From the moment Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy on February 10, 2007, on the same spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered his “House Divided” speech over 125 years ago, it was clear that this was a man on a mission. The location of this speech, like every other aspect of his carefully crafted campaign, was no coincidence. Obama’s reverence of Abraham Lincoln is genuine, but like many aspects of his persona, it is also a part of his “brand”.
With the help of campaign mastermind David Axelrod, now one of the President Obama’s closest advisors, the Obama brand has been stealthily marketed from end to end. Obama’s brand is not just about his sweeping speeches and his message of “hope and change”; it is about everything else that makes Obama unique. From his Kenyan ancestry and global world view to his penchant for basketball and his Blackberry, Barack Obama’s brand is defined by a personal style that transcends politics.
“Politics is all about marketing, after all” says Sam Marks creator of the interactive social forum www.ithankobama.com, -“and the Obama campaign was all about stoking aspirations, moving people to identify with them, and enlisting them to become ‘ambassadors’ of the brand”. Using interactive media like Facebook, MySpace, mobile messaging, web communities, and targeted email marketing, Obama’s message was quickly proliferated among a key demographic group – young voters. Sites like BarackObama.com and Change.gov attracted up to 16 million monthly visitors during peak campaign months, and still show high rankings according to the web-traffic tracking site, Quantcast.com.
Product marketers moved in next, with Obama spin-offs like Ben & Jerry’s “Yes Pecan” ice cream, after Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can”. Even Pepsi created a new logo that is strikingly similar to the Obama campaign logo, and coupled that with new slogans, like “Choose Change” and “Yes You Can”. Then, along came the bumper stickers, cupcakes, Obamicon images, watches, posters and commemorative plates.
It is no wonder that another honor followed closely on the heels of his historic victory; Obama took top honors at the Association of National Advertisers annual conference, beating out brand-builders Apple, Nike and Target as the “2008 Marketer of the Year”.
According the web site TheWorldWantsObama.org and other Obama forums, people all over the world have weighed support Obama. From Facebook groups, like “A World Stand for B.O!”, “Obamaism Worldwide”, and “The Whole World for B.O”, to stories demonstrating Obama’s international support from dozens of countries, this web site is a clear testimony of Obama’s worldwide favor.
Why so much global support for a U.S. President? One commentator from the Washington Post says that for the international community, Obama’s inclusiveness gives the U.S. the opportunity to lead by example, by inspiring other countries to take action, rather than bullying them into submission. This strong level of international support has generated huge crowds for President Obama across Europe, most notably the 200,000 Germans who showed up for his July speech at the Berlin’s Victory column. This campaign-stop generated a crowd that was larger than the combined audiences who came to see JFK in 1963 and Ronald Reagan in 1987.
Obama’s brand was also buoyed by positive media coverage. According to The Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-partisan educational research organization known for monitoring campaign reporting, President Obama’s media coverage has been the most positive ever. A recent report (April 27, 2009) shows that Obama was given more coverage in his first 50 days than Bill Clinton and George W. Bush combined, and that his coverage was more positive than any other President in U.S. history. During the campaign, Obama received 68% positive coverage, more than double the 33% positive coverage given to McCain.
From the logo to the products, and the web sites to the world-wide rallies, the Obama campaign made it clear from the start that this was one candidate with a keen eye for branding.
For more information about how President Barack Obama has impacted politics in the US and around the world, visit IThankObama.com.
Resources:
Obama Wins! … Ad Age’s Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age, October 17, 2008
MEDIA BOOST OBAMA, BASH HIS POLICIES, April 27, 2009, from the Center for Media and Public Affairs
Quantcast.com / Web Page Rankings:
- Change.gov: http://www.quantcast.com/change.gov
- BarackObama.com: http://www.quantcast.com/barackobama.com
Obama comes to Europe, The Independent (UK); July 2008