How the Democratic Party Can Quickly Define the Kamala Harris Brand

After President Joe Biden ended his 2024 presidential campaign, the Democratic Party has a new challenge: quickly reintroducing Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president.

Since Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, a majority of Democratic delegates have endorsed Harris, making her the likely candidate to run against Republican former President Donald Trump in a tense campaign.

A recent survey shows Trump leading Harris by two percentage points, 47% to 45%, according to decision intelligence company Morning Consult. A poll taken prior to Biden’s exit found him facing a four-point deficit, 46% to 42%.

Democrats are also crunched for time in refocusing their efforts on Harris with roughly 100 days to go until Election Day on Nov. 5.

The stakes are big for political advertisers this year. Through July 19, $3.19 billion has gone toward political ad spend tied to the 2024 election cycle, compared to $2.61 billion at the same point during 2020’s race, according to analytics firm AdImpact.

While Harris has been attached to two presidential tickets, she hasn’t been the focus of a presidential campaign, meaning the Democratic Party needs to move quickly to build Harris’ campaign and get her in front of voters, according to four political ad buyers.

“The Harris campaign’s first steps are absolutely critical—they need to get out quickly and show the contrast with Trump,” said John Padua, vp of media buying at Trilogy Interactive. “We are already seeing that in action with their digital outreach, social media and advertising on YouTube.”

The Harris brand

Harris has been in the public eye as vice president for four years, but her presidential campaign needs to define who she is, why she’s running, and clearly explain what she’ll accomplish as president, said Eric Reif, svp of paid media at agency Blue State Digital. 

“There’s no playbook for starting that fresh at this point in the election cycle,” he said. “She can build on the record of the administration and run on that record, but this will need to become a campaign that is about her, her voice, and rooted in her policies, beliefs, and values.”

According to Reif, Harris benefits from having “a lot of infrastructure there” but noted there’s “still a lot to do in this moment to make it her campaign.”

One way the Harris campaign is already promoting the vice president is using her background as a prosecutor and pitting it against Trump as a felon—a theme Harris used during the 2020 presidential campaign. 

Harris is also leaning on her support of abortion rights to win voters early on in her campaign, said Mark Jablonowski, president and chief technology officer at DSPolitical.

Reaching young voters

Harris’ campaign has also quickly jumped on memes and online culture.

For example, a slew of memes has emerged from a 2023 event at the White House for Hispanic leaders where Harris said, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” As a play on the meme, the bio of the Harris campaign’s X account, @KamalaHQ, says “providing context.”

And after Charlie XCX posted on X, bringing Harris into the fold of her hit summer album “Brat,” the Harris campaign used the post on its own social channels.

Jake Sticka, vp of digital and a political communications expert at marketing agency Rational 360, said Harris should continue to use memes to connect with voters.

“The Biden campaign built a team of smart, innovative digital practitioners, but they were sometimes hamstrung by a candidate that, Dark Brandon memes aside, was not always comfortable in new media settings,” he said. “In Harris, they have a candidate who gets it.”

But Blue State Digital’s Reif warned that doing so will require more than one-off posts.

“Campaigns need to make news and capitalize on moments, but they also need to do that a lot—everything is a flash in the pan,” he said.