Why is Barack Obama's sales message stronger?
22 February 2008
Here we analyse the two very different marketing messages from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton:
Politicians are accomplished, highly professional sales people. Their job is to sell themselves to the electorate, media and their party leaders.
All three tasks are vital, but have varying importance at different times in the campaign. For example, ‘Time for a change’ is a great sales message for the electorate, but if and when Obama becomes the next president of the USA, that message won’t appeal to his party — and once elected, the party leaders become the most important influence on their leader.
Marketing Obama: the Unique Selling Point
The message, or ‘concept’ determines the response you will receive to your promotion. The stronger, the more unique the message, the higher the response.
So what makes a ‘strong and unique’ headline? I have found the highest response to a headline is achieved by conveying:
‘An unexpected and inspiring truth’.
Drayton Bird, author of ‘Commonsense Direct Marketing’ puts it:
“The art of persuasion starts with saying something so clearly true that people believe what you say next”
Marketing Obama: handling objections
Whatever you are selling, it’s vital to anticipate and handle any objections a buyer may have.
Many believe that ‘objection handling’ comes at the end of the sale – at the close. But with direct marketing it has to come at the beginning of the message, otherwise the prospect will not continue reading, watching or listening.
It’s a different process to one-on-one, face-to-face selling where there is a two-way dialogue.
Hilary Clinton headline message: ‘Help make history. ‘Experience counts’.
This headline promotes the fact that Hillary Clinton:
1. Would be the first female president of the USA.
2. Has more experience than her opponent.
Clinton has covered one objection: the fact that she is a woman and the electorate may not be ready for that.
So she has handled that objection with her ‘Help make history’
message. It’s inspirational and destroys the objection at conception.
But other objections are killers and haven’t been covered at all:
- What experience? (1) Being married to a brain surgeon doesn’t qualify you to operate.
- What experience? (2) Is Clinton really more experienced than her rival Republican, John McCain?
- ‘Help make history’ is not a unique message. The slogan includes her opponent, who is black.
Marketing Obama: Fundraising by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
Marketing Barack Obama: headline message — ‘Become a part of our grassroots movement. It’s time for a change’.
This headline promotes the fact that Obama:
1. Intends to clean up Washington
2. Has no lobbyists or vested-interest groups backing him
3. Is a man of the people
Obama is offering a new style of independent government and a change from the previous, discredited administration.
Obama has covered the objection from Clinton that he has no experience:
“I have been in Washington long enough to know it needs changing.”
Obama’s marketing slogan is unique and as a USP (Unique Selling Point) it will be very difficult to overcome by either a Democratic or Republican opponent.
McCain is expected to continue with his message that Obama is too young and naive to be president of the most powerful nation.
We will return to examine how successful McCain’s message is once Obama turns his sights fully on his Republican opponent.
Marketing Obama Part 1: Fundraising by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
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