How Obama Turned Himself into a Successful Brand
Barack Obama has three vital brand qualities: new, different and attractive. Those are the words of Keith Reinhard, chairman of multinational advertising agency DDB Worldwide.
Business management experts are busy analyzing Obamas success. His election victory is a case study worthy of an MBA course. He pursued a Blue Ocean (a new market with no competitors) by creating a new customer base and winning over the most clients (63.25 million votes).
How was Obama able to convince Americas largest-ever turnout of voters to become his customers? We take a look at the strategy of CEO Obama by compiling various U.S. media analyses.
1. Pioneer a Blue Ocean
Obama did this in January at the first Democratic presidential primary -- the Iowa Caucus. Until then, general consensus in the American media was that Hillary Clinton was leading. Presuming his chances of winning using conventional methods were low, Obama began appealing to party members below 30 years of age. Clad informally in jeans, Obama played basketball with young people on the primary election day.
The result? The number of younger American voters rose fourfold compared to the previous presidential election, while 20 percent of Democratic Party members who participated in the partys caucus were below 30-years-old. And the prevailing view of Clintons solid began to disintegrate.
2. Befriend the customer
E-mails sent by Obamas election camp requesting donations from voters began with "obama@" or "michelleobama@". This led people to look twice at the messages, when similar queries would have been quickly deleted had they begun electioncampaign@ or "democraticparty@".
3. Plan thoroughly and cooperate effectively
Obama stuck strictly to his plan, made when announcing his presidential bid in 2007. With the exception of his comments on the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, everything he did remained unchanged from his original plan, according to MSNBC. His team was also famous for its ability to keep secrets. No news media reported the selection of Joseph Biden as vice-president until it was officially announced.
4. Retain the loyalty of core customers
Obamas success can be attributed to securing core customers who passed on word-of-mouth praise to other potential customers. His supporters were particularly influential in cyberspace. While John McCain and Hillary Clinton hired consultants to create their online presences, Obamas were made by his supporters.
5. Use consistent branding
Obamas presidential election logo is a great example of successful design. While other candidates used plain logos that stressed their own names, Obama used a sun to depict the O in his name, while casting a blue backdrop in order to symbolize the race toward the future. He maximized the connotations of his brand logo to symbolize change and hope.
6. Be decisive
Obama chose the relatively unknown Biden as his vice presidential candidate because he wanted the safest choice. He expected Bidens statesmanship to make up for his own shortcomings. And, realistically, the choice had the potential to strengthen his campaign in Bidens home state of Pennsylvania, where Republicans are traditionally favored. Later on, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin won a lot of popularity, but Obama stuck to his original choice.
Obamas campaign manager David Plouffe said it was better to stick to one principle rather than trying 10 different ideas. This is the Obama way, he said.
7. Be tenacious
There are only five electoral colleges in Nebraska, but once the state emerged as a weak point in surveys, Obama traveled there, even at the last minute, to woo voters. Although the five electoral colleges ended up supporting McCain, Obamas tenacity moved voters hearts.
englishnews@chosun.com / 11 08, 2008 08:38 KST
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