What's Your Long-Term Economic Plan

With the UK election just a few weeks away, here’s quite the funky forty seconds, hey. Skynews and (today’s) Budget mash-up.

What it does show, is the mantra that the incumbent’s are repeating. Ad nauseam say the Opposition. Until the reality sinks in say those in power.

Depending on your colour, the last lot wildly over-spent, the current lot cut too much.

The message from the top is simply that the country is only part-way through…

…the long-term economic plan

The hoped-for inference being that we’d better stick with what seems to be going alright, rather than risk it all by silly change.

The selling observation is, whenever you here the Chancellor or PM or any other minister, they trot out this phrase. As often as they can.

It appears to stem from an Australian spin doctor.

Let those from on high give the headline benefits, those at lower rank speak on detail, and interested parties – known apparently as surrogates, such as newspaper columnists and talk radio contributors – throw the dirt.

What tickles my Sales side, is that there can hardly be anyone in the land that has heard or read any current affairs this year, that could not correctly associate the relevant politicians with this phrase.

It’s only four words.

Happily contained within just about any media soundbite you care to visit.

This slogan could be de-constructed as two-parts scare, one part risk mitigation. The media summarise the overall pitch “competence over chaos”. A classic FUD (fear-uncertainty-doubt).

Yet when we sell a solution, we surely have a similar – or outrightly positive – strapline that can be positioned neatly in our language.

Something that sets us apart, shows we understand the main ‘need’, places us as the perfect ‘fit’ and is easily attached to our bid throughout.

So…on that big deal you’re working, what’s your “long-term economic plan”?