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May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail
| Guest post by: Ed Delia |
Article Overview: 3 Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail
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Free Download - May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail By Ed Delia |
May the best brand win. And he did. - Three Great Branding Lessons from the Campaign Trail
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.
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Re: How important is your name?
- Great American entrepreneurs have been using their names as brand.
Dell
Hewlect Packard
Wall Mart
etc
Re: Best Global Brands - Aim for THIS List!
- Hi GT,
Great list!
It'd also be interesting to know:
1.) Which forum member's brand(s) we can name off the top of our heads (excluding Evan's).
AND
2.) What are our favorite brands that we support with our hard earned money on a consistent basis?
Napoleon on Project Management
- Why do I include this in a list of books aimed at female entrepreneurs? Well...in the expectation that there are as many female history buffs as male ones, and in the belief that anyone interested in history will find this book fascinating, while those interested in project management will learn a thing or two.
I think this was the first "gimmick" book - an author using a historical figure (usually a male, military figure, it must be admitted) to talk about modern day business management. I refuse to read any of the kind that advocates - even obliquely - the techniques of the Sopranos or the Mossad - but these military ones are pretty fun.
Anyway:
Only in the understanding of history, Napoleon might say, do we gain an understanding of strategy in the present. In the same spirit, Napoleon on Project Management offers the recipe for successfully managing your commitments using the strategies, tactics and priorities that propelled Napoleon himself to victory. [The book doesn't gloss over how Napolean eventually fell in defeat, of course, and there's lessons to be learned there as well.
TOC
Foreword by Douglas James Allan (Napoleanic Society of America)
1. The Rise to Power
-The Skills to Succeed
-A Compelling Vision
-Diplomacy and Networking
-Lessons from the Great Campaigns
2. Napoleon's 6 Winning Principles
-Introduction
-Exactitude
-Speed
-Flexibility
-Simplicity
-Character
-Moral Force
3. The Downfall
-What Went Wrong
-Lessons from the Russian Invasion and Waterloo
-The Four Critical Warning Signs
-Napoleon's Legacy
300 rules!
- 300 was my favorite movie of 2007 and Kevin you did a great job in highlighting the Business Lessons from the Movie.
Re: The Boom In Social Media
- Great Post!! terriz
I also agreed that now days social media sites play vital role to promote website products and services. You can directly communicate with your customer and improve your services. As you are improving, automatically your brand name and profit increases day by day.
If you have more about Social media please post next time.
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