Biden vs Trump

A Deep Dive into the 2020 and 2024 US Presidential Campaign Marketing Strategies

The US presidential elections of 2020 and 2024 were not just political contests, they were marketing masterclasses – regardless of either outcome and your political disposition. Elections involve big budgets, using the latest marketing tools and some of the brightest minds in the marketing world.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump approached their campaigns with distinct branding, messaging, and audience strategies that reveal a great deal about modern political marketing. Across two cycles, both campaigns leveraged digital and traditional media, data-driven targeting, and event-based brand building, but in very different ways.

This deep dive compares their strategies across key areas, from branding and tone to influencer engagement, fundraising, and the all-important “ground game”.

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Branding and Campaign Positioning

Biden: From “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” to “Let’s Finish the Job”

In 2020, Biden positioned himself as a unifier and healer. His slogan “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” framed the race as a moral fight to restore American values after a turbulent period. His clean, patriotic logo featured a stylised red-striped “E” in JOE, or BIDEN reinforcing unity and inclusivity. Campaign imagery often showed Biden alongside diverse groups, signalling a broad coalition.

By 2024, his branding evolved to “Let’s Finish the Job”. As the incumbent, Biden leaned on his track record touting infrastructure investment, clean energy initiatives, and foreign policy steadiness. The focus shifted from change to continuity, but the underlying promise of restoring decency remained.

Trump – MAGA as a Personal Brand

Donald Trump’s branding in both cycles revolved around Make America Great Again (MAGA).

In 2020, while he adopted “Keep America Great” as the official slogan, the MAGA cap remained the emotional and visual centrepiece, a piece of merch turned into a political symbol.

Trump’s imagery was patriotism dialled to 11: flags, eagles, bold serif fonts, and his own name dominating the visuals.

By 2024, his message carried an added comeback narrative. Legal troubles became part of the brand story, with his mugshot turned into T-shirt merch and slogans like “Save America”. Trump’s brand stayed consistent: the outsider fighting the corrupt establishment.

Messaging and Communication Tone

Biden – Hopeful, Issue-Focused

Biden’s 2020 messaging was empathetic, measured, and built around unity. His ads, such as the Sam Elliott–narrated Go From There, appealed to optimism and togetherness. Even when attacking Trump, his tone stayed professional, focusing on policy competence rather than personal insult.

In 2024, Biden’s communications blended achievement (“look what we’ve done”) with warning (“don’t let Trump undo it”). He retained a conversational, often self-deprecating style, addressing voters directly, a deliberate contrast to Trump’s combative tone.

Trump – Confrontational, Dominance-Focused

Trump’s messaging in both campaigns was aggressive and combative. In 2020, 80% of his TV ads were negative attacks, often featuring charged language, derogatory nicknames (“Sleepy Joe”), and apocalyptic warnings about Democratic governance.

By 2024, his rhetoric intensified: “I am your retribution” became a rallying cry.
His messaging framed politics as us vs them, aiming to keep his base in a constant state of urgency and outrage.

Audience Targeting and Segmentation

Core Base vs Persuadables

Biden in 2020 targeted swing voters; suburban moderates, independents, disaffected Republicans, while maintaining strong engagement with Black voters, young voters, and progressive Democrats. His coalition-building approach aimed to expand the tent.

Trump prioritised base activation. His campaigns micro-targeted rural, white, non-college-educated voters, evangelical Christians, and gun rights supporters. Instead of moderating his message to appeal to centrists, he doubled down on the themes that resonated with loyalists.

Demographic Targeting

Biden’s team tailored messages for younger audiences via Instagram, Snapchat, and later TikTok. For climate-conscious voters, he amplified his clean energy policies; for parents, he pushed education funding stories.

Trump dominated older demographics through Facebook and YouTube, with tailored content for evangelical voters, rural communities, and anti-socialism messages aimed at Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in Florida.

Geographic Targeting

Both campaigns invested heavily in swing states, but with different emphases.
Biden micro-targeted, custom ads for Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona.
Trump spent big nationally while running targeted pushes in Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina.

Social Media and Advertising Strategies

Platform Strengths

In 2020, Trump had a massive organic following; 87M Twitter followers to Biden’s 11M, giving him huge broadcast reach. His posts dominated news cycles. Biden’s smaller base forced a quality over quantity approach, optimising content for engagement and shares.

By 2024, platform shifts mattered:

• Trump used Truth Social for direct messaging, supplemented by appearances on X (Twitter) and livestream platforms like Rumble and Twitch.

• Biden leaned into TikTok, Instagram Reels, and influencer collaborations to reach Gen Z and Millennials.

Digital Ad Spend

Both campaigns poured millions into Google and Facebook ads in 2020, Biden running over 52,000 distinct ads to Trump’s ~23,000, showing a heavier focus on A/B testing and micro-targeting.

Trump’s ads often mixed provocation with fundraising (e.g. polls about “Democrat corruption” leading to a donate button). Biden’s ads were more likely to be policy-driven or locally relevant.

Email Marketing and CRM

Trump – High-Volume, Urgency-Driven

Trump’s email programme averaged 2.7 emails/day per subscriber in 2020, often using sensational subject lines and urgent donation appeals. This maximised short-term fundraising but risked email fatigue and high unsubscribe rates.

Biden – Low-Volume, Relationship-Building

Biden’s emails were less frequent and more content-rich; roughly one every other day, focusing on issues and volunteer opportunities, with donations as a softer secondary ask. This built goodwill and reduced fatigue, making supporters more responsive over time.

Influencer and Celebrity Engagement

Biden – Celebrities and Digital Creators

Biden’s 2020 campaign leaned on high-profile endorsements (The Rock, Robert De Niro, NBA stars) and pandemic-era virtual fundraisers.

By 2024, he ran a formal influencer programme; hundreds of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube creators given access to events, talking points, and even the White House briefing room.

Trump – Alternative Media and Grassroots Content

Trump relied less on Hollywood and more on right-wing media figures (Candace Owens, Dan Bongino, Charlie Kirk) and a decentralised army of meme-makers. By 2024, he was appearing on major influencer platforms ; Adin Ross, Logan Paul, to reach younger male audiences outside traditional news channels.

Fundraising Approaches

2020

• Biden: Heavy on high-dollar donors and virtual events, but also quick to monetise viral moments (e.g. “Will You Shut Up, Man?” T-shirts).

• Trump: Small-dollar fundraising powerhouse via WinRed, merch like MAGA hats, and constant donation asks through email/SMS.

2024

• Biden: Strong early fundraising via joint committees, but slower small-donor engagement compared to 2020.

• Trump: Legal troubles turned into a fundraising rallying cry, with spikes in donations following indictments and trials.

Ground Game and Event Marketing

2020 – Pandemic Adjustments

Biden: Virtual rallies, Zoom fundraisers, minimal door-knocking until late campaign.
Trump: Full return to mass rallies by mid-2020, aggressive door-knocking, huge SMS outreach.

2024 – Personal Touch vs Spectacle

Biden: Focus on small, intimate events at community centres, union halls, and local businesses, building one-to-one voter connections and leveraging surrogates for larger gatherings.

Trump: Mega-rallies as political theatre; music, stagecraft, crowd participation, designed for media coverage and viral social sharing.

Campaign Comparisons:

Conclusion and Takeaways for Marketers

The Biden and Trump campaigns across 2020 and 2024 show two starkly different marketing playbooks:

• Biden: Broad coalition-building, empathetic tone, targeted segmentation, influencer-driven youth outreach, and relationship-focused donor communications.

• Trump: Base mobilisation, high-frequency provocative messaging, merch-as-branding, influencer/media ecosystem alignment, and large-scale experiential events.

For marketers, the lessons are clear:

• Brand consistency matters – MAGA and “Soul of the Nation” both anchored entire campaigns.

• Audience understanding drives tactic choice – persuasion vs mobilisation requires different tools.

• Platform shifts change the game – TikTok in 2024 played the role Facebook did in 2016.

• Every touchpoint counts – from an email subject line to a rally playlist.