A fun Talent Zoo post about Obama's magnificent marketing effort hit the mark with me. In a few ways. I'll start here:
Then there’s the citizen-generated content. YouTube videos, posters, songs – much of it generated by ordinary citizens, some created by professional musicians, artists, and ad people. This is the kind of marketing that’s being preached by the “let’s have a engaging two-way conversation with our customers-as-friends” crowd. With Barack Obama, it’s become fully realized.
We've always believed in two-way marketing, and we are always seriously weirded out when companies seem to perceive their customers as adversaries trying to take advantage. We're hoping more of our customers will visit and benefit from dialogues they strike up on our Airship Community site...it could become SO cool and anti-corporate, business-as-usual I can taste it!
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the least impressive portion of the campaign appear to be the official TV ads. They’re good, but hardly different from most political commercials.
We totally feel that ads, in our industry at the very least, are all about credibility ("being there") and awareness. They matter, but not half as much as when customers come to the Web site and engage with us as a company who doesn business in a way that supports them and their customers. And in a fun, real way. Because people who operate in a fun and real way are people who like what they do and are WAY more likely to offer responsive, personalized support.
In the face of all this hype, adulation and fast success, Obama supporters have been called a cult. That’s OK. So are Apple fans and Harley-Davidson owners. If you think this is bad for America and politics, remember: This is the world advertising created, one where a name or a product can be made to stand for more than its functionality.
I bet you alrteady know how much we would love to achieve this status through the coolness of both the products we make and the way we do business.
But product performance is still the key. Let’s say Obama gets elected President on the strength of this brand he created. He still has to give good customer service for 4 years. And people will be disappointed if the product doesn’t reflect the hype.
I think I already covered that one in this post. 'Cause really, support is not a separate topic. Support has to be part of everything we do if we're going to meet our ambitious goals.
Abigail
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