people. It creates an awareness that Bernie is not just a media phenomenon, taking place somewhere behind the TV screen, but is a movement happening right here and now in people’s own community. This allows us to become the media, no longer dependent on the establishment-controlled commanding heights of media to treat us fairly. As the 99%, we can mathematically reach as many people as the mainstream media if we are smart about it.

While the long shadow of the Enlightenment has left many convinced that reason is the supreme tool of persuasion, another neglected tool of persuasion is self-sacrifice. When you take the time to volunteer for Bernie out in public, your sacrifice makes an impression on people. People claim to support establishment Democrats, but who is going to actually spend hours tabling for Joe Biden? Who is going to pound the pavement knocking on doors for Mayor Pete? Bernie Sanders is the only politician who inspires this kind of willingness to sacrifice and people need to see that with their eyes. When it becomes visible in their community, it has far more influence than logic and reason ever could. It becomes very clear that Bernie is the most powerful person in the race.

Three of the most effective ways of building Bernie’s brand and visibility that I have used are Bernie Honk and Waves, Bernie tabling, and Bernie signs. I explain them in detail below.

Bernie Honk and Waves

Standing on a freeway overpass holding a Bernie sign is a very effective way to reach the public. In an hour you can reach thousands of people, especially considering those who take pictures of you and share them on social media. I especially encourage people to hold a sign that says “Honk for Bernie.” As I wrote in a previous article, one result of Trump’s presidency is that people are afraid to express their political views publicly. Holding a “Honk for Bernie” sign gives people permission to express their support, bringing their suppressed feelings to the surface. I’ve noticed an interesting clustering effect: as soon as one driver has the courage to break through the silence by honking, several more follow. These people are now more likely to be more public with their support by volunteering and getting involved. They just needed our permission.

Bernie tabling

Sitting on a busy downtown street tabling for Bernie is a rewarding use of time. Unlike Honk and Waves, you can have a more personal interaction with the public. Before tabling, research your town’s laws and ordinances. When tabling, the priority is to give out merchandise that increases Bernie’s visibility, especially buttons, bumper stickers and T-shirts (we buy most of our supplies from Dr. Don’s Buttons). People are impressed when you have these items union-made. You should have suggested donations so you can replenish your supplies, but always err on the side of giving away buttons to anyone interested. If they cannot give anything, tell them that the one condition to giving it away is that they need to wear it right now. You want to emphasize that you are a volunteer because your self-sacrifice has a persuasive influence on them. Using a Bernie cutout is highly encouraged because it hooks people in (we bought ours from Historical Cutouts). When people take pictures with it, it gets Bernie’s image out on social media. It also gives you time to strike up a conversation. Be efficient with your interactions. We’re volunteers with limited time and we’re here to reach as many people as possible. Don’t get drawn in to long conversations or debates. If someone is talking too long, I recommend giving them a button and thanking them for stopping. Usually, they take the hint.

Bernie signs

While people are more impressed to see activists out in public, the advantage of signs is that they get 24/7 visibility. For signs, you want to target places that have high traffic visibility. It’s important that you have the consent of the property owners before placing a sign anywhere. You can contact campaign managers from local progressive campaigns and try to get their lists of places that allowed them to put up signs. Progressive campaigns are more likely to be sympathetic to our goals. When you have found potential places, it’s most effective to knock on their door and explain your goal of increasing Bernie’s visibility. Make them feel involved in the process. It’s important to bear in mind that signs are vulnerable to theft and vandalism. Be creative in finding ways to put them out of reach. After one sign was stolen within five hours, I put another home-made sign in an eight-foot hedge and it’s still there today.

These are just three ways to build Bernie’s brand and it is certainly not exhaustive. If you think of other effective ways to increase Bernie’s visibility, take pictures, write about it and get it out on social media. We are a grassroots guerrilla army and if we work together there’s no stopping us.

Make propaganda for Bernie!