????自然，在大多數情況下，受訪者之間確實存在分歧。民主黨人在電子產品類別中偏好索尼（Sony），在保險服務類別中偏好前進保險公司（Progressive），在咖啡店類別中偏好星巴克（Starbucks），而在電子游戲類別中偏好任天堂的Wii。而共和黨在這些類別中則分別選擇了夏普（Sharp）、好事達保險公司（Allstate）、鄧肯甜甜圈店（Dunkin' Donuts）及微軟的XBOX。

????但其中一些值得注意的例外表明，有效的營銷可以在一個品牌背后建立起“兩黨共識”。蘋果公司（Apple）在發動“Mac vs. PC”廣告攻勢四年之后，于2009年放棄了這個廣告戰略。現在，蘋果不再是一家初出茅廬的新公司，不再懷著游擊隊的心態、向一個已牢固建立市場地位的PC行業發起挑戰。證據不僅在于該公司目前市值已高達5,390億美元，而且還在于民主黨人和共和黨人都把蘋果列為自己喜愛的科技品牌這個事實。

????同樣，他們在維薩卡（Visa）、谷歌（Google）以及（或許令人驚訝）可口可樂（Coca-Cola）這些品牌上也意見一致。別忘了，正是百事可樂（Pepsi）在2008年總統選舉之后發起的廣告運動引發外界非議，該廣告似乎唱和了奧巴馬總統的競選口號。辛格推測，可口可樂通過旨在促進幸福的品牌定位成功突破了政治鴻溝。正如杰夫?科爾文在本期《財富》雜志（Fortune）中所指出的那樣，百事可樂近年來的市場營銷近年來還沒有完全使自己脫穎而出。

????辛格曾向英特爾（Intel）、麥當勞（McDonald's）及紐約證券交易所（the New York Stock Exchange）提供有關品牌宣傳及管理方面的建議。他認為這項調查的結果對政界和商界都有意義。而這些品牌自身則可以更好地理解“他們及競爭對手之間存在的細微差別，從而在用戶中培養更強的忠誠度。”

????對于政界人物而言，辛格的此項研究進一步確認了皮尤報告所確定的一個趨勢：對于美國政府應該在美國人民生活中擔任什么樣的角色，共和黨人和民主黨人在這個問題上存在的分歧進一步擴大到了前所未有的程度。正如辛格所說：“在深層次上，共和黨人和民主黨人之間存在一種哲學差異，民主黨人尋求的是由一個中央政體來助使我們所生活的世界更加美好一些；而共和黨人則主張更加放任自由的政策，聯邦政府把權力下放給地方政府，讓老百姓自己來解決問題。”

????眼下，奧巴馬正在緊鑼密鼓地為競選連任做準備，這是他傾向于留心的一個教訓。正如周二他在巴爾的摩募集資金時告訴與會者：“即將到來的大選將呈現出前所未見的強烈而鮮明的黨派差異。”

????For the most part, naturally, they disagreed. Democrats favor Sony (SNE) for electronics, Progressive (PGR) for insurance, Starbucks (SBUX) for coffee and Wii for gaming. Republicans respectively opt for Sharp, Allstate (ALL), Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), and XBOX.

????But some notable exceptions suggest effective marketing can forge bipartisan consensus behind a brand. Apple (AAPL), which abandoned its "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign in 2009 after a four-year run, is no longer a guerilla-minded upstart challenging an entrenched industry. The evidence for that is not just in the company's $539 billion market cap, but in the fact that Democrats and Republicans both list it as their favorite technology brand.

????They likewise agree on Visa (V), Google (GOOG), and, perhaps surprisingly, Coca-Cola (KO). It was Pepsi (PEP), after all, that raised eyebrows after the 2008 presidential election with a new campaign that appeared to echo President Obama's message. Singer speculates that Coke has broken through the political divide with brand positioning aimed at promoting happiness. And as Geoff Colvin notes in the current issue of Fortune, Pepsi's marketing hasn't exactly distinguished itself in recent years.

????Singer, who's provided branding and management advice to Intel, McDonald's, and the New York Stock Exchange, sees insights in the results for both politicians and corporations. The brands themselves could better understand "the subtle differences between them and their competitors and develop stronger attachments to their users."

????For pols, the study offers further confirmation of a trend identified by the Pew report: Republicans and Democrats are further apart than they've ever been on the proper role for government in American life. As Singer says, "At a deep level, there's a philosophical difference between Republicans and Democrats, and what Democrats are looking for is a central body to help make the world we live in a little better, and what Republicans are advocating is more laissez-faire, local, let the people work it out."

????It's a lesson President Obama, for one, is inclined to heed as his drive for reelection gears up. As he told the crowd at a Baltimore fundraiser on Tuesday, "you'll never see a sharper contrast" between the parties than in the upcoming campaign.