Branding Lessons from Ed Koch and Cory Booker

Consumers of all products and services have one thing in common: they want to know their feedback is desired and taken seriously.

The late Ed Koch, who served as mayor of New York City from 1978-1989, understood this very well. His catchphrase, which he came up with himself, was, “How’m I doing?”

HOW TO MAKE A DIRECT CONNECTION

In this online interview with The Wall Street Journal, recorded last year, Koch recalls how he created that famous slogan. As a U.S. congressman, he tried to directly communicate with his constituents by standing outside a Manhattan subway station and announcing, “I’m Ed Koch. I’m your congressman.” Nobody stopped to speak with him. Then, one day, Koch added “How’m I doing?” to his introduction. People stopped to offer feedback, both positive and negative, on their congressman’s performance. A connection was made.

Koch realized his constituents wanted to know their elected representatives were listening and would take what they said to heart. “How’m I doing?” became the focal point of Koch’s brand as an everyman politician who sincerely wanted to make life better for New York City’s residents.

LISTENING ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

However, Koch understood that inviting feedback was not enough. He not only listened to his constituents, but also offered solutions to the problems they reported.

Here is one example. Koch’s former speechwriter, Clark Whelton, decided to work for New York City’s then-mayor elect in November 1977, while covering a story for The Village Voice. Whelton was reporting on a landlord who set fires in his own buildings in order to drive out rent-controlled tenants. One of the tenants he interviewed gave him a file of letters and documents from Koch, who was departing the House of Representatives to become mayor. Koch had asked Whelton to join his staff, but Whelton was torn between politics and journalism. Learning about Koch’s response to the tenants’ entreaties convinced him to leave journalism for City Hall.

Whelton recalls: “As I read through the Koch file, I noticed that the congressman, unlike other public officials whose help had been requested, had given the beleaguered tenants specific advice on how to deal with city bureaucracies and navigate the courts. He had also sent follow-up letters, asking for progress reports. All in all, it was an impressive response, and it helped save the building. I decided to work for Koch.”

Koch’s willingness to both listen to the people of New York City and then act on their concerns made him a respected figure long after he left City Hall, and was mentioned in the eulogies to him which followed his passing on Feb. 1, 2013.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOOSTS BOOKER’S STANDING

Newark Mayor Cory Booker has also distinguished himself as an elected official who goes out of his way to listen to his constituents and act on their feedback. He has embraced social media in order to increase his interaction with Newark residents and quickly respond to their requests for assistance.

Booker personally responds to tweets he receives about malfunctioning traffic lights, locations in need of snow removal, animals in need of rescue and more. He doesn’t just respond to the tweets – if necessary, he takes charge and fixes traffic lights, shovels snow and rescues animals himself (Booker personally saved a dog left outdoors on a freezing night last month). In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Booker tweeted that neighbors who lost power were welcome to come to his house to warm up, charge their devices, watch DVDs or share meals. Last year, Booker was likened to Superman after running into a burning building to rescue a neighbor. Booker’s reputation for personally intervening – to the point of putting his life on the line – to help the people of Newark has placed him in the national discussion of how political leaders can best leverage social media to communicate with their constituents.

Politicians have realized that they themselves are as much brands as any company that provides a product or service. While they served in completely different eras, both Koch and Booker became masters of utilizing the communications channels that they had available to them to engage with those who relied on them. Whether resolving a complaint about a broken street light or seeking resolution to a bad customer service experience, companies must use every channel available to them to monitor the health of their brands and build ambassadors through simple acts of engagement.