A comment on brand consistency and continuity. Whatever your politics, you have to admire the quality of Obama’s visual brand expression during the campaign. And now, extending his effective brand and communication strategy, he has rolled it consistently in to his Administration’s communications. That is an effective way to maintain the momentum and connection between campaign messaging and Administration messaging. From a brand perspective, he is telling us visually that the brand promise remains and moves forward. That’s brand power.

A fun survey of Presidential nominees brand associations was published by Landor Associates and Penn, Schoen & Berland on October 21. While I did not feel the brands associated with the candidates reflected my own views of which brand I would associate with each candidate, the exercise was a good reminder of the power of brand archetypes. A more considered perspective was that of Robert Draper’s piece, The Making (and Remaking and Remaking) of the Candidate, in The New York Times Magazine’s October 26 issue, regarding the shifting sands of McCain’s campaign narrative. In either case, what is compellingly evident is that Presidential politics are an excellent illustration of the power of associating an iconic story with the person. (more…)