There’s a lot of talk this morning about how John McCain tried to rebrand the Republican Party. According to the Washington Post:

“John McCain was re-branding his party as the party of change,” one CNN commentator said after the speech. “Re-branding” is a very popular term these days, but what does it mean? Perhaps that you can make something true just by saying it’s true.

Well, I work at a PR/marketing agency, and we always tell our clients that branding isn’t just a logo or what you say about yourself. It’s how people perceive you or your company. Perception is reality. In this case, the GOP brand is not so strong after being dragged throught the mud for the last eight years. It will take more than a speech and some balloons to recast that brand.