It’s way too early to know what America’s gonna look like in the post-January 20th world, with Barack Obama in the position of Commander-in-Chief and the most powerful elected official in the free world. But we can make some intelligent guestimates about what may be in store for us, marketing-wise. The following are a bunch of random speculations about the opportunities and challenges that will be on the horizon soon…

1. The Republican Party is gonna need some big-time marketing. First, the GOP has to do some agonizin’ reappraisals, and figure out what went wrong (they stopped acting like Republicans and blurred the brand), and how to fix things (start acting like the tax-cutting, small-government people they used to be). The genius of Ronald Reagan was that he convinced the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives to peacefully coexist in the same tent. That coalition has fractured (if not shattered) in the Bush years. The new blood in the GOP must find a way to restore this partnership, or risk being increasingly marginalized. Once that’s accomplished, the way to sell that is via a concerted marketing effort that is both innovative and resonant. Marketing is no substitute for the right message, but without marketing, it’s a message no one will hear.
2. The issues near and dear to conservatives – gun rights, the right to life, lower taxes, less government intrusion – are all going to need marketing champions. With a dramatic swing to the left, all of these issues will be in the crosshairs for those on the left. The only way to defend them, will be to make a more compelling story to the masses. The media will be actively working against them (as they are largely in sympathy with the liberal agenda), so a compelling story and marketing message is absolutely essential.
3. Part of being the party out of power in a disastrous election year will be serving as the loyal opposition – in other words, being there to keep the guys in power honest. This wil lbe especially important, given that the mainstream media has proven that they have no interest in holding the left accountable. The way to get this message out? Marketing. Lots of marketing. The right will have to walk a fine line – conscientiously objecting to the left’s plans that are too extreme, but not appearing to be obstructionists to the left’s plans that have the support of the majority of the people. Drawing that line will be critical.
4. There will be plenty of opportunities for those on the left to use marketing to help grease the skids for making the new plans of the Obama administration a reality. Of course, when you’re doing something where you’ve got the media in the tank, the powers-that-be in your corner, and (presumably) no budget problems, the temptation will be there to cut corners, or worse, toss ethics out the window. Resist. Any time marketing goes overboard, it not only hurts the credibility of all marketers, but it also diminishes the effectiveness of marketing in the eyes of the public. Be wary – the last thing this country needs is a public that is even more skeptical than they are now.

Are there more opportunities out there? Sure. But this should provide a good head start for conceptualizing the way to look at what’s in store for marketers in the next four years. In fact, this just scratches the surface – industries that have taken a black eye are going to need marketing triage…banks, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, drug companies, the entire automobile industry – you name it. Lots of opportunities for conscientious, talented marketers. Lots of pitfalls for those who are willing to trade ethics for profit.

It’s likely to be a wild ride. Hang on tight.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under marketing.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.