Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana with a hard-to-pronounce last name (according to his Twitter profile, it’s pronounced “BOOT-edge-edge”) is running for president of the United States. “Mayor Pete” has been getting lots of media attention and his campaign is raising significant money. Here are a few marketing lessons that business owners can learn from the ways that Mayor Pete Buttigieg has so successfully introduced himself to the political world and is breaking out from a highly competitive, crowded, saturated market: 1. Embrace Your Differences Mayor Pete is an unconventional choice for president in a few ways: he’s 37 years old, he’s never held statewide office (South Bend isn't even the biggest city in Indiana) and he’s openly gay. He speaks candidly about his journey to living openly as a gay man, finding the love of his life in his husband Chaste and how it has made him a better person with more empathy for others and a better connection to his spiritual life. Embrace what makes you different. What does this mean for your business: Never lose sight of your sense of mission, your core self-belief in why your business matters and why it’s important. Business owners need to make money and pay the bills, but there is often a positive difference that they are trying to create with their business and with their life’s work. What does this mean for your business: It’s good to be vulnerable and authentically human in your marketing. Be like Pete in your business marketing: confident, authentic, and proud of the things that make you “different.”
Nobody can pronounce his name, but everyone finds him intriguing.
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Mayor Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana with a hard-to-pronounce last name (according to his Twitter profile, it’s pronounced “BOOT-edge-edge”) is running for president of the United States. “Mayor Pete” has been getting lots of media attention and his campaign is raising significant money. Even a few months ago, Buttigieg was virtually unknown outside of Indiana, and most people assumed that a small-town mayor would be a long shot candidate, but he’s quickly rising to the top tier of contenders for the Democratic nomination for president.
What are the secrets to Mayor Pete’s success? Here are a few marketing lessons that business owners can learn from the ways that Mayor Pete Buttigieg has so successfully introduced himself to the political world and is breaking out from a highly competitive, crowded, saturated market:
1. Embrace Your Differences
Mayor Pete is an unconventional choice for president in a few ways: he’s 37 years old, he’s never held statewide office (South Bend isn’t even the biggest city in Indiana) and he’s openly gay. There hasn’t been another candidate like him who has gotten this sort of serious fundraising numbers or national media attention.
But here’s the thing: Buttigieg has embraced and amplified everything about him that is different. He’s actively pointing out the things that make him different from the other candidates, and he’s turning his own potential weaknesses into strengths.
For example, he believes that his youth is a selling point – because he appeals to younger people who have to pay taxes and fight wars and deal with the long-term consequences of the decisions made in D.C. everyday.
He sees being a small city mayor as an advantage because he deals with real issues every day in how people interact with their government.
He speaks candidly about his journey to living openly as a gay man, finding the love of his life in his husband Chaste and how it has made him a better person with more empathy for others and a better connection to his spiritual life.
Aspects of Mayor Pete’s brand that his opponents might try to describe as too unconventional or too risky are what he is embracing to promote his candidacy.
What does this mean for your business? Embrace what makes you different. It’s OK to be…
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