<p>Regardless of your political preferences, you’ve got to hand it to the Obama campaign for staying on message. The campaign’s communication stream was consistent, compelling, and tied to the strategic theme of the inspiring tagline, “Change We Can Believe In.” <br /><br />Students of history and those old enough to have lived through the 1970s will see the obvious similarities between “Change We Can Believe In” and Ronald Reagan’s winning line, “Together, A New Beginning.” Both lines spoke to a desire for better days ahead, and allowed every voter to participate in the experience. <br /><br />Let’s analyze the components of Mr. Obama’s tagline and see why it worked so hard for him. Overall, the line was broad enough to be a pivot point for a variety of tactical messages that fit the overarching strategy.<br /><br />The word “Change” in the line telegraphed the message that Mr. Obama was anyone but George W. Bush. The word “We” included everyone and was an effort at uniting the country. And the words “Can Believe In” reassured voters that this unknown politician with the thin resume could actually handle presidential responsibilities.<br /><br />Compare that with John McCain’s tagline, “Country First.” It was a pretty good line, but it had limits. In fact, it was more of a headline than a tagline, because it really only served a single, tactical purpose — to contrast Mr. McCain’s life of service and self-sacrifice against Mr. Obama’s apparent opportunism. <br /><br />Mr. McCain’s line failed because it didn’t hinge on his becoming President. Mr. McCain had been putting his country first for decades while not being President, and he could presumably be counted on to continue putting his country first regardless of the outcome of the election. “Change We Can Believe In,” on the other hand, could only come about if enough voters pulled the lever for Mr. Obama. <br /><br />Toward the end of the campaign, Mr. McCain tried out another line: “Reform • Peace • Prosperity.” Like most taglines using that particular three-word structure where each word makes a separate statement, it lacked energy and seemed all over the place — which was exactly what the “erratic” Mr. McCain didn’t need. <br /><br />So what can marketers learn from the taglines of the two major presidential candidates? Here are three key points to keep in mind:</p>
<p><strong>1. Create a tagline that’s broad enough to act as a pivot point for tactical messages within a strategic theme.</strong><br />“Change We Can Believe In” worked whether the campaign was talking policy, temperament, experience, or leadership style. <br /><br /><strong>2. Create a tagline that makes your audience part of the experience. </strong><br />Mr. Obama’s line spoke to the whole country. Mr. McCain’s line spoke only of Mr. McCain. <br /><br /><strong>3. Create a tagline that addresses barriers your company has to overcome. </strong><br />No one doubted Mr. McCain’s love of country. People did have doubts that Mr. Obama had the experience necessary to lead the nation.<br /><br />Obviously, there’s more to successful marketing than a tagline, but a good one can be a solid foundation upon which to build consistent, compelling messages that work across all media to persuade prospects and customers to keep giving you their vote.</p>
2008-11-13T04:23:46Z
2008-11-17T03:18:52Z
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2008-11-17T03:18:48Z
2008-11-17T03:18:48Z
The taglines of the two major presidential candidates contain valuable lessons for marketers of all persuasions.
Taglines We Can Believe In
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2009-02-24T09:47:06Z