Top Five PR Reasons for Obama's move into the White House
5. The unpopularity of the Republican Brand: Reputation is built on policy, communication and leadership. At all three touch points the Bush administration failed miserably.
When you lie to a public about your reason for staging the most expensive war in the history of the world (in human life & effort as well as in dollars and cents) you can bet that your leadership will be destroyed when the truth is revealed. And oh yes, in this interconnected world where no decision remains behind closed doors and veiled discussions, the truth always comes out. Welcome to the global village George Bush!
4. Message Resonation: I’ll say it in three words: “Yes we can”.
3. The Audience: Your message is meaningless if it does not find traction on the ground. Obama knew he could never get to the White House if he didn’t widen the traditional base known to vote Democrats. Forget Vermont. This was about Virginia. And Florida. And Pennsylvania.
So Obama began by weaving a new tribe, an audience that included progressives, the centre, younger religious voters, weary veterans, internationalists, young voters, black voters and others. 5 million volunteers mobilised for Obama, and he captured 52% of the popular vote. Now that’s an audience.
2. New media: Obama employed new media brilliantly. Forget direct mail, telephone calls and TV ads. Think You Tube, Facebook, Twitter. Young people, more so than any other constituent mobilised this medium. Can you remember the first time you saw “the Obama Girl Video” on You Tube? Didn’t it make you want to know more about the man?
1. The Messenger. This is a classic moment in history where the man and the moment coincided in perfect tandem. Obama meant many things to many people: Hope. Change. Empowerment. Equality. The fact that Obama was able to articulate all this clearly, confidently and charismatically was enough to make him a stand out candidate. Obama may be the most charismatic orator of all times.
Welcome to the White House Barack Obama!
http://www.mangomediacaribbean.com/blog/trackback.cfm?6C384E46-3048-2D03-0A4637A4D80EFF67
Judette Coward Puglisi (MSc, Dip IR, BA), Managing Director. Find out more 
Just seeing the many young people, mixing with other generations all over the United States and - indeed - across the globe and that essential truth was manifest. We all want change, we all want to believe that positive change is possible. For us Barack Obama was our last chance and achieving it. He was one investment we couldn't afford to lose.
"Let there be love shared among us, let there be love in our hearts. May now our love sweep the nations, cause us O Lord to arise. Give us a fresh understanding of brotherly love that is real!!! Let there be love shared among us.... LET THERE BE LOVE!"
But I forgot another important for factor for the success. The Oprah factor. I think when she endorsed Obama lots of people paid attention. I bet too she was a huge financial contributor
And while I believe that Obama's win was signifcant for all people for those of African descent it was even more poignant if only because of this hugely powerful feeling that it engendered that " we had overcome".
What I am fearful of is that it places an unbelievable burden on Obama, who after all is a human being. Should he fall I think it will be as massive as his rise.
For this moment in time though, let's believe in hard work, hope and prayer.
I feel like I can do anything when I think of what he has done. So, as we adore him, because the fact is that people have made him a sort of idol, we should seek to do the same in our own lives, in our own way. He cannot affect change alone. As a talk show host said, people made fun of him being a community organiser, but he community organised his way to the White House. He needs us all to work with him to create the change we seek.
Other countries can only truly benefit from the great decisions he makes re international relations, if we attempt to better our societies. People expect him to do it all, btu he needs help.
On another note, his campaign was the bomb!!!! :)
I was talking about Oprah in the sense of her influencing a large majority of people including the actors, singers, waitresses and teachers you write about.
It will be great when Obama's strategist writes a book on the campaign but my guess is that the Oprah factor was a definite plus especially coming in the early stages when Hilary was the definite lead.
And like you, in my own corner of the world, I intend to support his Presidency and the movement he created with those three now all time famous words. " Yes we ...."
See what I mean? I bet you finished the sentence.
Let us pray he sticks tohis word to always be 'honest and open' - there's so little of that in high office and we urgently need a role model! Such a change from mauvail langue and picong.
The 'open and honest' bit? That's the first rule of good communications.
Yes, he did capitalize on the unpopularity of the Bush administration; yes he stayed on message with "Yes we can" which when analyzed means way much more than the three words and does indeed include hope, empowerment and so on.Hope is a very intangible issue so he had to be really on top of his game to inspire this message. New Media - yes that campaign designed and executed by David Plouffe was mind-blowing but let's not forget the grassroots fund-raising where over US$700 million was raised by people like you and me. This internet-driven fund-raising machine brought back the true meaning of participatory democracy in a country of 300 million people and where Obama was beholden to no lobbyists. That is a major PR victory because each donor felt as though he/she was a significant stakeholder in his win and now the Presidency.
Being a great orator is one thing (and no one can deny him this), he also did not fit stereotypical roles of African American men with his Ivy League education and was able to cross racial "barriers" unlike people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He also does not speak in bits and pieces nor did he really address "race" and this resonated with many American who became "color-blind" including otherwise less tolerant ones. His intellect drew a large following despite the intellectual shortcomings of some voters. We are not all Ivy League. However, people want leaders who speak well and articulate their vision not only domestically but who can interact and do so well with international leaders. There is much to be said about the Campaign style vs any executed under the Westminster system. There is so much more but in a sentence, Barack Obama is his own PR machine. enuf said.
Thanks, Kim
The insights in that book will be incredible and are going to be real important for any leader going forward in an election process.
From all that I read Obama had another critical core strength i.e. the ability to listen, truly listen. That is another critical key to effective engagement and communications
If you use Ben's link you'll have to type in President Obama's speeches in the search bar
you can get all videos for president OBAMA
What I am fearful of is that it places an unbelievable burden on Obama, who after all is a human being. Should he fall I think it will be as massive as his rise.