MyDD :: Hope and Change: Very Effective Marketing Campaign Effects

Hope and Change: Very Effective Marketing Campaign Effects

by Classical Liberal, Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 02:16:35 AM EST

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair, wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance -- i.e., believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary.

Change is to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history.

These two terms strike to the very heart of the campaign's target markets. They skip the reasoning part of the brain and go right to the emotional triggers.

Imagine that you are selling washing machines.
There are 6 steps in the consumer buying process:

Problem Recognition - "dang my washing machine just broke and my laundry room is flooded"
Information search (always starts with internal memory) "Do I know anyone that can fix it? Maybe I should just get a new one? Best Buy sells them don't they?
Evaluation of Alternatives--"Maybe they are cheaper at sears? Let me go check online"
Purchase decision--"Should I go to the store or just by it online"
Purchase--"click buy, one less thing to worry about".
Post-Purchase Evaluation--"I wonder if I would have a washer by now if I would have just gone up to Sears and bought it."

Good marketing uses emotions to skip the target market directly to the purchase decision without going through all of these steps. The term hope goes right to the emotions and because of its vagueness connects with everyone; the term change excludes the competition. All that is left is to determine whether to vote for Obama now via absentee ballot or wait until November.

My take: By definition any new president would represent some level of change and as far as hope, it is grounded in uncertainty, doubt, and fear. I have faith in this country, its form of government and its citizens.

Of course Obama's campaign has gone through a couple of changes of late : FISA, campaign finance reform...Iraq next?

It would be a healthy due diligence in democracy if maybe the blog dedicated a day each week to one of the planks of the Obama campaign (dare I say compare it to Bush and McCain's). There are plenty of good writers and researchers on this blog. On a side note it could have a positive effect on traffic coming from search engines and would undoubtedly create vibrant discussions about the future on this country.

Tags: Hope Change Marketing Obama (all tags)

Permalink :: 26 Comments :: Post a Comment

Marketing and You (2.00 / 6)

Yeah.

You know what's an even better marketing tool? Waiting until one of your band members is shot in the eye and then rushing to his bedside to pose for your next album:

That's badass. Let's see John McCain do that. The ball is in his court.

by MeganLocke on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 02:55:05 AM EST

Re: Marketing and You (none / 0)

Brilliant, a bit of hiphop history I forgot all about.

Nicely done, call out a troll and make me of all people feel out of touch.

by DemsLandslide2008 on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:24:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Nitpick (2.00 / 2)

Hope does not imply despair. Despair by definition is the lack of hope.

While I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work ~ Barack Obama

by bowiegeek on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 05:06:26 AM EST

Re: Nitpick (none / 0)

maybe not despair but unhappiness with the current situation or fear that the situation will get worse.

You don't scratch off a winning lottery ticket, find out it's a winner and then hope, as an afterthought that it is a winner...

thanks, but no thanks

by selfevident on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 07:31:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ying and Yang - (none / 0)

you can't have one without the other.

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 08:25:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ugh (2.00 / 2)

now we have bad eastern philosophy to go with our bad marketing analysis. Congratulations.

by JJE on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 10:53:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Talk about getting over (none / 0)

yourself! Who the hell do you think you are - the guy on the cover of the New Yorker with the monocle.

I can't think of anything to congratulate you about - but I'm sure you spend a lot of time doing it to yourself.

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:41:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Cry moar (none / 0)

Insults beget insults. It's totally, like, karma maaaaan!

by JJE on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:47:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Talk about getting over (none / 0)

I didn't see it as an insult so much as an observation. There's nothing that yin & yang about defining a word as its antonym. It'd be like saying "Happiness implies sheer misery." It just doesn't. Hope is related to despair, but having it is the exact opposite of despair.

While I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work ~ Barack Obama

by bowiegeek on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 05:18:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

An observation by a George Sanders (none / 0)

type character to some chorus girl in a 1930s movie. But I digress...

I see what you say but I interpret yinyang differently -

(1) yinyang as the coherent fabric of nature and mind, exhibited in all existence, (2) yinyang as jiao (interaction) between the waxing and waning of the cosmic and human realms, and (3) yinyang as a process of harmonization ensuring a constant, dynamic balance of all things. As the Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) claims, "Yin in its highest form is freezing while yang in its highest form is boiling.

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 10:52:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Nitpick (none / 0)

I think you proved my point with your definition of despair.

by Classical Liberal on Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 11:11:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Nitpick (none / 0)

If you don't like my definition, go with OED or Webster.

While I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work ~ Barack Obama

by bowiegeek on Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 01:58:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I dunno about everyone else, (2.00 / 3)

but I'm definitely hoping for a new washing machine.

Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.

by sricki on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 07:22:31 AM EST

Do you really think many posters here will (2.00 / 1)

use critical thinking as to Obama.

I like your idea - but it seems a lost cause -

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 08:31:25 AM EST

Re: Do you really think many posters here will (2.00 / 1)

Yea, they completely parrot his talking points on this site.

by DemsLandslide2008 on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:26:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Mojo for the parrot - (none / 0)

is it a grey? I love parrots but I have cats here - they can be disruptive and mischevious - sorta like siamese cats.

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:37:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Too Many Trolls Here (none / 0)

I have mostly stopped commenting, and pretty soon I will just stop showing up, cause MyDD has too many trolls. About 50 percent of the diarists are either McCainiacs or some twisted version of a dead-ender.

sigh

Its really too bad cause I liked this place.

accepting McLettuce is like being 9 years old and forced to eat your own cooking

by Sychotic1 on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 09:53:18 AM EST

Re: Too Many Trolls Here (none / 0)

That is how democracy is. Why is it if someone questions your candidate or political ideas they are considered a troll. If you disagree with someone - convince them they are wrong. You will strengthen your positions and better understand all sides of an issue.

by Classical Liberal on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 10:47:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too Many Trolls Here (2.00 / 1)

If you want to get your eyes on who they are, just look at the rec list of this post.

Trolls rec in groups, if you are new to this site you will learn the republicans all rec together.

Too bad, seems that Jerome is 100% advocating republican trolling being allowed on this site, I guess he is doing the Obama route and is being post partisan.

by DemsLandslide2008 on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:28:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Are you calling me a troll ? (none / 0)

What is your definition of a troll?

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:42:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Deadender? (1.00 / 1)

well, we'll all be deadenders someday - how do you breathe up there on your lofty pedestal?

by Xanthe on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:44:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I am shocked, shocked (none / 0)

to find a political campaign engaged in marketing.

As for "These two terms strike to the very heart of the campaign's target markets. They skip the reasoning part of the brain and go right to the emotional triggers", you do realize that your favored party has run on fear and anger for the past eight years, don't you?

by JJE on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:01:32 AM EST

Re: I am shocked, shocked (none / 0)

You missed the point. I was just responding to the post questioning if Hope and Change where silly campaign slogans. This they are not. They have been crafted with a lot of thought put behind them.

On your fear and anger point - I sense you are referring to the GOP. Do you really want to argue with me that the Democratic Party is not effectively using fear and hate in their elections (specifically since 2000?)

by Classical Liberal on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 02:56:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Classic Liberal (none / 0)

Do you post/lurk on NoQuarter?
I didn't think you ran with that band of wannabe political terrorists?

If not I would reject your REC's as it seems that the trolls from that site are exclusively reccing this.

I know Larry Johnson likes to intimidate Jerome because he thinks he some kind of tough guy who runs a fake company and a hate-filled website.

by DemsLandslide2008 on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:35:08 AM EST

Appears to be (none / 0)

a bona fide Republican, judging from the nick and the old diaries. Honestly I'd rather have the genuine GOP article over the dead-ender fake-Dem crowd.

by JJE on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 12:50:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Classic Liberal (none / 0)

MyDD has pretty much been my home on and off for the last 5 years. I like the format.

Someone else beat me to the punch of removing the REC's. Unless it only takes four REC's to get on the recommended list.

by Classical Liberal on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 03:11:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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