BARACK AND THE NEW US
James Tuckerman, Editor-In-Chief, Anthill Magazine
Earlier this year, one of my favourite US business magazines, Fast Company, made the following observation:
Win or lose, Barack’s rise reveals a new reality in the marketplace.
The fact that Obama has taken what we thought we knew about politics and turned it into a different game for a different generation is no longer news.
What Obama’s success says about business is the far more interesting story.
But first, what has the 47 year-old President-Elect pledged for the economy…
- Tax cuts (Individuals): Immediate tax cuts ($500 for individuals, $500 for families) for households making less than $25,000 and for retired senior citizens making up to $50,000.
- Tax cuts (Businesses): Eliminate capital gains taxes on small and start-up business investments, In 2009 and 2010, give businesses a $3,000 income tax credit for each new employee they hire above their current work force.
- Job creation: Invest $25bn to repair roads and bridges and to make schools energy efficient. Double loan guarantees for automakers to $50bn.
What does this mean?
Quite simply, his pledges are about putting more money back into the market, so that punters will start spending again and, hopefully, jump start the economy.
It’s not rocket science.
Cutting taxes is a safe bet. Spending on capital works also has a proven heritage.
While eliminating capital gains for some business activities and creating incentives to hire new staff is genuinely inspired (bring it on!), what will be more interesting to watch is the potential effect that ‘Brand Obama’ will have on the US psychology.
Politics, after all, is about marketing.
It’s about projecting and selling an image, stoking aspirations, moving people to identify, evangelise and, of course, consume.
Will brand Obama inject optimism into the market? Is his way of doing things a wake-up call for business - get authentic or take a hike? Are his movements genuine signals for marketers, including those in Australia?
It seems that any forward-thinking business would be wise to examine the implications of his ascent, from his inclusive approach to leadership to the social networking tools his campaign used to raise funds, populate events and, ultimately, win votes.
I’ll leave the last word to Fast Company:
The promotion of the brand called Obama is a case study of where the American marketplace - and potentially, the global one - is moving.
His openness to the way consumers today communicate with one another, his recognition for the desire of ‘authentic’ products and his understanding of the need for a new global image - are all valuable signals for marketers everywhere.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:46 am
It just goes to show that people want and will embrace change - a great example of acceptance and willingness to really show that the US are ready to make the changes necessary to rebuild their own country ‘brick by brick’ Well done Obama - a great result
November 6th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Yes, a great example of a powerful ‘personal brand’ Let’s not all be too starry eyed about the campaign and his teams efforts on this front. Ellen Mc Girt (who I believe wrote the article in Fast Comany you quote) puts it straight with;
“His openness to the way consumers today communicate with one another, his recognition for the desire of ‘authentic’ products and his understanding of the need for a new global image - are all valuable signals for marketers everywhere”
The campaign simply reflected the Man and reinforced his brand attributes…
November 6th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Before getting all starry-eyed over the Obama victory yesterday, let’s take a look at the first two bullet points in your article:
FIRST: “Tax cuts (Individuals): Immediate tax cuts ($500 for individuals, $500 for families) for households making less than $25,000 and for retired senior citizens making up to $50,000.”
Individuals (and families) making less that $25,000 per year do not pay taxes in the US. Those retired citizens making up to $50,000 pay very little. So, this “tax cut” amounts to a $500 welfare check to these individuals. I am not speaking for or against the proposition, but please don’t follow Obama’s example of calling a welfare check a “tax cut.” To elaborate a bit, in the coming year, the percentage of the those employed in the US paying taxes will become a minority. More than 50% of wage earners (and presumably voters) in the US after 2008 will not pay any tax on earnings (income tax). [They will continue to pay into Social Security (retirement taxes).] So, in 2009 and thereafter voters paying no income taxes will outnumber voters paying taxes. That, at least to me, is scary.
SECOND: Tax cuts (Businesses): Eliminate capital gains taxes on small and start-up business investments.
The capital gains tax is primarily aimed at investors and reduces taxes by half of ordinary income tax rates for investments in public or private companies. Eliminating capital gains taxes means that investors will pay ordinary income tax rates on returns from investing. This is essentially a doubling of the tax rate for investors, not an elimination of taxes for investors. Nice incentive, huh?
Interesting times ahead in the US. Stay tuned!
November 6th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I think his pledges are largely in line with the Democrats political approach anyway.
The real story here, and the crux of your article James, is what Obama has done to prove beyond all reasonable doubt the power and potential of social media.
His use of his website, social networking sites, Twitter etc was a very clear demonstration of the power of the epidemic (as discussed in The Tipping Point) along with the concepts contained in Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us.
Policy is not the story here. I’d really like to see you spend more time on how he’s used technology and the crowd to delivery the message and the result