Barack Obama is a next generation politician. He is 46 years old; Hillary Clinton is 61; John McCain is 71.  He is literally from another generation.  Figuratively, he represents the new, the fresh, the different. 

Barack Obama’s name could easily be “Change.”  People are waving signs about change at his rallies.  His speeches echo the theme.  His message has become ubiquitous, yet it remains fresh. In fact, it appears he is only building up steam with reports saying he raised $1 million per day in the month of January.  I believe the way he achieved this successful projection of his image was by completing the circle and remaining genuine.  He started with a theme and drew it like a line through everything that he has done. 

In 2004, Howard Dean ran a grassroots campaign, similar in some ways to Obama’s, but one of the reasons he failed was that his campaign seemed incomplete.  His campaign became about his campaign, whereas, Barack Obama’s campaign is about change.  Though this has been a strong point for him, it has also been what his critics point to as his flaw.  They say he is about rhetorical ideas, not substantive solutions to our problems.  They may have a point, but when elected, any president must find solutions - often the best of those solutions begin with ideas that are inspirational to the base of voters. 

Part of Mr. Obama’s success has been excellent timing.  He and other politicians stand at a crossroads.  Many in Washington now seek to either distance themselves from the past or try to coalesce around it.  John McCain is seeking to run a campaign without criticizing too harshly the current occupant of the White House.  Barack Obama is seeking to change the path we are on, and according to polls, that is the popular position.  Without taking a political stance, I believe we can agree that the past 8 years of presidential politics has greatly enhanced the divisions in our country.  Recent elections have been won through division.  And divisive issues have been key in recent years.  Mr. Obama stands in stark contrast to that attitude; he argues for unification.  During one of his speeches in Iowa he said, “We are one nation, we are one people.  And our time for change has come.”  He discusses solving problems that should be unifying, such as the economy, healthcare, America’s position in the world and Iraq.  His strategy has been dictated by his politics, but also by a political climate.  I believe that Mr. Obama’s political campaign is based on selling change to an American voter who has already said, through polls and also through the 2004 midterm elections, “If you put change on that shelf, I will purchase it.”  The Obama camp has been stocking their shelves every night.  Though the timing has been fortuitous, the complete integration and quality of his strategies have been remarkable.

So, it has become not just a political campaign, but also a marketing campaign.  One could argue that all political races are about marketing.  But is there any other candidate whose slogan is as prevalent as Mr. Obama’s?  His music video on youtube.com, Yes We Can by Will.i.am, has had over 5.5 million views to date and that number seems to be rising at about 200,000 per day.  The use of pop music to promote his campaign has been powerful and far reaching, most notably with the younger generations.  This has proven to be a very effective marketing tool.  I have a friend who uses Gmail chat, and for months now his custom chat message viewable by his friends has been a link to the Will.i.am video.  I have also received numerous email messages that say, “check out this video, it’s fantastic”, and I click the link to see Will.i.am.  These are common usages for links in our everyday, technological existences that have turned into the greatest viral marketing campaign imaginable.

This quote greets his www.barackobama.com visitors: “I’m asking you to believe.  Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.”  In the Youtube music video and in the quote above, Senator Obama is selling an egalitarian message through compelling, emotional and inclusive speeches, music videos and arguments.  His emphasis, at a time when polls show that many voters feel like their voices aren’t being heard, is about “we” - as the crowds chant at his rallies, “Yes we can.”;  in this photograph from a rally “Change we can believe in”. His pitch has been about empowerment and the role of the community in government, not the role of government in the community. 

Though he has succeeded with the younger voters, he is also succeeding with the older voters.  Mr. Obama has consistently sold the same product.  I have asked some older voters what it is that appeals to them about Mr. Obama, several have said that it is his passion.  They have become disillusioned with the business-as-usual political style of Washington.   This passion has emphasized an image fostered through his marketing that he won’t change strategies mid-stride, as Mrs. Clinton has.  His message—his product—is consistent.  His position has been, “If you want this change, then I am willing to lead.”  The bottom line is that people believe he is genuine and real.

These and other aspects of his campaign have made him successful as both a candidate and a grassroots organizer.  Look to his pervasiveness and standing as a candidate as proof of this.  It was only a few months ago that he was following Hillary Clinton; he was a 20-point underdog in this race.  Now he is leading in national polls as well as in the delegate count. On his Web site there is a link near the bottom right of the homepage, “Obama Everywhere”, and below it is a list of the social networking sites that he has pages on: myspace.com, linkedin.com, facebook.com, migente.com and digg.com among others.  Although these links are on other candidate’s Web sites, they look like advertisements (check out Mrs. Clinton for an example; I looked for a link to Myspace on Mr. McCain’s Web site but couldn’t find it).  For Mr. Obama, appearing on social networking sites doesn’t seem unnatural; not to mention that he has more Myspace friends than I do, or than Hillary Clinton does.  I think this sense has increased his appeal to younger voters. There is something normal about seeing Mr. Obama as a friend on Myspace.  Obama has a hip persona that McCain lacks, and that is appealing and not just to the younger generations.  His integrated campaign has built that into his image in the political marketplace through social Web sites, but also through the powerful video by Will.i.am and through great speech writing. 

There is a generational gap that dictates another change, one that has been fostered and promoted by the Obama people: it is a paradigm shift from older to younger.  It is a shift that Hillary Clinton and John McCain would like to be able to make and they have tried, but they come across as, at best, stiff, and at worst, fake.   Mr. Obama, in contrast, is passionate and realistic and offers something different.  That difference seems to be that he appeals to people, young and old, in a way that politicians have been unable to do in recent years.  Harnessing this difference and marketing it, consistently and with very high quality, has driven much of his success.  His campaign has taken Mr. Obama’s image and renamed it "change we can believe in."

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