Political Equinox

America hasn’t seen a marketing machine similar to the Obama campaign for President in years (if ever), and I would be awful surprised if this well-oiled machine didn’t pull out a victory in November.

While Barack Obama is an exciting person, it is his campaigns unmatched ability to implement an excellent marketing strategy that revolves around creating energy and brand recognition.

Branding

Obama has rolled out the most comprehensive branding strategy of any presidential candidate ever, find me someone who has done a better job and I’ll show you how Obama tops it. No candidate has ever put out a stronger message to America through slogans, logos, websites, and literature.

The branding starts with the logo. The now-famous Obama crest bears the symbolic image of hope, dreams, and change thanks to months of work by the campaign through speeches and other writings that refer to this central strategy.

While some accuse Obama of relying too much on the “hope, dreams, and change” mesaage instead of his positions, his campaign has been extremely successful because of this strategy. If I’m Obama, I’m happy to be guilty as charged because there is simply no reason to ditch a strategy that has worked so well.

In addition to the logos and slogans, the Obama campaign has done an outstanding job embracing the Internet as an integral part of the campaign. Only the former Republican challenger Ron Paul can claim as much success over the internet as Obama.

Nevertheless, Obama has a gorgeous website that touts all the bells and whistles that one needs for a successful online presence. The American people are so deeply ingrained into technology and the Internet, which makes a successful web campaign so important. Clearly the campaigns adoption of the web has resulted in a storm of young, tech-savvy voters flocking to the Democratic nominee’s team.

John McCain himself admitted during an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson that he has a serious branding disadvantage against Obama come November.

Energy

While strong branding and a motivating candidate are the centerpieces of a campaign, all that work must actually create something. The Obama team has done an excellent job energizing Americas about the Illinois senator’s run for the White House.

The youth market has been extremely important for Obama, especially among college students, as this group has turned out in droves to volunteer for the campaign. They work as field organizers, neighborhood canvassers, or just general office staff. It has often been noted that the young people of America are left out of politics, but the Obama campaign discovered the power of the youth.

But the youth market isn’t the only group energized about Obama’s campaign, the black community is extremely excited about the potential for its first black president. They hold rallies, make promotional videos to post on YouTube, and volunteer vigorously for the campaign. They are excited to make history with Obama.

Obama’s campaign acts much like Apple, Inc, who has created a religious following of customers who are extremlely loyal to the company and go to extreme efforts to defend and promote the product. This is exactly the type of support any organization hopes for, especially in politics. I just haven’t seen people this energized about the McCain campaign (at least not in numbers equal to Obama’s).

Pulling it all together

While some are drawn to Obama simply because of one issue, I think a majority of his supporters are a result of his excellent marketing strategy. If McCain wants to do battle with this machine, he needs to bring his own marketing team back to the table and draw up a serious plan.

Tags: America, Barack Obama, Branding, candidate, Charlie Gibson, Illinois, Internet, IRS, John McCain, mccain campaign, obama, Oil, president, republican, ron paul, strategy, web