INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

ASSIGNMENT ON “BARRACK OBAMA’S MARKETING

STRATEGY”

Submitted by:
Nilofar Naaz

Roll- 9202222 ‘D’

Question-1

How Obama used IMC to win the election & become the president of USA?

Answer

Obama had faced a lot of problems during election procedure. The major challenges he had to
face from American people, as he was an African- American & his father was a Muslim. Second
problem was a short & stint brief start in politics. But Obama used “Integrated Marketing
Communication” to win the election.

He revolutionized the election procedure by using new media channels in addition to traditional
communication methods. He mainly used new media like text messaging, facebook, twitter,
blogging & also converted supporters from mere voters. He also used audio-visual media by
creating a page on Flickr with pictures of his family & his campaign & also numerous us video
clips on YouTube. Visitors to his website “BarackObama.com” after registering with their e-mail
addresses could sign up to receive phone number details of 25 supporters. His advertisement
appeared in 18 videogames which include the most popular “Guitar Hero” & “Madden 09”.

He used social media as a powerful tool. The advertisement that appeared on billboards & other
signage reminded people of early voting & also persuaded them to register for early voting. The
advertisements were run on Xbox Live whose subscription were either free or paid depending
upon the level of service.

His website all so contained a page called “Widgetbox” with a number of widgets that people
could copy on to their own website to circulate his message & also to announce their support
from Obama.

Obama launched a website called “BarackObama.com”that enlisted thousands of supporters to

blog, communicate & get the world to know about voting. Obama also used his website with a
database of 13 million names & e-mail address to seek ideas from the public. Obama campaign
figured out how to use mobile marketing effectively in ways that have opened the eyes of
marketers & agencies across nation.

Obama also used incentives to keep direct touch with voters through online networking sites like
facebook & Myspace. Obama’s entire web campaign including social network sites & mobile
messaging effectively & efficiently. Obama also targeted different segments of American
community by selecting the information carefully pertaining to the interests of each individual
group. In this way Obama achieved the target.
Question-2

As discussed in the previous class how can you explain the case in context of four pillars of
IMC?

Answer

Obama & his team have used the social networking sites & media for raising funds &
campaigning. They have effectively used the promotional tools & better utilization of four pillars
of IMC.

Stakeholders

The main stakeholders were younger generations. Obama targeted different segments of
American Community with carefully selected information pertaining to the interest of each
individual group. The basis of segmentation was age, community & professionals. Different
websites were created by Obama’s campaigners to target various groups of society.

Content

According to some analysts, Obama’s support increased with the release of Music Video called
“Yes We Can”. The song was inspired from Obama’s speech. He also sent out text messages to
the public. He also launched a website called “Fight The Smears” which was an attempt to
combat & discuss rumors about him.

Channel

He used social media as a source of communication with people. He used his website as a
database of 13 million names & e-mail address to seek ideas from public. The advertisement
appeared on Billboards to persuade them to early voting, these adds were running on Xbox Live,
whose subscription were free or paid depending on level of service. He used various websites for
his campaign.
Result

The first presidential candidate to have won the election on the web would attribute his victory to
the “Facebook Generation” because the bulk of his supporters were young Americans. The best
are of interest resources were found to b a positive result for Obama’s victory in the election.
Question-3

What conventional & unconventional modes of communication were used by Obama? Prepare a
list of all conventional & unconventional modes used by Obama & group & how these
modes/tools can be used by Indian Cos. for effective communication?

Answer

Obama used both conventional & non-conventional mode of communication. He used new
media like text messaging, social networking, & blogging & also converted a supporter from a
mere voter to unconventional campaign employees.

Unconventional Modes of Communication:-

Obama used Internet extensively as campaigning tools. Obama changed politics forever by
setting the ban for all future political candidates to strategize & effectively used social media in
political campaign.

He launched his own website “BarackObama.com” that helped him to share, communicate his
ideas to supporters.

His advertisement appeared in 18 Video games , his websites also contain a page called
“Widgetbox” to circulate his message to people to get support. He also used audio-visual media
by creating a page on Flickr with his family picture & numerous video clips on “Youtube”.”Yes
We Can” was the song that was inspired by his speech.

He also launched a site called “Fight the Smears” to dismiss all rumours about him. Obama also
took intiative to keep directly touch with voters through online networking sites like
Facebook,Myspace.

Obama also used mobile marketing effectively & efficiently in his campaign by sending text
messages to seek ideas from the public. He also initiated a site to communicate with Christians.

The consistency with which he publicized his personal information uniformly on all websites &
also targettted specific information at individual levels, websites depending on age group,
community to which they belonged to & professional background. He also targeted younger
generation , a segment thatw as ignored by other candidates through internet as they were the
main user of internet.
Question-4

How Obama’s IMC was superior & more effective compared to his rivals. With Examples.

Answer

The two main rivals of Obama were Hillary Clinton and Maccain.They also used technology in
the campaign but it could not guarantee an excellent site and more than a fine instrument
guarantees beautiful music.The player must set the right tone.

Obama ultimately won because he understood how to communicate using the internet but
Clinton and MccAain did not.

Clinton’s attempt to connect with internet came off as lacking authenticity. Hillary Clinton
promised ‘a conversation’ with votes early in her campaign. It was Obama who fully engaged
without an event appeal. Hillary Clinton was lacking appreciation of power of internet. Her
ignorance and lack of faith in the internet. They believed in drafting speeches in long hand.

Obama and McCain

MacCain was lagging behind on usage as the numbers as compared to Obama. He concentrated
on conventional methods of advertising on TV as he believed that those viewers would
contribute larger funds to his campaign.

MacCain’s website did not link to any social networking sites whereas Obama created an easier
path to take action for supporters. Maccain required assistance of knowledgeable volunteers to
enhance his web presence.

Obama focused on younger generation who were the main users of internet which were ignored
by other candidates. ’Republican National Committee’ stated ‘where is the red.com,red colour
represents republican to accept contributions.RNC also created a site called ‘Meet Barrack
Obama’ as a tool to counteract the allegations made against Obama.

Obama used social networking effectively as compared to Clinton and MacCain

Question-5

What did you learn from this case in order to design an effective IMC Programmes & strategies
for the companies?

Answer

The key learning’s from the case are as follows:-

 Effective mode of communication

 Knowledge of STP
 Cohesiveness & consistency

Effective mode of communication-Obama used both conventional & unconventional mode of

communication to share his ideas. He used networking sites ,text messaging & blogging to get
fund raised & supporters to be transferred to virtual campaigning employees.

He launched various websites as discussed in earlier question to have direct contact with his
supporters. He also used T.V. as a conventional mode of communication to his viewers. He
strategically used mobile marketing to demonstrate the uniqueness & importance of mobile in
reaching people of all age. He used the technology as a right player to win the election.

Knowledge of STP-Obama targeted different segment of American Community. He launched

different sites which had different information targeted at the individual communities. The main
basis of segmentation was age, community & professional. His targetetted audience were Young
generation, African American, Asian American & business network professionals He was in
touch with them with the help of different websites for different communities.

Cohesiveness & consistency- The consistency with which he publicized his personal information
on all his website. Each of the websites was different & lent a personal touch to them and also
added to his credibility.

Obama’s innovative campaign had not only helped to overcome some vital barriers on his way
to White House but also firmly established him as a strong brand.
So, this case helped us to understand the effective & efficient use of different modes of
communication to design an effective IMC.