Advertising for the Presidency

Regardless of who got your vote in last week's election, it's hard to deny that throughout the campaign, Obama clearly had a momentum building that finally carried him to the White House. What creates momentum like that? Is it really just shared ideals or personal charisma? No doubt, these played a part in Obama's election, but the reality is that winning the presidency is an expensive undertaking. Here are the stats, as reported in various news outlets:

• The Obama campaign had around 700 paid staffers, versus McCain's 100;
• The Obama campaign spent over $44.5 million in the first nine months of 2007, across 600 cities and 1200 zip codes;
• It's estimated that the Obama campaign outspent the McCain campaign in broadcast advertising 25-to-1.

In working with small businesses, I often hear complaints about how difficult it is to go up against large competitors whose significant marketing budgets have made them household names. The fact is, advertising WORKS. It is impossible to build brand recognition, something necessary to get the sales doors to open, without some decent level of marketing. People buy from people they trust, and they certainly don't trust people they have never heard of. And anyone who has taken a marketing course knows the three words tied to campaign success: MESSAGE, REACH and FREQUENCY. It is not enough to have a resounding message...it has to reach enough of the market, enough times, for them to grasp that message and act on it.

So back to the election. How did Obama raise the kind of money he did to run these big ad campaigns? People magazine reports that there were over 3 million individual donors who contributed to the campaign, meaning it all started at the grass roots level.

What does the "grass roots" of your business look like? What can you do to build momentum with what you've got? If you haven't got a huge ad budget, a base of happy customers (willing to talk about your products or services) is a good place to start. They are the foundation for a good public relations campaign, which can put a company on the map at a much smaller price point than full-page ads. They can also be a powerful base for referrals, which can grow sales much faster than cold calls.

There's a lot we can learn about marketing from a presidential race, more than we have room for in one "Out of the Box" entry. One thing to keep in mind is that, unlike presidential elections, business is not just about winners and losers. There is something called market share, which means a business can get a small piece of the "pie" and still be profitable. To get that piece, it still takes a solid marketing program made up of happy customers, a relevant message, reach and frequency...but the investment can pay off in a big way!

For a free initial consultation on how to win a bigger piece of your market, visit my Web site at www.LindaWisePR.com.