Obama + marketing = winner

This has truly been an amazing month watching the election wind down. History was made!

Even more amazing to me is Obama's campaign - aside from his policies, plans, and views, there's his marketing. As someone that works in the marketing industry, I was able to see both sides to Obama - the presidental and the marketing. He was everywhere and purposely made sure of that - MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Even his website links to a number of social networks - Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Twitter, Linkedin - to name a few. His website is crisp, clean, and user-friendly and his messages, plans, and stances on issues are clear on the website. He has a section of downloadables, his website is personalized for you, and there was even a website created solely for the purpose of addressing smears.

I followed him on Twitter and got up-to-the-minute updates. Someone from his camp even updated his Twitter the moment the news was announced that he would become the president-elect. I know, I checked. :)

On top of that, Obama even purchased ad space (the first presidential candidate to ever do so) in video games such as XBox 360's "Madden 09" or "Guitar Hero."




Countless artists have rendered their creations in support such as the famous "Hope" poster.




Musicians have written and infused his speeches into their music.





And Obama's presence on YouTube is unmeasurable.

The amount of content that Obama supporters have created is simply astounding! It's no wonder Ad Age named Obama 2008's Marketer of the Year! Obama truly embraced the social networks and the viral marketing world and made it work for him instead of against him. No doubt, he set the pace and the path for the presidential candidates after him.

Obama’s Win Offers a New Brand for America

I expected President Elect Obama to win the elections last Tuesday night but I was unprepared for the wave of emotions that swept through me when I realized what had really just happened. I have worked in the world of marketing and technology for almost 20 years and have had the chance to work across all party lines with democrats and republicans, black and white, old and young, rich and poor and this is the first time in our history a brand has managed to speak to ALL - Globally!!

What President Obama has accomplished, no matter your affiliation, you have to admit has been profound! His win represents a new beginning for all of America and the World. It’s a break away from past ideology and way of thinking. We are back to the reason of why I followed my dreams and came to America – “The land of opportunity where anything is possible with hard work, faith and determination”.

A strong message was sent around the globe…America is the world leader, they are democratic and progressive. As Americans we cannot forget that the World is always watching us and in the last few years most people outside the U.S. from Africa to Europe saw us as “The U.S. against everyone else.” The feeling now is that America has changed with this election and the World will be a safer place for all of us that live on this globe.

Without a doubt Barack Obama's win has given Brand America the immediate boost it so badly needed. But Brand America now has some serious work to do. Let’s all roll up our sleeves as the real work starts NOW!!