The New Rules of Engagement: How Business Borrows from Politics

Editors ChoiceFintech

Sep 18

Written By Disrupts

Modern businesses are adopting political campaign tactics—micro-targeting, relational organising, and movement-building—to deepen loyalty and mobilise communities. From Nike to Salesforce, firms are running like candidates, turning customers into advocates and transforming markets through purpose-driven strategies.

The New Rules of Engagement

Like it or not the lines between politics and business have blurred.

Today's fastest-growing firms aren't just selling products (and nor do they think or act like that’s their primary purpose).

No. Today’s frontrunners and outliers are running campaigns, building movements, and mobilising communities with the precision of a presidential race.

The days of mass marketing and one-size-fits-all messaging are over.

The change in approach this requires is fundamental.

It means the modern, digital leader’s strategy is no longer a case of ‘climb every mountain’. But about choosing and targeting which mountain you want to climb and setting a specific journey through purpose, mission and narrative to get there.

Today’s modern businesses are adopting the sophisticated tactics that political campaigns have perfected: ranging from micro-targeting and ‘relational organising’ (see last week’s post) to data-driven personalisation at scale.

In the consumer realm companies like Glossier transformed beauty retail by turning customers into micro-influencers - a classic grassroots political tactic.

Nike takes bold stances on social issues, knowing it will alienate some while deepening loyalty among their core base. Marketing automation firm HubSpot built an entire movement around inbound marketing, positioning themselves as thought leaders advocating for change.

Elsewhere in the B2B space, Salesforce's "Ohana" culture and massive Dreamforce events feel more like political rallies than software conferences. Even traditional political strategy consultancies like PSB Insights have pivoted from advising political campaigns to helping brands like AT&T and Ford deploy psychographic targeting and combat-tested messaging.

The Tactical Arsenal

Today some of the most successful companies are deploying a full political campaign toolkit centred on a highly focused, targeted approach that includes:

Data-Driven Micro-targeting: Moving beyond demographics to psychographics, companies are identifying and reaching specific customer segments with surgical precision. Trump's 2016 "Project Alamo" ran thousands of ad variants optimised for different audience segments - a now standard practice in e-commerce.

Relational Organising: Instead of broadcasting messages, companies are empowering their most passionate customers to become advocates within their personal networks. This peer-to-peer approach drives organic growth that traditional advertising can't match.

Rapid Testing and Optimisation: Political campaigns live or die by their ability to test and iterate quickly. Companies are adopting the same rapid A/B testing culture, continuously optimising everything from website forms to messaging funnels.

Community Building: The most successful brands aren't just selling products -they're building constituencies. They create platforms for customers to connect, share experiences, and feel part of something bigger.

Strategic Imperatives for Business Leaders

1. Embrace Authenticity Over Perfection
The shift from polished advertising to authentic two-way conversations isn't optional, it's essential. Customers can smell inauthenticity a mile off, and they're increasingly drawn to brands that engage genuinely with their feedback and concerns.

2. Invest in Data Infrastructure
Move beyond traditional marketing metrics to build sophisticated data pipelines that enable real-time segmentation and personalisation. The companies winning today aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets, but those with the smartest data strategies.

3. Build Your Ground Game
Just as political campaigns invest heavily in field operations, businesses need to invest in community platforms, customer advocacy programs, and relationship-building initiatives. Your most passionate customers are your best salespeople.

4. Think Movement, Not Just Marketing
The most successful companies position themselves as advocates for change, not just providers of products. They take stands, champion causes, and give customers something to believe in beyond the transaction.

5. Develop Rapid Response Capabilities
Political campaigns must respond to breaking news and changing conditions in real-time. Businesses operating in today's fast-moving markets need similar agility - the ability to pivot messaging, launch new initiatives, and respond to competitive threats with campaign-like speed.

The Bottom Line

The transformation isn't coming, it's already here. Companies that continue to operate with traditional marketing mindsets while their competitors deploy political-style precision targeting and community organizing will find themselves increasingly irrelevant.

The question isn't whether your business should adopt these tactics, but how quickly you can build the capabilities to compete in this new landscape.

The firms that master the political playbook won't just grow faster - they'll build deeper, more defensible relationships with their customers and create movements that competitors can't easily replicate.

In the attention economy, the spoils go to those who can mobilise, organize, and inspire. It’s time to run like you're campaigning for something that matters.

Companies using campaign tactics - and their impact

1. Salesforce (Cloud-based software for sales teams)

Political Campaign Strategy Applied: Visionary Leadership, Ecosystem Building, "Ohana" Culture (Relational Organising).
Tactics:
- Evangelism: Marc Benioff, Salesforce's CEO, is a master evangelist, passionately advocating for the power of cloud computing and customer-centricity.This resembles a political leader campaigning for a new vision or policy, rallying supporters around a transformative idea.
- "Ohana" Culture: Salesforce promotes a strong "Ohana" (Hawaiian for family) culture internally and externally, fostering deep connections with employees, customers, and partners.This is a deliberate form of relational organising, building loyalty and a sense of shared purpose within its extensive ecosystem. They host large-scale events like ‘Dreamforce’, combining education, networking, and celebration, much like political rallies.
- Industry "Lobbying" and Advocacy: Salesforce often takes a lead in advocating for industry standards, ethical AI, and other broad technology initiatives. While not direct political lobbying in the traditional sense, it's about shaping the narrative and influencing the direction of the tech industry, much like a political party influences policy.
Impact: Salesforce has not only dominated the CRM market but has also successfully influenced the broader enterprise software landscape, largely due to its strong vision, robust ecosystem, and "family" culture that fosters strong advocacy.
Learnings & Transition: Salesforce embraced a new paradigm of software delivery (SaaS) from its inception, so its "campaign" was about converting an industry rooted in traditional on-premise software.They learned that a powerful vision, a strong community, and continuous engagement could overcome entrenched incumbents and build a massive, loyal customer base. They consistently refined their messaging to highlight the benefits and ease of cloud adoption, akin to a political campaign simplifying complex policy proposals for broad appeal.

2. Nike (Sportswear)

Political Campaign Strategy Applied: Emotional Messaging, Social Issue Advocacy, Targeted Storytelling.
Tactics:
- "Just Do It" and Athlete Endorsements: While seemingly traditional, Nike's consistent use of athletes who embody values like perseverance, social justice, and overcoming adversity often mirrors how political campaigns align with figures who represent their ideals.Their campaigns often focus on powerful narratives that resonate emotionally, similar to political storytelling.
- Social Justice Stances (e.g., Colin Kaepernick campaign - see image): Takes bold stances on social and political issues, knowing it will alienate some but deeply connect with others.This is a clear parallel to political campaigns that champion specific causes to mobilise a passionate base.
- "Nike Run Club" and Community Apps: By creating digital platforms that connect athletes and foster a sense of shared purpose, Nike employs relational organising. Users are encouraged to train, compete, and connect, building a strong community around the brand.
Impact: Despite occasional backlash, Nike's bold, value-driven campaigns often strengthen its brand image among its target demographic, leading to increased loyalty and sales. They effectively tap into cultural conversations and position themselves as more than just a shoe company.
Learnings & Transition: Nike has long been adept at aspirational marketing.The transition has been subtle, shifting from general inspiration to more explicit engagement with societal issues and building deeper connections through digital communities. They've learned that authentic alignment with values can be a powerful differentiator, even if it carries risks.

3. Glossier (Beauty industry)

Political Campaign Strategy Applied: Relational Organising, Targeted Messaging, Community Building.
Tactics:
- Micro-influencer Strategy: Instead of relying solely on celebrity endorsements, Glossier heavily recruits its loyal customers as "micro-influencers - everyday individuals with authentic passion for the brand who share their experiences with their close networks. This mirrors how political campaigns empower grassroots volunteers to spread their message.
- Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Model with Feedback Loops: Glossier built a direct relationship with its customers, often involving them in product development through surveys, focus groups, and even Slack channels. This active listening and co-creation resemble a political campaign's continuous polling and feedback mechanisms to refine its platform.
- Community Forums and Events: They foster online communities and host in-person events that create a sense of belonging among their customers, much like political parties organise rallies and local meetings to galvanise support.
Impact: This approach has cultivated an incredibly loyal customer base and a highly engaged community, driving organic word-of-mouth marketing and rapid growth.Customers feel invested in the brand's success, becoming advocates.
Learnings & Transition: Glossier started with this community-first approach, so it wasn't a "transition" from traditional messaging as much as it was a foundational element. They understood early on that in a crowded beauty market, authenticity and personal connection would stand out more than traditional, aspirational advertising. They learned that empowering their most passionate users was more effective than top-down campaigns.

4. PSB Insights (Communications Consultancy)

A polling firm with political roots (Blair, Bloomberg) that applied micro-messaging and message testing frameworks to corporate clients like AT&T, Ford, McDonald's, Microsoft (Wikipedia).
Tactics:
- Segment audiences by psychographics/lifestyle (not just demographics).
- “Combat testing” messages in competitive contexts to optimise wording.
- Lookalike modelling and localised data-driven offers.
Impact & transition
- AT&T used these insights to target immigrant communities with tailored voice & data plans (The New Yorker, Stream, Wikipedia).
- Ford positioned its F‑150 using emotional-psychological messaging (“military-grade aluminum”) that neutralised criticism (Wikipedia).

PSB shifted from advising political campaigns to advising consumer brands on micro-targeting, integrating field testing, employee research, and hyper-localised communications in one package.

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Simon Hardie is an author and founder of findexable - the digital analytics and insight platform. He co-hosts the Born to Disrupt podcast with Mingzulu and Disrupts