Posted on August 23, 2008 - by Impress Lab

In Praise of Obama’s Poltical Branding

Never in the history of American politics has a candidate for office successfully leveraged marketing so well as Barack Obama, the Democratic hopeful for President. From perhaps one of the most cleaver logos, to his slogan plastered over any possible marketing medium, to online marketing in social and interactive websites to just plain beautiful graphic design, the Obama political campaign is a paradigm of marketing cohesiveness.

Obama has used his marketing strength to clinch the Democratic nomination, secure over $40 million in donations, and is now campaigning against Republican John McCain.

Logo Branding

The Obama campaign’s signature marketing strategy rests in its conceptual circle “O” logo. Of course, the logo incorporates the O in Obama (twice), with rays of hope in a vast red field.

Conveying the Message

But a logo has to be more than just an image. It has to be leveraged such that it becomes synonymous with the organization’s, or campaign’s, overall strategy and mission. Considering that the Obama camp’s mission is for change in policy and realigning our hopes with our future, the logo perfectly conveys this message.

The field symbolizes future as it fades into the sunrise; we assume the sun is rising because a sunrise personifies hope and future prosperity, cornerstones of the Obama mission. By using the logo in nearly all his campaing material in print literature, online, and in television advertisements, Obama has made his logo the most recognizable image of his campaign such that it can now even stand alone. A well defined logo should be able to stand with out text or contextual clues and be instantly recognizable by at least the target audience. With strong recognition, the campaign logo is now used in everything Obama:

Campaign Slogan

In tandem with his cleaver logo, the Obama campaign has heavily used his “Change you can Believe In” slogan dominantly. In fact, the campaign has taken a unique Slogan Marketin Strategy approach. In many cases, Obama uses his slogan in place of where his name is traditionally used.

For example, on his speech podiums notice that the sign reads “Change you can Believe In,” not “Barack Obama 2008.” This contrasts with John McCain’s traditional strategy of using his name. Hillary Clinton also used her name during the primaries.This same marketing strategy exists on his personal plane. Where’s McCain’s plane brands his name (his logo) on the tail wing, Obama only uses the “O” logo on the tail and the words “Change we can Believe In” inscribed on the sides. Nowhere does it say “Barack Obama.”

Pros and Cons of Slogan Marketing Strategy

By using the Slogan Marketing Strategy, Obama can showcase his driving mission rather than his name. As in any political campaign, the candidate’s mission is the most important message when it is time to vote. Obama followers and even opponents remember his mission the most.

However, Obama’s strategy has already come under criticism because it relies too much on his slogan. Some marketing experts state that the Barack Obama name is becoming lost in his Slogan Marketing Strategy approach. When November 4th comes, some may not remember his name (remember, there are no slogans or logos on the official ballots).

Print Literature

The political campaign’s marketing powers carry over into its print material. As mentioned, the logo is well defined in all his collateral material. Consider the campaign’s branding on his Blueprint for Change document outlining his values and goals for America:

The campaign’s official sky blue and dark blue colors are also used heavily in print literature to create a cohesive marketing strategy.

Online Marketing

Perhaps the true beauty of the campaign’s marketing strategy is their leverage of the most popular social networks and tools to reach the farthest corners of the country. From online videos on the Barack Obama website and even YouTube, to a Facebook profile, to Digg, the campaign exists in nearly every important online medium.

Young Voters

Consider, for example, the campaign’s use of Facebook. Facebook is a social network used mostly by teenagers and young adults, considered the driving force in the Democratic strategy. By advertising on Facebook and creating a Facebook profile with important updates, Obama can connect to young voters directly. In fact, the political campaign first announced the decision to make Senator Joe Biden Obama’s running mate via SMS text messages and his Facebook profile. Obama is also using YouTube, another popular site for younger adults, to market his videos for free.

The Obama Website

The official campaign website further showcases marketing cohesiveness and creativeness. With the “O” logo displayed throughout the website from the favicon in the browser address bar to even the site icons, the campaign cares its offline marketing strategy online.

Notice the interactivity of the website. The Obama campaign has raised millions of dollars online by requesting donations. Furthermore, all campaign videos and print literature are available on the site as well. Finally, the Obama ecommerce Store features a wide variety of products all with the same signature branding.

Website Graphics

Perhaps the best exhibit of the marketing creativeness are the graphics used mostly online. With elegantly designed website banners that almost always use the logo in imaginative ways, the banners further convey Obama’s missions while drawing the attention of site visitors. For example, a recent banner on the site about his energy policy used the logo as the tree:

While the true effectiveness of the Obama marketing strategy has yet to be determined, one must still admire the cohesive branding strategy used by the campaign. The Obama campaign, at the very least, is a working model of perfectly cooreographed marketing strategy that transends traditional mediums as it rewrites campaign history.