On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, voters in the United States will elect their next President. This isn’t just significant for Americans. Like it or not, whoever is chosen will have an impact on not just the U.S. but also the world. (It happens when you govern a super-power.)
From a marketing perspective we’re now witnessing the biggest marketing game on earth: the U.S. presidential campaign. And it looks close, with various polls showing either the Democratic Party candidate, Barack Obama, or the Republican Party candidate John McCain as slightly more likely to win than the other.
Political campaigning is quite the spectacle and nowhere is the hype, money or marketing quite so BIG as in the U.S. The relevant political parties spend millions of dollars on political advertising, campaigning, networking, speaking, and a host of other promotional efforts, including blogging and twittering.
In this day and age, political marketing is pretty sophisticated too. A lot of polling, analysis and testing goes into crafting just the right message to the right target market at the right time.
Even the presidential nominees’ choice of vice-presidential candidate are likely to be partially - if not significantly - motivated by marketing. A cynic might say, for example, that Obama’s choice of Senator Joe Biden was calculated to bring the perception of experience - particularly regarding foreign policy and national security - to Obama’s presidential ticket. McCain’s choice of Senator Sarah Palin, on the other hand, was, perhaps, partially aimed at shoring up support among socially conservative voters, as well as those who wanted to see a woman rise to power (apparently many Hilary Clinton supporters).
Now, it doesn’t necessarily follow that most Americans will base their vote on the Democratic or Republican party’s respective marketing campaigns. If the U.S. is anywhere near like Australia, many voters will already have an affinity with one party or the other, and will vote along those lines.
But a key difference between the U.S. and Australia (along with the U.K., Canada and New Zealand to name a few other countries following the Westminster system of government) is the difference between the standing of the U.S. President and the standing of our Prime Minister. We don’t vote for our Prime Minister in Australia; Americans DO vote for their President. Furthermore, the U.S. President sits outside parliament and chooses his or her own people to form the executive branch of the U.S. Government.
Consequently, voting for the President carries a great deal of significance quite apart from, say, voting for Congress or the Senate. As such, I’m guessing there is a substantial number of voters who will base their vote on the individuals (and their policies) making up each presidential ticket, rather than which party they represent.
Not only will these ’swinging’ voters likely determine who wins or loses the 2008 U.S. federal election, but it’s these swinging voters who make all the political marketing and campaigning so important.
So… will it be close… or it will it be one of those ‘who knew?’ landslides?
Again, the choice will not only affect Americans, but also the rest of the world. Which is primarily why Americans and non-Americans alike are - and should be - so interested. But let’s also take an interest in the marketing strategies and tactics being used by the Democrats and Repubicans respectively. Strategies and tactics to both solidify existing support among the ‘party faithful’, as well as those being used persuade swinging voters.
Not only is it incredibly instructive from a marketing point of view… but it’s also entertaining! Who said politics was boring?
