Can Short-Term Brand “Candidate Obama” Transform Successfully Into Long-Term Brand “President Obama”?
Dan Herman, Ph.D. A spate of recent articles about the Obama brand have, in my view as an expert on marketing, neglected the brand’s strategy and focused its verbal or visual expressions. But far more important is the distinction between the short-term brand, “Candidate Obama,” and the long-term brand, “President Obama.” So far candidate Obama’s campaign exemplifies perfect wizardry in short term branding. For those who had not yet encountered this terminology, a short term brand is a pre-planned meteoric and relatively short-lived marketing success. “The Da Vinci Code,” is a classic example. Huge success but fleeting. Short term branding entails the kindling of enthusiasm, expertly and speedily, in a selected target group. Its usual purpose is to motivate members of the group to buy a product promptly and buzz about it. Other times, as in our case, it is to propel the group to volunteer, donate, evangelize and vote on a certain date. In contrast, long term branding endeavors to establ
