Grant Gordon’s marketing firm has a simple slogan. It’s a powerful one too: “Branding the good guys”.
I’ve gotten to know Grant as the candidate in the Toronto-Danforth by-election. Liberals across the country should get to know this guy too. So that’s where this blog comes in.
You’ll notice three things about Grant right away: he’s down-to-earth, very polite and he laughs a lot. Oh, and he almost always wears a scarf. He’s pretty hip (for a dad).
He’ll jog up to a voter’s door. At first he’s almost sheepish he’s so polite.
Then he’ll warm up, listening and chatting, maybe offering a soft-sell argument about why he’s the best guy for the job.
He’ll come back to join the team on the curb and realise he forgot to ask for a lawn sign. He hates asking for lawn signs; he says it feels “greasy”.
This is a guy who’s earnest and honest. This is a guy who cares about issues because he cares about people.
Grant’s an environmentalist who gets the way to sustainability is through protecting people, the planet and profits. He and his wife, Gill Deacon, are eco-activists in their own lives too.
As he often says, perhaps the main reason he cares about global warming is the threat it poses to shinny. He’s hockey mad, and so are his three sons. Check out his video on how hockey is like Liberalism: it’s about passing the puck and playing as a team.
Campaign volunteer Jonathan Scott.
I filled in as coach for his youngest son’s team last Saturday. Grant loved the idea—he’s taken to calling me Coach—but he hated that I let the kids run up the score. (In our defence, we were outgunned with only seven players and a goalie for the whole game.)
Fairness matters to him. He’s often said the one thing that finally pushed him to run was how many kids in the riding go to school hungry.
Grant and Gill are raising their family right in the heart of the riding, and it shows: a canvass often involves meeting someone from yoga or a son’s schoolmate or the guy who fixes broken bike pedals.
He’s warming up to the idea of going from just a local dad to being the local leader.
After all those years as an ad guy, Grant’s learning how to market himself.
It shouldn’t be too hard for him. After all, he’s one of “the good guys”.
- Jonathan Scott
Jonathan Scott is on Grant Gordon’s campaign team and is a Young Liberal at the UofT.
I’d be interested to hear what Titus’ parents think of the public video about their son.
Suggest you drop the Hockey metaphor.
Liberals are not losers who pass the puck among themselves. Liberals are winners who know how to make sure everyone’s contribution is valued, respected and recognized while sharing responsibility to win. It’s a mean world out there….we better have a “GOAL” and a plan on how to “collectively” win. If your Goal is to WIN in this election, you better be leading on the ice, not from behind the bench…. If your Goal is to recognize your team for passing the puck to each other….good luck in getting drafted on draft day.
GOALS….followed by IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS….followed by PLANS….& finally SELLING & LEADING THE COLLECTIVE EFFORT of the team…..
Passing must have a purpose….
Good luck.
I’m rooting for you and will pass your puck, but I want to WIN !!!
A coach can use a coach too some times…….
honestly, I think the problem with Grant Gordon is that while he really does come across as a good guy – a great dad, a community hockey coach, a devoted husband and supporter of green living – that’s sort of it. Nowhere in his videos or on his website does it delve deeper into why someone should vote for him. It’s obvious that his commitment to sustainable living and green enterprises are a big part of his platform, but the only other part of his platform is hockey sayings and ‘i’m a great guy’. I want friendly, honest representatives in Parliament, and while I don’t play hockey I can’t object to a good hockey metaphor, but those are not the only ingredients of a politician.
Why is Grant a liberal? What skills specifically is he going to bring to Ottawa? His love for all things green sugests a more green party approach, to me – is he only running for the liberal party because he has a better chance of being elected? What else does he support? What is he going to do for the community?
Gordon seems like a committed, loving dad, with a green thumb – but that’s it. I think it would be helpful to show a bit more of the politics and a bit less of the hockey dad. ‘People, planet, profits’ is as close as we’ve come to seeing what he stands for, but nothing in the video was elaborated on, or even spoke to what he would support as an MP. These are the things voters care about and want to know, long after they’ve smiled at a hockey joke.
First of all, door-to-door canvassing by Grant and others is paramount. ..Everyday, all day and evening! Secondly, Grant must let the voters know how his personally being in Parliament is going to make it better for them, but not by putting the other guys down! Thirdly, why a liberal, rather than a new democrat for Toronto-Danforth. All this has to constantly reach the voter and be reinforced!…Just saying!
I have to agree with Zachary Cox, you sound like a good person but that can be shown in a much shorter phrase than the first video. I would like to be optimistic, but I believe this first video lacks the political approach necessary to create valid interest. The first reason is that your message – democracy is more valid with greater cooperation, can be paraphrased so that it is more digestible by non-Liberals. Two, I believe most of the nation is aware that Harper doesn’t cooperate well and doesn’t care as long as he is fiscally successful in balancing Canada’s budget. I’d say don’t base your whole campaign on cooperation, it is a good tactic but only as a part of a larger picture. Third, the vids really don’t look professional and they don’t paint Grant as a professional. I think more work needs to be done on the message of your campaign but the slogan is a gem. What does everyone else think?
Congrats, I actually watched both ads in their entirety without looking away.
We need a few manic geeks to do an all-nighter and upload a Grantville app on Facebook. It would be killer, imagine people finding their own neighbourhood and changing it. (Like the seniors’ building on Unity Road that has asbestos in it.) Think Tapscott ;-) collaboratively recreating the world, starting with TorDan.
Margreta Carr, the Liberal Party is in a shambles from a financial, organizational, and political perspective. We need to rebuild on all fronts, and in four years build up a war chest and lineup of candidates that will be able to take on the ruling Conservatives and the NDP. Add to that, the drastic effects of the economic downturn on Canadian society at large. And, your suggestion is for the members to play a game app on Facebook? Would it not be a better use of our time to volunteer in our community, raise funds for the LPC, or even use social media (i.e. Facebook, Google+, etc) to spread the word about the rebirth of the Liberal movement/agenda. Or, we could just buy a couple of two-litre Coke bottles, bags of chips, and stay up for a couple of days playing the Grantville app on Facebook. ;)
Mr. Gordon, please get a new marketing firm and redo these videos. It’s embarrassing.
I would really like to see you win the riding, but cannot see that happening with this level of production. Your first video “why I’m a Liberal” doesn’t do anything for me. It’s three minutes about how you coach an egalitarian hockey team that let’s everyone play followed by an awkward rip into Harper at the end. It doesn’t make any sense.
The second video works to get a message across, but is far to broad. Focus on yourself more than dragging down everyone else. I want to know how you will work for people when you get elected. Just telling me that you will is rather empty.
Lastly, when you go and re-shoot these, get a real video camera. Someone’s camera phone will not cut it. The video is grainy, the audio is awful, and they just look cheap. You received $150,000 before valentines day, I hope that not to much was wasted on here.
Excellent article, Jonathan. It really illustrates what a phenomenal person Grant is.
People…Planet…Profits. I like it. Simple, eloquent easy to remember, easy to understand, easy to sell.
Perhaps the LPC as a whole should pick up this mantra in our ”million conversations” initiative and our marketing in general.
Good luck Grant! And Jonathan…thank you for the post and all your hard work.
People…Planet…Profits. So simple, so eloquent. Good luck Grant! And thank you for your post and your hard work Jonathan!