May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail
May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail
Barack Obama won a decisive victory. Political pundits have cited a flurry of political, social, and economic reasons why. I suggest that there is a larger, more fundamental and compelling reason, one that permeates just about every aspect of our culture: Barak Obama represented the better quality brand, and therefore the better choice for the majority of Americans. Americans buy, believe in and celebrate brands. Period.
So how was this achieved?
1. A simple, focused and decisive message.
The message of Change was everywhere. A simple message, one that resonated with target audiences nationwide. Coupled with smart, equally direct symbolism, the O for Obama, with a rolling flag in the center. The mark of the brand emblazoned on every ad, at every rally, in direct mail, in your sleep. While some argued that the message of Change lacked depth, he nonetheless stayed “on message.”
In a presentation about 4 years back, I made the same case for President George Bush’s decisive win over rival John Kerry. Bush’s message: Protecting America. Kerry’s message was less defined. People didn’t quite know what he stood for. He was regularly accused of flip-flopping on issues, never really re-defined his brand, and lost.
2. Harnessing the power of online marketing
Barak Obama defined and marketed his brand like no other candidate in history. Facebook, blogs, online donations, a powerful website, and on and on. He reached the largely democratic youth demographic en masse by bringing his brand message to the Internet, right where they ‘hang out’.
In a time when consumers were and are pulling back on the spending reigns, they passionately invested in this brand. People will buy – whether in good times or bad – if they strongly believe in your brand, and believe that it offers them decisive and unquestionable value.
3.Investing heavily and wisely in delivering the message at multiple touchpoints
Barack Obama invested in the delivery of his brand, raising an astounding amount of campaign funding to fuel his message, even allowing him to run a 30-minute ‘infomercial’ on the major networks to help seal the deal.
May the best brand win And he did Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail - To learn more about this author, visit Ed Delia's Website.
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The party is over. The people have spoken. Only time will tell if President-elect Barak Obama will live up to high expectations in a challenging economic climate. Those of you, who know me well, know where I stand politically. This article is not one of political debate or ideology. Rather, it provides an opportunity to extract some important lessons about branding and online marketing that surround us every day, whether you’re on the left, the right or somewhere in-between.
Barack Obama won a decisive victory. Political pundits have cited a flurry of political, social, and economic reasons why. I suggest that there is a larger, more fundamental and compelling reason, one that permeates just about every aspect of our culture: Barak Obama represented the better quality brand, and therefore the better choice for the majority of Americans. Americans buy, believe in and celebrate brands. Period.
So how was this achieved?
1. A simple, focused and decisive message.
The message of Change was everywhere. A simple message, one that resonated with target audiences nationwide. Coupled with smart, equally direct symbolism, the O for Obama, with a rolling flag in the center. The mark of the brand emblazoned on every ad, at every rally, in direct mail, in your sleep. While some argued that the message of Change lacked depth, he nonetheless stayed “on message.”
In a presentation about 4 years back, I made the same case for President George Bush’s decisive win over rival John Kerry. Bush’s message: Protecting America. Kerry’s message was less defined. People didn’t quite know what he stood for. He was regularly accused of flip-flopping on issues, never really re-defined his brand, and lost.
2. Harnessing the power of online marketing
Barak Obama defined and marketed his brand like no other candidate in history. Facebook, blogs, online donations, a powerful website, and on and on. He reached the largely democratic youth demographic en masse by bringing his brand message to the Internet, right where they ‘hang out’.
In a time when consumers were and are pulling back on the spending reigns, they passionately invested in this brand. People will buy – whether in good times or bad – if they strongly believe in your brand, and believe that it offers them decisive and unquestionable value.
3.Investing heavily and wisely in delivering the message at multiple touchpoints
Barack Obama invested in the delivery of his brand, raising an astounding amount of campaign funding to fuel his message, even allowing him to run a 30-minute ‘infomercial’ on the major networks to help seal the deal.
May the best brand win And he did Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail - To learn more about this author, visit Ed Delia's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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