What Brand Advertisers can learn from the Presidential Hopefuls
As the pack of hopefuls is whittled down to two, a lot of virtual ink has been spilled over the presidential candidates’ online tactics, and who got the best ROI looking at dollars spent vs. dollars raised – but that’s not the number that matters on decision day, and brand advertisers should keep this in mind. Though your results may not be immediate or measurable, taking the time to build a relationship with your audience will ensure that when they take out their wallets to vote with their actions, they’ll choose your brand.
Revisiting the spending and donation numbers reported by the Washington Post in late March (Matthew Mosk, 3/29/08), and now knowing the outcome of the race between Obama and Clinton, it seems that Clinton’s stronger ROI did not translate to a successful overall campaign. If we think of the campaign contribution as the political equivalent of a click or an acquisition, Obama’s less favorable ROI may point to the effectiveness of branding and community-building online.
| Although Obama “gravitated towards performance-based ad buys” (Kate Kaye, ClickZ, 5/29/08), the imbalance between donations and money spent and the actual outcome at the polls demonstrates that it’s not only conversions that matter. In fact, clicking on an Obama ad doesn’t even lead to a donation solicitation, rather to an invitation to join his community, receive emails, or learn more.
Obama’s goal in his online campaign is to "build an online relationship" with his supporters (Washington Post, March 28, 2008), and it is – or was – likely the ultimate goal of all of the candidates to build and foster lasting relationships and communities that will serve them not only as donators, but as long-term brand advocates. Consumers want to feel like they like are more than just a transaction – less focus on the conversion and more careful branding can lead to genuine grassroots response, engagement, and endorsement.
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