Obamacization by Helena Davies

THE BRANDING OF A PRESIDENT

2008

Obamacization THE BRANDING OF A PRESIDENT

OBAMACIZATION

THE BRANDING OF A PRESIDENT

INTRODUCTION

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The American presidential campaign of 2008, and the outcome of that contest heralded an apex in the mastery of slick campaign marketing. Barack Obama, having served only one term as a democratic senator was said to be one of the ‘savviest campaign marketers ever to reach the pinnacle of U.S. Politics’ (Sullivan

2009, Marketing News) The key aims of this study include, finding out what made the marketing of this campaign unique and how they communicated their messages so effectively. Another key aim is to deconstruct the elements of the campaign I felt were most successful and may have helped Obama to victory in November 2008. Firstly, I will look at the branding element, this has become a pivotal part of the campaign over the years, drawing more from successful business models like apple and microsoft, adopted by President Bush and resulting in Obama creating a personable product. Secondly, I will look at the graphic

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design in the campaign, and how the team effectively visualised the messages. This then had to be communicated, and leads to the third chapter where I will look at the ways this was conducted, through efficient manipulation of the internet to reach into the voting public’s personal space and create an instantly recognisable brand. In the words of leading graphic designer and critic Michael Bierut, cited by Romano (2008, Newsweek) ‘He’s the first candidate, actually, who’s had a coherent, top-to-bottom, 360-degree system at work.’

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‘ONE OF THE SAVVIEST CAMPAIGN MARKETERS EVER TO REACH THE PINNACLE OF U.S POLITICS’

RIGHT Official portrait of the President Barack Obama

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CHAPTER

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The campaign of Obama’s republican competition differed greatly from the democratic campaign and I will carry out a semiotic comparison of two elements from both campaigns; a logo and the home page of their websites. Finally, I will conclude the essay. I want to explore if graphic design really is a key element to the campaign, and if the success of the 2008 campaign will influence how the 2012 campaigns are being conducted. The key texts I will be using include; Klein, N 2010, No Logo, 2 nd Edition; Thomas,S 2010, ‘Designing Obama’ and Lee,S, Perry Zucker, A and Heller, S ‘Design for Obama’. My main research methods will be secondary, as I will be collating findings from pivotal websites such as The New York Times Opinion pages, The Pew Research Centre and The Huffington Post. The primary research I will undertake will be in the form of a semiotic study and being

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part of Barack Obama’s twitter feed. Branding, in primitive terms was developed by farmers to distinguish one herd from another, this process of ‘marking’ strayed into the labelling of consumable products and became known as ‘branding’. Today, we see brands in every walk of life, and to the layman this can be seen as a name, a term or design of a product which distinguishes it from another product. Branding in corporate terms is ‘the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.’ (www.businessdictionary.com/ definition/branding) Adolphsen (2009, p5) suggests that three characteristics of branding should be highlighted, the first being ‘Value-laden, emotional narratives; the

THE BRANDING OF A PRESIDENT

TODAY WE SEE BRANDING IN EVERY WALK OF

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Every

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SINCE RICHARD NIXON IN 1968 HAS BEEN ACTIVELY MARKETED.

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LEFT Official ‘change’ placards, red. RIGHT Official ‘change’ placard

communication of value-laden, emotional narratives tailored to specific groups with the aim of differentiating identical products’. The second ‘Multichannel orientation: A coherent, and thus effective, brand image can only be evoked, if identical brand attributes are transmitted through all communication channels’ and the third ‘Trust-building: Branding also means that all activities, including communications, should be focused on gaining and maintaining consumers’ trust’. These three characteristics can be seen in Obamas brand building throughout this chapter. Well known brands became lifestyle choices; The Nike “swoosh” is an established corporate logo that, to the customer who shares its values, is emblematic of a commitment to athleticism’. (davidsonhughes.com/ weblog2) The consumer becomes involved in the narrative behind the product, and they feel that by being loyal, they become part of the story. Naomi Klein explains this concept in a transcript by the Media Education Foundation; The CEO of Nike, Phil Knight, says that he had kind of an epiphany in the mid-eighties where he realized that he didn’t want to compete in a commodity marketplace anymore, that he did not want to be a sneaker company, or as he said, a fashion company. He wanted to be a sports com-

pany and that their core image or their core idea was not about their sneakers being better than Reebok’s, but was an idea about the nature of sports and that pure athletic ability and the raw ability of truly superstar athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan is a kind of metaphor for the American Dream. And so he decided to sell that idea’ (www.mediaed.org/ assets/products/115/transcript_115.pdf) Packaging politics into an easily digested product had been seen in American politics since 1933 and President Roosevelt’s ‘The New Deal’. Every presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1968 has been actively marketed. The ‘corporate’ model of branding became adopted into the political system first under the presidency of George W Bush and now under Barack Obama, the first US president who is also a ‘super brand’ (Klein 2010, p.xxv) Previously, Branding in politics was seen as an internal set of guidelines, which introduced a certain level of discipline and standardization in the management of their external practices, So, Obama’s marketing team set about visualising change and making it become familiar. It ws widely regarded that the design strategy was sophisticated, driven in its message and like Obama himself, consistent. (Feld, 2008)

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Axelrod approached MO/DE in the development of a logo, it appeared that the Obama campaign realised branding had emerged as a top management priority, and there arsigns that the campaign drew from the successful business model, such as that of Nike. In order to sell an idea the product has to have some bearing upon it, Nike produce running shoes and promote a lifestyle of athleticism and elitism which is accessible to ordinary people. Obama has adopted this into politics, his messages of hope and change strike to the heart of many Americans, he is the bearer of a utopian future of which we can all share. Every major movement in history, such as the 1963 African American Civil Rights demonstration and the now famous Martin Luther King Jr speech ‘I have a dream’, has been signifiedby slogans and campaigns and this was no different, Klein says ‘Obama won office by capitalising on our profound nostalgia for those kinds of social movements’ and

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by focussing on consumer psychology unlike any other potential president before him. PRLOG.org quote successful advertising consultant Drew Eric Whitman as saying ‘ Obama also tapped into the strong human desire to belong...Obama frequently used inclusionary language...this wording presumes that the listening audience already shares his beliefs... thereby creating a bandwagon effect.’ This in turn leads to brand tribalism, ‘the tendency of people to make buying decisions based on shared beliefs about brands...members of brand tribes share a deep conviction as to the notion of truth or rightness...’ (Tuominen, P6). This can be seen in the following Obama accumulated on the internet. And just like consumer brands, the political brand also had to become part of our inner lives. Obama understood that by appearing personable, transparent and ‘normal’ he would appeal to the ordinary American, and indeed, ‘motivated turnout’ amongst the ‘under-30 set’ (Feld

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‘THE TENDENCY OF PEOPLE TO MAKE BUYING DECISIONS BASED ON SHARED BELIEFS ABOUT BRANDS... MEMBERS OF BRAND TRIBES SHARE A DEEP CONVICTION AS TO THE NOTION OF TRUTH OR RIGHTNESS...’

2008, Advertising Age) by creating a dependable and trustworthy image that housed hopes and visions for a better future. This was the core concept of the Obama brand. The key parts of this concept are echoed in those of ‘Coca Cola’ advertising, a historically successful firm that still commands prodigious brand loyalty. ) The generic brand is distinguished by its symbols and attachments, signifiers that immediately say to us what they mean. Obama was the first candidate to have an icon, the sunrise image consistently employed by the campaign, from the moment Obama announced his candidacy. The democratic party is symbolised by the donkey, created for Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign. At the time it was to signify the senators strong will and his ‘Jack-Ass’ nickname, today the Democrats believe that it means strong and brave. In August 2008, Obama ruthlessly set aside the symbol of the donkey at the

Democratic National Convention in Denver ‘the Obama campaign had made a statement by jettisoning it in favor of a fresher look, grounded in technology and symbolizing – you guessed it – change.’ (Heller 2008) At every opportunity Obama subconsciously re-enforced his brand, and was even awarded the marketer of the year by Advertising Age in 2008, beating brand giants like Apple and Nike. Although with left wing views and socialist beliefs, Obama embodies a juxtaposition. His core values of equality, hope and change were being packaged and sold to the American public like a grocery item. ‘For nearly a century brands acted as the definitive medium through which we experienced capitalism’ (Haddow 2008, Adbusters) ‘Obama’s strategy is about the normalisation of Capitalism’ (Critchley 2008, Adbusters)

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CHAPTER

DESIGNING OBAMA

In ‘Designing Obama’ Bierut suggests,’ Obama himself was his own best logo...a smart guy with a unique message and a good product. And what designer wouldn’t wish for that in a client’ (Thomas S, 2010 p.xxxi). Brian Collins, an expert on the typeface Gotham, tells Steven Heller, ‘Political campaigns are the Brigadoon of branding. There’s a compressed amount of time to tell a candidate’s story before the race is over and the campaign vanishes. During that window, the campaign must make sure that everything it produces – everything it touches – delivers the candidate’s message in a meaningful way’. (Heller 2008, The New York Times) The brand messages needed to work in conjunction with the campaign iconography, cohesively and consistently. The designers realized that even though the campaign talking points changed rapidly, sometimes hourly, that the ‘message would retain a stability and consistency if the design elements that delivered it remained constant and imperturbable.’ Therefore people would instantly recognise

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the Obama brand, even if the story was changing, they could acknowledge the myth. The typography of the campaign communicates the seriousness of the linguistic message, ‘...faithfully and beautifully set in Hoefler and Frere Jones typeface Gotham’. (Bierut 2009, The Design Obeservtory.) Gotham was developed in 2000 by Tobias Frere-Jones ‘the new typeface that somehow feels familiar. From the lettering that inspired it, Gotham inherited an honest tone that’s assertive but never imposing, friendly but never folksy, confident but never aloof.’ Gotham was not the original choice. The early days before design director, Scott Thomas and art director John Slabyk joined the team, Perpetua was the chosen font. (www.typography.com/fonts/font_ overview.php? productLineID=100008) Gotham celebrates the all-American vernacular. Adopted from the typography of age old New York signage, advertising and lithograph its the ‘engineer’s idea of “basic lettering” that transcends both the characteristics of their materials and the mannerisms of their craftsmen’

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bama

(www.typography.com/fonts/font_overview. php?productLineID=100008 The Ideology of the signifiers; ‘Change’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Believe’ are re-enforced by this classical, yet modern typeface that is grounded in history. As Alice Rawsthorn (2008, The New York Times) describes it ‘...conveys a potentent, if unspoken, combination of contemporary sophistication with nostalgia for Americas past and a sense of duty’. The typeface has an ‘engineered’ feel, that makes us believe that Obama is in control and will actually achieve something. The contemporary simplicity of the typeface communicates that he also has new and different ideas. One of Gotham’s first major uses, pre-Obama campaign, was in the typography on the cornerstone of Freedom Tower, commemorating those who lost their lives in the World Trade Centre in 2001. Designed by Pentagram Studio and erected in 2004, Michael Gericke a partner of Pentagram said that ‘ Gotham “didn’t look like something that was created yesterday and would be gone tomorrow...It seems like it’s part of the larger

urban environment,” (www.cityofsound.com/ blog/2004/07/gotham_the_corn.html) Freedom Tower is an emotional pilgrimage site for many Americans and subconsciously, this will already be a recognisable typeface which holds specific meaning, one which Obama incorporated into his brand. The typography signifies that Obama will be a strong leader who, fighting on the behalf of every single American, will forge a path into the future. The emotive nature of the typography used, refers back to Adolphsen’s (2009) first characteristic of branding. The earliest banners and placards depict the font in lowercase which conveys ‘friendliness’. Throughout the course of the campaign this changes to uppercase, and the colours change to darker blues, suggesting an ‘authoritative’ and more serious approach. The iconography of the campaign, lay in the logo and stylish, classical photography. The logo was a ground-breaking manoeuvre, as no other presidential campaign had ever developed one as successfully. Bush had

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begun to take ownership of the ‘W’ creating bumper stickers centred around this in 2004, but Obama began with a logo. Chief strategist David Axelrod, an experienced political consultant, having helped Harold Washington become the first black mayor of Chicago in 1983, knew that the logo, was one of the most valuable, impalpable assets a firm has. In December 2006, before Obama announced he was running for presidency, Axelrod approached design house MO/DE, who outsourced the project to Sender LLC, a Chicago based company specialising in brand development. The original team at Sender LLC consisted of 5 people tasked with ideas for a logo. Although Sol Sender was the creator of the final design, Amanda Gentry and Andy Cann, helped with refinement and finalisation.

Semiotic Study The Obama Icon Colour Palette ‘...designers need to understand the role of color, form and content in the hierarchy of human cognition. The human brain interprets color first, form second and content last...’ (Thomas 2010, p.xxx) Obama chose red, white and blue. These colours have attached connotations and meanings which have become deeply embedded and evoke powerful feelings, connoting patriotism and symbolizing the American flag. Thomas (2010 p.xxx) suggests that ‘Color is crucial in communicating on the most primitive and basic level of human cognition’ Obama chose to use the colours subtly, predominantly using shades of blue or ‘Obama blue – a cross between sky blue and robins-egg blue’ (Heller 2008, The New York Times). Since 2000, the left-leaning party of the

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democrats has been associated with the colour blue, so the prominent use of the colour blue reiterates he is in control, he is firmly a Democrat. Blue also implies a subliminal code. According to Angela Wright; blue is associated with ‘intellect...strong blues will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft blues will calm the mind and aid concentration’ (www.colouraffects. co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours.) Sol Sender says ‘the red, white and blue, the patriotic message had to stay, people were worried about Obamas lack of experience...so the brief was doing something new but not scaring people off...’ (Obama logo design, part 1 of 2, youtube). The designers realised that previously ‘design in politics was constrained and bland’, and took the opportunity to create a logo that ‘told a story’. Sender says ‘we were excited and energised by the prospect of Mr Obama’s campaign’ and firstly, they ‘read both of the Senators books and were immediately struck by the ideas of hope, change, and a new perspective on red and blue (not red and blue states, but one country).’(As cited by Heller 2008, The New York Times).

The form and the myth Obama himself, through his books and his oratory skills (Heller 2008) could evoke passion and true feeling in people that this was the real deal, there really was going to be a ‘change’ in America, and this part of the narrative within the logo. The form of the logo is an ‘O’, that could be incorporated typographically whilst working as a solitary symbol. This suggests that the campaign is as much about the man as the party. Sender says he ‘felt very positive about the ‘O’ message’ (Heller 2008, The New York Times).

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abc de fghi jk lm nop qr stuv wxy z

abcde fghijk lmnop qrstuv wxyz

RIGHT Gotham, the official font for the campaign

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THE

Dawn The icon which depicts a sunrise, identifies with the ‘O’, an ancient symbol representative of a ‘whole’, ‘unity’ and the ‘sun’ (www.crossroad.to/Books/symbols1). Since the ‘O’ comes from Obama’s name, this seems to symbolise that he will be the bearer of the ‘new day’ that this is his vision for the future. Inside the ‘O’ is a white sun against a blue sky rising over red stripes, reflecting the American flag, the colours working in conjunction with the ‘O’ strongly suggest ‘coalition’ and ‘unity’. The stripes symbolise the earth, this seems to allude to the American dream, going back to the roots of normal Americans, stripping away all the materialistic possessions that now surround people, offering transparency and truth. The hierarchy of the image, through the gently inclining horizontal stripes lead our eyes from the bottom, upwards with the rising sun, which offers warmth, transformation and

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renewal and historically appeals to people spiritual ideals. Obama seems to be offering not only a ‘new day’ , a ‘new dawn’ but also a unified America. In some ways Utopia. This relies on Western ideologies, and the myth of the American Dream. About the logo Sender was asked ‘Did you ever think it was too branded ?’ to which he replied, it may have become a symbol for something broader – some have termed it a movement, a symbol of hope’ (Heller 2008, The New York Times). So the myths running through the logo and in the iconic signifier are the campaigns messages of hope seen in the rising sun and ultimately change, of leadership. As Alice Rawsthorn (2008, The New York Times) says ‘The sun rising at the start of new day was an obvious choice for a candidate campaigning for ‘change we can believe in’. Arnon (2008, Huff Post Media) cites Carol Cox, professor of art therapy at George

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OF A NEW

day...

Washington University and Pratt Institute as saying; ‘The circular shape of the Obama logo is a mandala, a word derived from ancient Sanskrit that is composed of two root words meaning essence and container. A symbolic form used by all cultures in one manner or another for a variety of purposes both sacred and secular, the Mandala has come to represent wholeness or completion of a cycle. Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung considered the mandala to be an archetypal symbol residing in the collective unconscious that is accessed by people during a time of transition’. This ‘time of transition’ can be related to the present state of politics; the American people were ready for a change after the previous administration and the symbol had even more of an affect. The image inside the ‘mandala’ of the rising sun tells a story, a hero beginning a journey, reminiscent of superhero comics, like superman. The logo depicts light

and shade, like yin and yang, representative of all that Obama and America faced, but it is brought together in harmony within the white outline of the ‘mandala’. Arnon (2008, Huff Post Media) goes on to cite Cox as saying ‘I believe the logo is brilliant because it has the power to affect us all on a deeply unconscious level to believe there is a way to solve the polarized red and blue world we are each experiencing on so many levels. There is hope on the horizon and that hope is Obama’ Sender is cited as saying that ‘put simply, a lot of meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Often the best logos and identities are designs that offer a depth of meaning and opportunity for interpretation’. (Heller 2008, The New York Times). So, each person has a different belief system, but we can all relate to imagery and the Western ideologies they harbour. The logo epitomises everything that Obama stood for, and this is ultimately what we see. Due to the unique diversity of American culture, Obama had to employ a global concept and the logo is easily diversified to include all sections of society, This displays Obama’s determination that he will create a coalition for the future; – there is even a Republicans for Obama logo. As current president, Obama often chooses to use his own logo over the presidential seal, (PJTV, 2009www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdtqtfXdR-c) and did on one occasion on the campaign trail, incorporate the two (figure 5). The logo reflected Obama’s signature themes; in his words on the Larry King Show (2006) “There is not a black America and a white America and a Latino America and Asian America, there is a United States of America’ The logo bears a striking resemblance to the ‘Pepsi’ logo (figure 6), which utilizes the ‘mandala’ and the same colours.

The mark of John McCain To help with understanding how the design employed by Obama dominated the political landscape, I will compare it to

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OFTEN THE BEST LOGOS AND IDENTITIES ARE DESIGNS THAT OFFER A DEPTH OF MEANING AND OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERPRETATION’

John McCain’s approach, ‘where design is considered in the typical way for a political campaign, that is a necessary evil’ (Hepworth 2009) Until the Obama campaign, ’the overwhelming effect of the dominant political aesthetic would make the eyes of even the most hardened political hack glaze over in boredom’ (Hepworth 2009). McCain’s 2008 logo (figure 7) was centred around the signs ‘McCain’ and ‘JohnMcCain. com’. Over the top of his name is a gold flash, with a military star in the centre. His 2008 logo, (reminiscent of the McCain oven chips logo), is set in Optima. The same typeface employed on the Vietnam war memorial, commemorating the Soldiers who lost their lives, similarly Obama also employed a commemorative typeface, but this was representative of the present and the future, and had a more emotive affect. Optima was created ‘as a modernistic sans serif designed by the German type designer Hermann Zapf in 1958 that was popular among book and magazine designers during the 1970s’. (Heller, 2008) – a nod to the end of the Vietnam War. Leading designer, Michael Bierut criticized the use of the typeface calling it ‘wishy-washy, neither contemporary nor traditional’ (www.thedailybeast.com/news-

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LEFT Logo of John McCain

week/2007/07/23/the-stumperstickers) Optima has been set in bold which conveys strength and authority – everything about the sign seems to inspire security, the nation will be safe if they vote for the conservative John McCain, but for me the logo does not inspire fundamental emotive feelings, nor does it capitalise on the period of deep unrest. McCain seems to be selling the past. The ‘navy star’, and the use of Navy blue, a conservative choice, appear to be representative of his 24 years of experience, having been elected into the senate in 1984. His ‘war hero credentials’ (Jacobs 2008) re-enforce this concept. The logo also appears in a black version; the two colour choices asserting ‘importance, confidence, power and authority as well as intelligence, stability, unity and conservatism. It carries a sense of elegance, sophistication. Its associated with police, military.’ (www.colouraffects. co.uk/ psychological-properties-of-colours, no date). Obama’s logo promotes freedom and creativity, whilst McCain’s logo seems to enforce law and order, restraint. McCain’s logo has subliminal connotations running through it which speak mainly to an older generaion of voters. Obamas logo is

diverse with a strong visual story. McCain is relying solely on his military accomplishment, One of the many ways that the election of Barack Obama as president has echoed that of John F Kennedy is his use of a new medium that will forever change politics, for Mr Kennedy it was the television. For Mr Obama, it is the internet.’ (Cain Miller 2008) Not only did Obama go one step further than other candidates in creating a brand identity, but he also understood how to market himself to the masses in the age of New Media. Information was becoming readily obtained from the internet, in the 2004 campaign, information learnt on the internet had risen from 9% in 2002 to 13%, and the younger generations were increasingly using it as their main news source. (The Pew Research Centre, 2008) Howard Dean’s presidential campaign 2004 saw the beginning of the uses of social networks in a presidential campaign but as he said, ‘we fell into this by accident, I wish I could tell you we were smart enough to figure this out, but the community taught us. They seized the initiative through ‘Meetup’. They built our organization for us before we had an organization’ (Wolf 2004). Unfortunately, in the case of Howard Dean, this was a bottom up led campaign, over which he had little say in its direction ‘If I give a speech and the blog people don’t like it, next time I change the speech’ (as cited by Wolf 2004). The second of Adolphsen’s (2009) identified characteristics of branding, to successfully market through ‘all means of communication’ was expertly undertaken by Axelrod who took control from the beginning. He understood that the ‘internet is a central part of our culture, and voters can get information from independent blogs, campaign websites, YouTube videos, email and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.’ (Thomas 2010 p.80) Howard Deans campaign managed to raise small amounts of money from hundreds of thousands of people, but Obamas campaign took this further, utilizing Web 2.0 tools which allow users to communicate and share

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CHAPTER

HOW OBAMA CAPITALISED ON THE NEW MEDIA REVOLUTION TO SPREAD THE WORD

information. Web 2.0 has been key in the success of Obamas brand and is essentially a part of the brand. Within the barackobama .com website there is a splinter site called mybarackobama.com, a social networking site, linking online volunteers with those ‘on the ground’, a cyber community was born. Through an increasing web presence, the Obama campaign created excitement, momentum, connection and personal image, and thus gained the support both on and off-line of thousands of voters, including the younger generation. Social networking had become the ball park for distributing news and information and everyone had a voice. Barack Obama exploited this, in creating his own websites purely for this purpose, knowing that it could be a risk. Obama, not only at the forefront of politics was at the forefront of a technological revolution with ‘among the first apps produced for apples iPhone – the latest success

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form another millennial mass marketer – was an Obama ‘Countdown to Change’ calendar that ticks off the seconds until election day’ (Feld 2008) Like his opponents Obama had the problem of marketing in diverse ways and losing the poignancy of the message – but the team consisting of John Slabyk, Michael Slaby, Joe Raspers and Scott Thomas had thought in depth about their online image and the keywords they would use; ‘persuade’, ‘change’, ‘connect’, denote relationships and giving. All the online components worked in harmony and in effect drove the whole campaign. ‘We zeroed in on key objectives; to systematically control the use of color, adhere to consistent typographic styles, to communicate hope through emotive design elements, and to separate various components of content into a logical order would create a familiar user experience no matter what page a user landed on’ (Thomas 2010, p82) In other

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OBAMA, NOT ONLY AT THE FOREFRONT OF POLITICS WAS AT THE FOREFRONT OF A TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION words, the design would be as consistent as possible andthe interface of the websites would be user friendly. The website changed significantly from January 2007. The first website (figure 8), appears before the ‘rebrand’. The header set in ‘Perpetua’, developed by Eric Gill in 1929 is reminiscent of the arts and crafts era. As soon as the final logo was approved and Obama announced he was running for presidency the website changes dramatically and becomes a more dynamic, involving environment, if a little chaotic. Micheal Slaby, the deputy director of New Media for the team, created the first designs for the website. Although understanding the basics of a designers toolkit, he soon became inundated with work and the aesthetic qualities were becoming lost in the ‘frenetic’ nature of the environment. ‘The campaign began to realize that in-house designers were needed to manage the creation and produc-

tion of future materials’ (Thomas 2010, p34). When the opportunity arose they employed professional designers, Scott Thomas and John Slabyk who joined the team in August 2007 and subsequently the design became coherent and consistent. The re-design was unveiled in December 2007 (figure 9) and went from a fairly difficult to navigate home page, to a user-friendly site. Colours flooded the home page with an emphasis on contemporary and sophisticated blues and greys. The typography was consistent with the print ephemera and Gotham was utilised for the headings. The website became easy to navigate with icons as signifiers. Information was structured and organised. They had identified that ‘User-friendly information architecture and site design would be the foundation for such features as our campaign blog, videos social networking and volunteer mobilization.’ (Thomas 2010, p.81) The website was constantly evolving, and

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ALTHOUGH ‘UNDERSTANDING’ THE BASICS OF A DESIGNERS TOOLKIT, HE SOON BECAME INUNDATED WITH WORK AND THE AESTHETIC QUALITIES WERE BECOMING LOST IN THE ‘FRENETIC’ NATURE OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

Barack Obama V John McCain relied heavily on analytics. For instance they could see that ‘more people donated when our fund-raising page was in one column instead of two’ so they made future decisions based on their findings. Scott Thomas explains that ‘designing and building portions of the website was as much of a grass roots effort as knocking on doors and making phone calls...’ (Thomas 2010, p81) As with other design stumbling blocks that had presented themselves during the course of the campaign, the team had already inherited a full website that was being used daily and already received a lot of traffic, so they were working on live pages. ‘We also designed the site to invent new ways of making our campaign as participatory as possible’ (Thomas 2010, p81) Even though they already had a productive blog, they wanted every aspect of what they were delivering to be something you could participate in and add your voice to. From information submitted to the website from donators, they could target voters interests, and maintain their involvement in the campaign. When comparing Obama’s November 2008 website to that of John McCain’s, we

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can see that Obama’s home page was designed as a whole, rather than in different sections, like McCain’s. The header on the Obama home page features pictures of himself and Joe Biden, neither looking directly at the camera, Obama is featured in the front and is a slightly larger image than that of Biden, signifying that although they are running together, this is Obamas campaign. The signs ‘Obama’ and ‘Biden’ re-iterated this; Obama is set in a slightly larger point size. McCain’s header appears as a detachable band at the top of the page with the images of McCain and Palin in equal proportion, this seems to suggest that they are given equal space on the site, and that somehow they hold the same principles and beliefs. This is also illustrated in the linguistic signs; ‘McCain’ and ‘Palin’, although set in the same point size it appears that ‘Palin’ is larger because the name is shorter. The McCain site tried to emulate the Obama site in the use of gradients and consistent colours. The colour palette utilizes a greeny blue, and the same dark yellowy gold that is used in his logo. Obamas site is cohesive, contemporary and the first of his peers to have created such a remarkable marketing tool, this was later copied by McCain.

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THEY WANTED EVERY ASPECT OF WHAT THEY WERE DELIVERING TO BE SOMETHING YOU COULD PARTICIPATE IN AND ADD YOUR VOICE TO.

micro-targeting From the beginning of the campaign it appeared that Obama was going to have to work very hard to gain votes from Hillary Clinton, and think cleverly about targeting the voters. The Obama campaign employed ‘sophisticated micro-targeting’ (Wayne 2008) in the form of VoteBuilder, a stealth targeting approach, collecting and analysing the details of all registered voters. The campaign utilized BSD online tools suite, a software program which processes complex information and breaks itdown to create groups of like-minded individuals. Using this tactic from the outset, Axelrod was able to target minor states, considered insignificant by Clinton. ‘The quality and the quantity of their ground game is measurably better than the Republican campaign of 2004 or the McCain campaign. Obama has better deployed micro-targeting and is using it more.’ (Wayne 2008) From their in-depth studies of the people whose votes they were trying to earn, they could deduce details such as the ‘fact th many evangelical Christians are open to hearing a pro-environmental message’. (Wayne 2008) Understanding advanced voter behaviour meant they could target their messages more effectively, a technique widely used in the business world and was adopted by the chief strategist for Bush’s 2000 campaign. In more recent times ‘Democrats, along with such allies as trade unions and progressive groups, have poured millions of dollars into building

formidable databanks’ (Wayne 2008) According to Forrester’s research ‘Social Technological Ladder of Participation’ (Forrester 2008) out of 220,141,969 internet users, with a penetration rate of 72.5% the democrats held the support of most internet users. This is then deconstructed into sections. Creators who create web pages blog, videos which are posted on the internet. Critics who respond and comment on blog posts and contribute to online forums. Collectors use RSS feeds, add tags to web pages and photos. Joiners Maintain profile on social networking site. Spectators Read blogs; watch videos from other users, listen to podcasts, read online forums. Inactives don’t use the internet at all’ (Forrester 2007) The statistics from these groups of users reveal that 1 in 3 Obama supporters were ‘Joiners’, which was expertly used by the Obama team in the creation of mybarackobama.com. They had researched their clients and targeted them appropriately. (Bernhoff 2008)

WEB 2.0 – A SOCIAL CHANGE The use of networking sites Co-Founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, was brought on ‘to explore how new media could be used to bring ordinary Americans into the political process and mobilize support’ (Thomas 2010 p.xxix) and develop the technology behind mybarackObama.com, commonly known as, MYBO. com, Barack Obama’s social networking site. ‘Hughes built something the candidate said he wanted but didn’t yet know was possible:

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a virtual mechanism for scaling and supporting community action’ (McGirt 2009, Fast Company) The website encouraged users to connect with each other, download tools, set up forums, create groups and plan events. By the end of the campaign ‘volunteers had created more than 2 million profiles on the site, planned 200,000 off-line events, formed 35,000 groups, posted 400,000 blogs, and raised $30 million on 70,000 personal fund-raising pages’. (McGirt 2009, Fast Company) This proved the cheapest and most effective way of reaching the voter. Obama utilized YouTube for free advertising, and by the end of the campaign it emerged that ‘The campaigns official stuff they created for YouTube was watched for 14.5 million hours....to buy 14.5 million hours on broadcast TV is $47 million’ (Miller 2009) This seems a more credible way of telling whether the messages have been absorbed, since you have the choice to watch them, you have to actively seek them out, or receive them from a friend. Therefore, you choose the moment you want to watch and absorb the information, a more effective marketing toll than if interrupting prime time television. A cleverly re-mixed edition of the famous Budweiser advert ‘Wassup?’08’ (Wassup? 2008) is testament to how the internet can be used to transmit messages in different ways. The director of the original advert, Charles Stone III spent $6,500 of his own money to create the advert which was shot over two days and then posted on YouTube. He was

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a declared ‘die-hard Obama fan’ within two days of the adverts release it had had 1.8 million views. (Newsweek 2008) By looking at Obama’s internet presence we can see the results of Tuominen’s study (2009) of ‘Brand Tribalism’. Sites like Twitter and Facebook, are ‘club-like’, and the inclusionary aspect isimmeasurable, people feel like they belong to something. The Pew Research Centre (2008) discovered that 42% of 18-29 year olds and 26% of 30-49 year olds compared with 15% of the over 50’s found out their news from the internet during the 2008 campaign. This accounts for the strong youth vote Obama received; synonymous with millennial ‘brand tribalism’ where ‘ubiquitous connectivity, personalization, peer-to-peer networking, engagement, immersion, and content creation—are emblematic of the ways in which young people are both shaping and being shaped by this new digital culture ‘ (Tuominem 2009, p01) It was noted in the Financial Times (2005) ‘put tribalism and ageing together and we will see some places where older people dominate every election’, put brand tribalism, young people and the internet together and we will see a successful online campaign. The removal of physical boundaries meant the message could be delivered without interference. Sites such as Twitter only allow 140 characters per message, so they have be succinct and to the point. Twitter stats from 2008 show that Obama had 115.623 followers compared to McCain’s 4,911. Obama himself

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also contributes to the messaging, it is well publicized that his messages are signed B.O. Becoming a part of Obamas twitter feed feels a bit like being a fly on the wall inside the administration. ‘Tweeting’ political messages and updates, and also personal moments from his home life, brings him closer to the voter ‘tomorrow is a special day for @michelleobama, will you take a minute to sign the first lady’s birthday card?’ (Twitter 2012). He has revealed a transparency and appealed to his core group ‘Joiners’ who place a certain importance on relationships. A popular website dedicated to pumpkin carvings of the Obama logo and even Obama himself ‘download, carve and share your Barack o’lantern’, (www.yesyoucarve.com, no date) demonstrates the online and offline communities working as one. A BYOP (bring your own pumpkin) party craze began, and the images of these were uploaded onto the website – then discussed and tagged. Because Obama had embraced the art behind the politics and design played as much a part in the look of the online campaign as it did in the print campaign, this inspired websites such as 30reason.com and. 30 reasons; ‘30 Reasons is a 30-day email and internet campaign to encourage people to vote for Barack Obama. Our goal is simple: Use design to build a logical, multi-faceted argument for Obama and make it easy to share each reason with another person.’ There are also links to Twitter and Facebook to make the sharing even easier. www.designforobama.org has;

‘the goal of supporting Barack Obama’s campaign for presidency, Design/ers for Obama will introduce new tools and opportunities to web-powered grass roots organizing that has already revolutionized campaigning. Design/ers for Obama is a community for Obama supporters, whether visually inclined or not, to aggregate and rate Obama poster art that is available for download in a variety of sizes that can be easily printed by any and everyone. At such a turbulent (yet exciting) time in our nation’s history, collaboration has never been more important’ People have joined in the forums on each of the uploaded images (figure 14) and comments such as ‘it’s because Obama is the inspiration... This site is a testament to that. No more is needed’(2008), have ignited the excitement over the campaign creating a domino effect of people helping and volunteering their time and money in whichever way they can. www.artistsforObama.com is an online auction of the work of artists who may not have been able to give anything personally but who wanted to contribute to the campaign. ‘All proceeds will be given directly to MoveOn and to the NAACP Voter Fund, organizations working hard to get out the vote in low-income neighborhoods in swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and Virginia’ (www.artistsforobama.com

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CHAPTER

THE ‘HOPE’ POSTER The ‘Hope’ poster was another testament to the ‘creatives’ of Obama’s supporters and was the icon of the campaign. Designed by Shephard Fairey, a street artist from Los Angeles, was according to Steven Heller ‘a visual energy jolt...Its viral popularity was unprecedented in American politics’ (as cited by Lee, Perry-Zucker 2009. p.21) Fairey himself was inspired by Obama’s 2004 keynote speech made at the Democratic National Convention. He approached the Obama campaign in October 2007 to see ‘how they would feel about (my) support’ (Fairey, Gross 2009, p.7) February 2008 he received word that they were ‘cool’ with it so, in two weeks Fairey created the ‘Hope’ poster. He wanted to ‘capture his (Obama’s) idealism, vision and his contemplative nature.’ (Fairey, Gross 2009, p.7) The poster’s single sign ‘HOPE’ set in uppercase, is a bold statement. Linked with the icon, a profile of Obama, this connotes that Obama is the bearer of the country’s hope. The red and blue used in the poster signifies ‘a patriotic colour scheme’ (Fairey,

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Gross 2009, p.7) The ‘republican’ red, used in the shadows suggests the failed republican administration of the Bush era, this side of Obamas face, is turned away, signifying that this is the past. The ‘democratic’ blue is used in the highlighting of the face, and in the sign ‘hope’, linking the two, this connotation implies that hope comes with democracy. The profile of Obama does indeed capture the ‘contemplative nature’ Fairey wanted (Fairey, Gross 2009, p.8), but also there is an archetypal quality to it, which has religious connotations. Good and evil oppose each other in the bold use of blue and red, while Obama is the salvation in the centre, in a similar way that Carravaggio depicts Christ in ‘The Taking of Christ’ (1602), the use of Chiaroscuro, or light and shade creates a dramatic effect. The shades of blue and red are the colours of the two main American parties, but they also contain other meanings. The deep rusty red is indicative of blood and reminiscent of the Iraq war, a war that Obama was funda-

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mentally opposed to from the outset. The blue, is a peaceful sky blue, which could signify an end to war and bloodshed and again, like his logo, it offers a new day. The hierarchy of the image incorporates a strong vertical line down the centre of the icon to the centre of the sign. This line is the centre where the blue and red meet, implying that Obama will unite both parties and on a wider scale the whole country – this is reminiscent of his logo. On the right of the poster above the ‘E’ is the logo which appears to be ‘rising’ out of the sign. Fairey has used it in the form of a lapel button which would be on Obama’s left, again echoing the democratic element. The ‘Hope’ poster and the passion with which he entered into the grass roots movement, earned him the gratitude of Obama, who said ‘The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo...’ (as cited by Fairey from a letter he received from Obama; Fairey, Gross 2009 p.8) Using the poster as a grass roots tool, Fairey posted it to his own website, with a free hi-res download so that anyone could print it off. He says ‘ (I) printed up posters and stickers, which I started puttingup around L.A and sending out to other parts of the country...’ Within a short time, members of the Obama campaign were using the icon in their e-mail signatures and as their My Space and Facebook profile images. Fairey says ‘for the first time since maybe the sixties, there was a genuine movement where artists felt like there was an opportunity to engage in democracy and use art as a tool of communication’ (Fairey, Gross 2009, p.8) The ‘Hope’ poster did indeed go ‘viral,’ becoming the icon of the campaign, although some critics such as Heller admit that the design was ‘not all that unique’, but it ‘appeals largely to young audiences, and his poster exuded a youthful cachet’ (Lee, Perry-Zucker 2009, p.21) it was what it signified, the myth

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of the American dream at its core. The Obama campaign eventually took ownership of the icon, commissioning Fairey to do some more, including making Obama smile! Heller mentions that ‘had Fairy been art-directed from the outset, the poster may have been even more fettered by the usual committee- or not done at all...’ (Lee, Perry-Zucker 2009, p.21) Obama and his team had again changed the protocols of the campaign marketing, by giving a free rein to the people and allowing the free distribution of images. Through the internet, the distribution of art was quicker and more effective, and the grass roots movement had a domino effect because ‘creative people are influential people, and the more they participate, the more they influence the younger crowd to vote and be more politically active...’ (Fairey, Gross 2009, p.21) ‘So do these posters have any impact on voters? Not the specific images or messages, but cumulatively they are a grass roots effort that excite through the show of collective support.’ (Heller 2008). Through the ‘Hope’ poster sites like ‘Obamicon’ appeared. You can upload your own image and it would be transformed into a hope poster, with any word you desire underneath it. He was largely unknown outside Illinois before keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, which sparked the imaginations of the public and began to inspire people.

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O I T IZA

C A AM

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CHAPTER

CONCLUSION

I have discovered over the course of this study, that since Obama announced his candidacy in February 2007, there ensued a clearly structured plan of ‘winning the race’. This resulted in a victory for Obama in gaining the presidency, but also for the team, who won two grand prix in the Titanium and Integrated Lions categories in Cannes 2009, prestigious advertising awards. ‘To win the Titanium grand prix, a campaign must involve a breakthrough idea that is “provocative, challenges assumptions and points to a new direction’ (Sweney 2009). Firstly the team devised their brand based around the keywords, ‘Change’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Believe’. When Obama announced his candidacy, his enduring logo was simultaneously so put forward. He meant change from the start, and gave the voter something to believe in. Secondly, they researched their delegate,

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the market they wanted to appeal to, where they knew they would gain votes if they worked hard enough. The youth vote had been on the wane for a number of years, and Obama felt that since this was the next generation this was the market he wanted to appeal to. Thirdly, they visualised their message. Consistently and methodically Obama persevered with his messages of the campaign, constantly re-affirming the brand. Through the use of the internet, the third of Adolphsen’s (2009) branding characteristics emerged quickly; ‘Like any great brand, Obama has built up a bond of trust with the American people. His election has also given the US the opportunity to re-establish its moral leadership around the world’ (Quelch 2008) Whether Obama has maintained this bond of

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OBAMA AS A PERSON, MADE THE BASIS FOR A TANGIBLE BRAND, DUE TO HIS INSPIRING ORATORY.

trust whilst he has been in office will be seen in the forthcoming elections. Obama’s brand had a ‘narrative,’ it focussed on traditional and emotive myths that people felt passionate about, and this was seen in every part of his brand and the communication of the message. The design expertly visualised the message and was consistent throughout the course of the campaign. ‘Gone are the traditionally diverse variegated placards, in their place are an array of branded, decidedly art directed signs that typographically co-ordinate’ (Heller 2008) The campaign revolutionised the way the political message was spread; Cain Miller cites Peter Wynn Thompson as saying ‘the Obama campaign’s use of the internet has played a large role in up-ending how presidential races are fought.’ (Cain Miller 2008) The 2008 campaign illustrated that with all the right ingredients in equal measures; consistent brand messages, stylish, contemporary design, proficient use of all communication channels a successful outcome will ensue. Graphic design does play a vital role, but so does branding and communication. ‘Graphic design can not directly cause any sudden change by itself, but it can indirectly lay the foundation of a thought behind a change’ (www.writingfordesigners. com/?p=1379) Looking ahead at the forthcoming 2012 election, the 2008 campaign has definitely influenced the way the presidential election is being fought. Obama is posting up-to-the

minute tweets ‘The chant fired-up, ready-togo got us going in 2008 and its still driving us today’ (Twitter 28/01/2012), but so are his rivals. Current twitter statistics using the twitter counter, reveal that currently Obama is still commanding the highest following with 12,227,239 rising by an average of 8,000 daily, whereas his closest rival Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are trailing significantly with 301,276 rising by 2,235 for Romney and 1,429,554 rising by 1,539 for Gingrich. If the twitter poll is a credible way of telling whether Obama will win again, then there is no doubt. He has the 8th position in the world for the most followers. (twittercounter.com/compare/barackobama/mittromney/newtgingrich/week/followers) Each candidate sports a honed logo and website, even John McCain has re-modelled his icon. The internet has played a crucial role in the election and will do in the future, the grass roots effort is not about knocking on doors now, it is being conducted in cyber space.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE LIST Bernard, Pierre. (1991) Lecture. The Social Role of the Graphic Designer. Reprinted in Essays on Design I:AGI’s Designers of Influence. (1997), London.

Hall, Sean. (2007). This means this This means that. A user’s guide to semiotics London, Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Bignell, Jonathan. (2003) Media Semiotics: An Introduction 2nd edtn. Manchester University Press.

Heller, Steven. (2008) ‘To the Letter Born’ The New York Times. Available at http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/ to-the-letter-born (accessed 19/09/2011)

Cain Miller (2008) ‘How Obama’s Internet Campaign Changed Politics’ The New York Times. Available at: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/ (accessed 15/10/11) Democracy, Designers and Obama Available at: www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/ thoughtfortheweek//index.php?thoughtid=396 (accessed 19/09/11) Edited by Heller, Steven and Vienne, Veronique.(2003) Citizen Designer, Perspectives on Design Responsibility Allworth Press. Feld, Peter. (2008) ‘What Obama can teach you about Millennial Marketing’ Advertising Age. Available at:www.adage.com

Heller, Steven. (2008) ‘The ‘O’ in Obama’ The New York Times. Available at: http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com Heller, Steven. (2008) ‘Staging Obama’ The New York Times. Available at: http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com (Accessed 20/09/2011) Heller, Steven. (2008) ‘This Election’s Poster Child’ The New York Times. Available at: http://campaign-stops.blogs.nytimes.com (Accessed 20/09/2011) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/branding.html http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/115/transcript_115.pdf

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Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008. Available at: www.people-press. org/2008/01/11/internets-broader-role-in-campaign-2008/ (accessed 18/09/11) Interview with Sol Sender. ‘The Obama Logo’ available at: www.youtube.cowatch?v=etEP1Bhgui0.(Accessed 12/10/11) Lecture by Scott Thomas. ‘Designing the Obama Campaign’ Available at http://the99percent.com/videos/5821/scott-thomas-designing-the-obamacampaign (accessed 15/10/11) Macmillan, Neil. (2006) An A-Z of Type Designers London, King Publishing Limited. ‘Market in Chief’ (2009) Marketing News. Available at:http:// www.webershandwick.com/resources/ws/ flash/MarketerInChief.pdf (accessed 21/11/11) Obama’s Media Campaign, branding our conciousness Available at: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2008 (accessed 10/07/11) Pendle, George. (2008) ‘ ‘All The Presidents Marketing Men’. Available at www.artinfo.com/news/story/28612/all-the-presidents-marketing-men (accessed 14/10/2011)

Politics for Sale (2009) Adbusters blog. Available at: www.adbusters. org/blogs/aesthetico/politics_sale.html (accessed on: 25/07/11) Rawsthorn, Alice. (2008) ‘Neww York, New York’. The New York Times. Friday, April 4th Schiffres, Steve. Internet Key to Obama victories Available at: www.newsvote.bbc.co.uk (accessed on: 18/11/11) Stumper Stickers Available at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/ newsweek/2007/07/23/the-stumper-stickers. html accessed om:21/12/11 Sweney, M (2009) ‘Barack Obama Campaign wins two top awards at Cannes Lion Ad Awards’ The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/29/barack-obama-cannes-lions Accessed 26/01/12 Teeter M, Proudfoot S, Langshur. T he Modern Online Candidate: Part 1 Political Brand & Campaigns. Available at: www.hillwatch.com/publications/ bulletins/modern_online_candidate_part_1 (accessed12.11.11)

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THE 2008 CAMPAIGN ILLUSTRATED THAT WITH ALL THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS IN EQUAL MEASURES; CONSISTENT BRAND MESSAGES, STYLISH, CONTEMPORARY DESIGN, PROFICIENT USE OF ALL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME WILL ENSUE.