What You Can Learn from Political Campaigns

In a few weeks the conventions will be over, running mates selected, and the heavy artillery will be brought out to bombard every living American with ads, ad-nauseum.

Savvy business owners, however, can learn a lot from political campaigns, and especially the Barack Obama campaign. The real reason Obama is the Democrat’s candidate is because he was more skilled at marketing the Obama brand than others were at marketing their brands.

Take a look at what he does, and has done, that works so well and think about how you can apply it to your business marketing.

Strategy Rules. Despite the amount of money raised, the amount of free publicity provided by the media, or even his skills at debating, Barack Obama is the democratic candidate today because he had the best strategy. What’s most important is that he has stayed true to it throughout the entire campaign, even during the early primaries when media pundits speculated openly about his approach.

Make Personal Connections with Your Customers. The Obama strategy prioritized being a major presence in caucus states during the early part of the primaries, where he could personally interact with voters. He connected. He knew that being #1 in Iowa, the first public arena with voters who are very different than his home constituency, was crucial in changing voters’ perspectives of his viability as a candidate. He built solid relationships and gained voters’ trust.

Use the Internet Effectively. Obama is masterful at using the Web to make it easy for people to find him, contact him and (most important) send him money! He is an e-commerce machine! Plus he has an efficient, organized, and timely outbound e-marketing campaign that keeps him connected to his supporters. He is the best at using e-media and it has brought him masses of young new voters. In the world of business this means getting a flock of new customers you never had before.

A Fabulous Web Site. The Obama Web site is inviting, astonishingly easy to navigate, organized without clutter, always current and provides many options for interacting and communicating from blogs, to signups, to group e-mails and the MyBo section (for My Barack Obama) – giving each voter a possessive connection to the candidate and the causes. When a customer takes ownership of your product, he sees himself in your brand. That’s what builds loyalty.

Keep a Focused, Consistent Message. Despite attempts from both Democrat and Republican sides to convince voters that Obama has no real substance, by staying on focus and on message people believe they do know what he’s about. His message “Change you can believe in” is reinforced daily.

Never Play Defense. Despite an ever growing number of attack ads, and being lampooned on Comedy Central, Fox News, CNN and other media, Obama has not made the mistake of going on the rebuttal. Instead, he laughs off the attack ad claims and turns the tables to make the competition look weak.

Never Look Desperate. Even his critics agree, Obama keeps his cool. He always looks in control. He is always in command. He has a reassuring tone and cadence in his voice when he speaks. He looks presidential. Perhaps the master at looking presidential was Ronald Reagan. I am convinced the Obama strategists took their lessons from the Reagan campaigns. No one wants to be on a sinking ship.

Hava a Strong Brand and Image. Check out Obama’s logo. A circle with a sun rising in blue sky over a sea of red and white strips. This logo is unlike any political logo created before. The sunrise is reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s “A New Day in America” campaign, long thought to be one of the most effective political ads ever created. The shape, colors, and image of the Obama logo and brand image are soothing. It’s flag waving without a flag.

Take a look at your marketing. Are you following the right strategy?

• Do you make personal connections with your customers?
• Do you make your customers feel loyal to you or do you take them for granted?
• Are you using your Web site effectively?
• Does your media include a healthy schedule of e-marketing?
• Are you focused and on message? (Or, in this year of economic challenges are you constantly shifting from one message to another to find something “that works”?)
• Are you playing defense and looking desperate? (If your industry is one of those in a slump this year have you deepened your discounts and looked at pricing as your problem – which shows you are desperate, when you should have been looking at delivering more value and showing your strength).
• And last, how strong is your brand? Are you true to your brand?

Campaign advertising strategists have one chance to get the sale. On November 4 their candidate will either make the sale or lose the sale. There is only first place. Second place means they are out of business.

Between now and November 4 you’ll have plenty of opportunities to watch and hear campaign ads from both parties. Use them as a tool for thinking about how you conduct your own advertising. What are you doing right? What are you doing wrong? What can you do better?

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