I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment from Harvard Business Review’s John Quelch, who penned an excellent article called “How Better Marketing Elected Barack Obama:”

But, even so, for an inexperienced single term African-American senator tagged with the most liberal voting record to defeat the heir apparent in his own party and then go on to hold off the much-vaunted Republican machine is a truly remarkable achievement. Much of it has to do with Obama’s instinct for marketing.

First, Obama’s personal charisma, his listening and public speaking skills, his consistently positive and unruffled demeanor and his compelling biography attracted the attention and empathy of voters.

Second, Obama converted this empathy into tangible support. More citizens volunteered time and money to help the Obama campaign than any previous presidential candidate. Indeed, he attracted more donors than the entire Democratic or Republican party nationwide. Almost half of Obama’s unprecedented $639 million in funds raised from individuals came from small donors giving $300 or less.

The list goes on, but you get the idea - politics, like business, comes down to a matter of marketing. Barrack didn’t market policies, like traditional politicians of the past, nor did he really market ideology. He marketed himself, and built around himself a remarkable cult of personality.

This truly was a remarkable election, from the point of view of a marketer. Please read the HBR article for the full scoop.

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