Fred Thompson: The Political iPhone

Back in April, we saw Hillary Clinton as Microsoft and Barack Obama as Apple.  Fred Thompson is the iPhone – lots of hints about what might be coming; months of near hysterical anticipation and a widely covered product launch that benefitted from free press coverage as much as from paid advertising.

This new product launch has changed the Republican marketplace.

While Thompson was included in our April survey, as an unannounced candidate, his impact on the race and the brand identities of other Republican candidates was insignificant.

What a difference an actual announcement has made.

In brand reputation (favorability rating) Thompson at 71 percent (41 percent in April) favorability trails only Giuliani’s 74 percent.  In fact, he actually leads Giuliani in net favorability 55-52 percent. Thompson’s personality score tops the field at 26 percent.  He’s surpassed Romney in looking most presidential.  Thompson also leads the field in brand relevance or connectivity.

The only relative weakness for Thompson at this point is in the area of performance, where his average rating of 14 trails McCain at 26 percent and Giuliani at 20.

For the moment, at least, Thompson’s brand strengths are similar to those of Giuliani and Romney: personality, rather than performance, is driving his popularity.

Brand Attributes

• Likable
• Interesting
• Trustworthy
• Unproven on performance issues and plan for Iraq
• Questions on relevant experience