Is there any doubt that 2008 was the Year of Obama? Never before have I seen a political candidate generate so much excitement.
Amongst the many aspects of his campaign that can – rightfully – be praised as groundbreaking and progressive, the real secret to his success has been going back to basics.
In August 2007, I wrote that marketers needed to embrace the spirit of the web, not the technology. It doesn't matter if someone comes out with the most amazing social network of all time; what matter is how it brings people together.
In the same way, we can pick apart and praise many of the technological achievements of Obama's campaign. We can talk about his advanced paid search program, his remarkable usage of social media, even his willingness to experiment on the edges of technology with virtual worlds and in-game advertising. But this would completely miss the point.
The reason President-Elect Barack Obama was able to take the nation by storm was because he connected people.
He did not use race to divide a nation; he used it to unite it. He did not attack his opponent; he rose above him. He did not dumb down his message; he made the complex simple. Throughout his entire campaign, he stood proud not for himself, not for his own accomplishments, but for the accomplishments of the people.
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