Brand / Marketing Communication Strategies and Advertising and Promotional Strategies Case Study

US President Barack Obama’s Election Campaign 2008: Leveraging New Media

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Abstract:
The American presidential campaigns were known for their innovative ways of communicating with the electorate and for testing new concepts. The US presidential elections of 2008 were the most talked about elections in history and offered lessons for everyone, especially the marketers regardless of their nationality or political leanings. Mass marketing to baby boomers and Generation X, considered long dead, had returned. Today, the cynical consumers are smart enough to spot, sense and block advertising messages / major challenges for any marketer. But what Generation Xers and boomers failed to realise was that the unabashed embrace of select brands by millennials, from technology and beverages to fashion, had made this decade a true golden era of marketing for those, who know what they're doing. Senator Obama's brand management was unprecedented in presidential politics, which showed pitch-perfect understanding of the keys to appealing to the youngest voters. The case intends to explore how Senator Obama packaged his communication, especially to those who were thought to be immune to mass marketing and emerged successful in achieving his objective.

Pedagogical Objectives:

This case study can be used:

• To understand how consistent mass marketing works
• To using modern media as mass marketing tools.
• To political marketing to tap the millenials.

Keywords : US presidential elections, Barack Obama's election campaign, Millennial marketing, Mass marketing, Customer managed relationships, Microtargeting in presidential campaign, Political marketing, Brand flexibility, Social networking monetising model, Microblogging, Open source platforms, Brand communities, Affinity marketing