News Analysis: Obama trumps McCain's outdated comms.

Experts credit Obama's social media tactics and consistent messaging as factors in his solid win.

Barack Obama's solid victory as the next president of the US will likely be remembered as a landmark event in time. Yet, in addition to its historical significance, the win will likely make a lasting impact on the communications sector.

On the days leading up to the election, PRWeek solicited predictions from PR pros on who would become the next president and what in their communications strategy would propel him to victory. They overwhelmingly pointed to an Obama victory. His campaign's savvy social media tactics, its focused messaging, and even its impressive fundraising efforts contributed to his electoral edge. And the tactics developed in that campaign will become the new norm, communicators say.

Jason Booms, president and CEO of Booms Research & Consulting, says Obama's win reflects a broader trend toward more interactive communications rather than conventional top-down messaging.

'(John) McCain understood an older form of communications that was hierarchal and corporate,' Booms says. 'The new way of doing things is more about relationship-building. Obama just captured that better.'

Obama's effort was widely lauded for having a keen understanding of new media, the epicenter of the conversation-driven media. According to data compiled by The Wall Street Journal, Obama nearly doubled the number of unique visitors to his Web site compared with McCain. It also showed Obama's Facebook network topped more than 2 million, while McCain was just shy of 600,000.

'Here's a case when the Democrats were way ahead of the Republicans in how to get their message across on the Internet and build dialogue,' Booms notes. 'It's not just the young that use the Internet, it's older voters, too.'

Another winning strategy for Obama was the consistency of his 'change' slogan and the widely recognized symbol he used in his primary fight all the way to his victory.

Jeff Mascott, MD at the Adfero Group and an adjunct PR/communications professor at Georgetown University, says, 'What's interesting is (Obama) was the first to come up with a visual brand for his campaign in the same way you would for a corporate brand.'

The image resonated strongly with voters because Obama's campaign remained focused on the themes it evoked - hope and change. The effort stayed on message, he adds, even when confronted with challenges.

The campaign used the same consistency with Obama himself, remarks Derek LaVallee, VP of public affairs at Waggener Edstrom.

'He never over-steered,' says LaVallee. 'We saw John McCain do that a lot. He saw one thing against him then completely overacted. That became the message. Obama didn't really react to anything other than with the race issue (which was raised) during the primaries.'

His coolness might have also opened an opportunity for people to read more deeply into his actions, LaVallee adds.

'I think just his personality gave him a couple points with the independent swing voters who would think, 'maybe ... he's thinking what I am thinking,'' he says.

The McCain campaign's rhetoric of socialism and Marxism might have made their candidate seem out of touch, points out John Hlinko, president and CEO, Grassroots Enterprise.

'That's the kind of rhetoric you would have expected to hear 30, 40, or 50 years ago,' Hlinko points out.

Obama also benefited from circumstances beyond both the candidates' control, like the economy, LaVallee adds. Amid uncertainty, Americans tend to gravitate toward the more optimistic message, which Obama conveyed consistently.

'Americans are optimists,' he says. 'Hope always trumps fear.'

To read PR pros pre-election day predictions, visit www.prweek.com.

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