Cameron forgot the lessons of Obama
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Peter Fisk, bestselling author of Marketing Genius says the UK election campaigns struggled because of poor communication
The Obama Campaign of 2008 transformed the communication and business models of political engagement. Team Obama brought together the passion of humanity, the reach of digital, the participation of ordinary people, and the inspiration of dreams that could come true. They combined to build a brand that inspired people at a time when political trust was lowest and economic uncertainty was at its height:
- The “Yes We Can” language of NLP was simple and a symbolic echo of JFK and MLK
- Shepherd Fairey’s poster was adapted by segment with “hope”, “progress” and “change”
- Change was explained simply, as transformational healthcare, education and equality
- Online fundraising, largely in micropayments, generated a huge campaign budget
- Blogs, tweets and vpods enabled instant and more human messages to reach over media
- Community websites listened, informed and debated with volunteers and supporters daily
YouTube hits by Dave Stewart and will.i.am engaged youth audiences with a new cool
The iconic “O” sunrise logo by Sender was ubiquitous, a glue bringing it all together
Together, the campaign generated $650m (seven times more than McCain), over 20 million people decided to vote for the first time, the Obama website became the third most popular in the country, viewing figures for the TV ads went up not down during commercial breaks (30 million watched his final day 30 minute infomercial), and the final share of vote (53%) was the highest in 22 years.
Two years later in the UK election campaign, you would have expected at least some of these ideas to have been adopted or adapted.
Yet the campaigns of Cameron, Brown and Clegg lacked any of this. Yes, it’s a different time and place – more about parties than personalities, over just four weeks, and in a serious and gloomy climate. But we got the most unimaginative, largely negative, and poorly communicated campaigns. There was, of course, the novelty of TV debates where the unknown charisma of Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg shone through in a way that was never before possible. But apart from that … I was hugely underwhelmed.
Cameron injected his youthful slickness to the Conservatives (and was surprisingly never accused of slime or spin), but his messages of “Change” (to what?) and “big society” (what’s that?) were lost.
Clegg positioned himself on the side of the people. Everyone called him Nick, and liked to agree with him at first, until he became a threat to them. But he often got lost in the details.
Brown delighted in being the opposite – his attempted statesmanship coming across as old, tired and grumpier than ever. “We’re in the future business” just didn’t ring true as a manifesto title.
The result was a confused electorate, most of us left without much inspiration for any party, and an inconclusive result. Cameron only came to life when trying to responds to the impasse, begging his new friend Nick to come and join him in a government. It was interesting how all politicians seemed much more real, engaging, and believable when their campaigning was over, their PR gurus cast aside, and they could actually be themselves.
So what happened to the lessons of the Obama campaign? Where was the hope and inspiration? Why couldn’t the speechwriters find simpler language and stronger messages? Why didn’t anybody seize the opportunity of digital technologies, building communities, engaging people more collaboratively? Steve Hilton seemed so be stuck in his ideals and unable to connect the Tories with real people, while Alistair Campbell seemed to be out of date still relying on the power of the front page. On the lack of any digital communication, one insider admitted that “none of us understand that stuff”.
Nobody seemed switched on to the new world. Nobody recognised the power of simplicity or humanity. Nobody had a big bold message of hope in these uncertain times.
Perhaps this should be a wake-up call – not just to politicians and their so-called communication experts – but to business leaders too.
Businesses and brands can still learn much from the Obama campaign, and the many other great companies who are embracing the potential of new hybrid physical-digital marketing techniques. From Current TV and Threadless and their collaborative business models, to the dis-intermediating potential of financial networks like FiLife and Zopa, marketing innovation is all around us.
These networked businesses are rising from the rubble of economic crisis, and uncertainty of a changing world. They are small, and with limited budgets … but with better ideas, and smarter ways to engage people.
Posted: May 19th, 2010 | Author: elen.lewis | Filed under: Growth Drivers | Tags: communications, Digital, election, obama, peter fisk | Leave a Comment »
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