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In my marketing-communication business experience, I see little difference in marketing brands of products in the market place on the one hand and marketing brands of politicians on the other.

In both cases, I am selling on the same template: perception versus reality.

All politics is "perception, posturing and positioning", and brands created by marketers are based on a very similar model.

The objective is the same: to outgun one another in pursuit of victory by votes or by being bought by consumers.

We saw during the past five months the battles between

two brands, two platforms, two groups of people, two different brand strategies and two lots of brand benefits for the people. And their market shares are almost even.

The Democrat Party, an old classic brand, has been through a series of re-launches and has increased its share of those who agree with it. And with its own re-brandings and changes in product key ingredients, brand leader People Power party (Palang Prachachon) is still maintaining a lead in share of popular support. But the margin is narrowing.

The battle between the two brands is tense and very competitive.

The drama that occupies media space in both print and electronic media is the main battlefield for the two factions.

Fact versus fiction is always interesting but is now becoming a burden to already crowded and clouded minds.

I believe the target groups are weary and worried about what will happen next. They don't know who will protect them from the turmoil in the world economy, plagued as it is by oil and foods crises. The abnormal price increases of all necessities are hitting them like a series of storms and quakes created by global warming.

We will face a rude awakening soon. We should be careful and plan ahead to manage the changes. Walking the streets protesting and following a vendetta script based on character assassination is not the right answer at all.

The current political battles create uncertainty. Minds are becoming more insecure, because of the conflict between insecurity and change.

Boredom is also creeping in from excessive stimulation or information overload from the battlegrounds.

I simply cannot distinguish the difference between a brand's good sound strategy and a brand strategy that sounds good.

Political branding uses a positioning game and good old testimonial advertising approaches to penetrate insecure minds!

The costs of media Mind you, political advertising space is free! And the media love drama and political brands at war, prime time, prime space featuring battle casualties in great numbers. I see the disabled and the wounded, but I do not see death, nor do I anticipate death. Political branding, when applied to individuals, not parties, does not kill.

It is the war of the platform, not of performance!

I dearly love to see righteousness and fairness, but for now I cannot satisfy myself as to who will emerge the eventual winner, though I think I know who the losers are: they are the people!