What was so remarkable about the 2008 presidential campaign is how progressive the marketing was. Obama was ‘branded’ complete with a logo and aggressive internet marketing campaign that spoke to the people. The timing was perfect and the target audience was ready for it. They soaked up the message like a sponge.

No longer did people feel they weren’t being heard. And as a result those who had previously felt their vote did not count, stood up to be counted. He has a brand personality that says he’s there for the citizens of the U.S. and so it comes as no surprise that he fills out NCAA brackets and shows up on our Late Night TV shows. We expect that now of him because he has established this as part of his brand personality. He’s carved a unique market share that will be hard to shake no matter how many on the other side of the aisle want him out.

No other political candidate has leveraged the mass media and the internet, including the social media,  better than the O’bama campaign. Not being very political, I surprised myself by being riveted to the campaign simply because it was so beautifully choreagraphed and so viral.

Bill Clinton seemed to start things off by playing the sax on the David Letterman Show. That opened the door. And the Bush campaign basically sold the Iraq war the same way you’d sell a 12-pack of Sprite. That whole approach was a marketing plan complete with a tag line, ‘weapons of mass destruction’ repeated at the right intervals like you would in a radio commercial. Bush never deviated from the tag line, repeating certain phrases word for word and sticking to the marketing plan. So there were small precedents and Obama took it to the next level. Branding works. Marketing works. Consistency works. The proof is in the president who sits in office now.