Branding the Candidates: McCain vs. Obama
Do a consistent message and key brand touchpoints work?
According to Advertising Age (October 20 issue) the marketer of the year is -Barack Obama. This is based on voting by hundreds of top marketers and CMOs at the Associate of National Advertisers annual conference. Obama edged out Apple, the number two marketer in this vote and Zappos, number three.
Independent of all the rhetoric from the Democratic and Republican parties or your personal point of view, take a look at the key brand messages in the current presidential campaigns. How did Obama's campaign did get it right? What makes that branding work over McCain-and will it pay off on Election Day?
The key to an effective branding campaign is unique positioning, one simple message and brand touchpoints that continually reinforce that message.
Given that most of us operate in a sea of advertising, bombarded with messages, offers, and demands on an almost moment-by-moment basis, simplicity and focus serve us well in knowing what has value, what reinforces our experience, what to avoid and how to ignore what we don't care about.
 Obama's campaign started off early, February 2007, making this one of the longest election seasons in presidential history. His message was simple: Change. Under that uber-brand he bundled some key sub-message points with one overarching paradigm: we are one America, not blue states and red states - success for all. The key to this messaging is consistency, inclusion and focus.
“Ultimately, like many #1 brands, the Obama campaign just acts like it's the category leader.”
- Ken Weheatton, Advertising Age
The October 25th issue of the Economist magazine looks into how the Obama campaign works. The thousands of field offices for the campaign are highly structured and led by a paid staffer, but volunteers, thousands of volunteers, do almost all the work. It's a highly organized hierarchy of operations, consistent on-brand messaging, and strong branded visual communication. On top of this is the use of new media, e-mail and social networking connecting millions of supporters to each other and allowing them to share in the message - very similar to the relationship of Apple to the owners of MacBooks, iPhones and iPods. They all "belong". They are enthusiastic "owners of the brand".
 McCain's campaign has struggled to get one consistent message out to build a consistent McCain image. The most recent New York Times magazine, October 26th issue, has the cover article on McCain titled "the Making (and Remaking and Remaking of the Candidate) - when the campaign can't settle on a central narrative, does it imperil its protagonist?"
This title says it all. There is not a consistency in the message of the McCain "brand." Some key words that fight for attention are Conservative, Maverick, Hero, Straight Talker, America First, Bipartisan Conciliator, Commander, Patriot, Experienced Leader. What is the core campaign message? Unlike Obama's campaign, each of these messages gets different weight at different times - how do you get the brand message across to consumers (voters)? What do they identify with? What is the uber-brand?
“When a campaign (McCain's) can't settle on a central narrative, does it imperil its protagonist?”
- Robert Draper, New York Times Magazine
Again, according to the The October 25th issue of the Economist magazine the local campaign offices are often run by the local Republican Party and each spins the campaign its own way with very little central control and no one "voice". The McCain campaign literature also has pushed a different message and focus for each mailing - never a clear overall focus that differentiates the McCain brand from the Obama brand - at a parent brand level.
Look again at the Apple brand. Apple represents innovation, personal, cool. Each product, from the highly popular iPod and iPhone, to the MacBooks and the OS say, I am part of this over all brand experience. This is critical to holding customer loyalty and creating touchpoints to build loyalty.
At the end of the day, this consistency brings about clarity of focus and messaging that builds the brand. The nearly two year Obama campaign has consistently focused its message, its brand and its core view with few diversions or missteps. The use of new media, e-mail, and connecting the brand loyalists to one another has leveraged one of the largest voter registration drives in history (in some places up 60% from 2004, of which 80% are Democrats or, more importantly, connected directly to the Obama network). The question is, will this pay off on Election Day? We will all know on November 5th.
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Brand Research
