Barack Obama Did Not Approve This Lame Sports Metaphor

By Justin Petruccelli

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Sen. Barack Obama may have a pretty nice lead going in the polls right now, but with less than a month to go, he's not looking to run out the clock just yet. In fact, his latest move shows he's looking to run up the score--and he hopes online gamers are, too.

Video game company Electronic Arts has confirmed that the Obama campaign has purchased advertising space in several of its most popular games for the Xbox, including "Madden NFL 09." The ads appear as billboards or stadium signs and are downloaded when players in key battleground states log in to play the games online. Of course, this isn't a route that the average small-business owner can afford to take, but the lessons to be learned are as obvious as some of John Madden's color commentary.

Stay Ahead of the Curve
Election season never fails to bring us cool new marketing strategies. This is a perfect example. And it's as much about your image as it is about the message you choose to put out there. If you're portraying yourself as a business on the cutting edge, your marketing should reflect that.

Be Laser-Focused
Sometimes winning an election is all about turnout. Obama will be depending largely on younger voters. EA's customers? They're males, age 18-34. If he can get them off the couch to vote, he'll be in great shape. If you can get your target market fired up, you're on the right track as well.

Be Nimble and Adaptable
The coolest thing about this form of advertising (besides the whole video game thing) is that it could presumably be changed to fit whatever's going on in the campaign on a given day. You can do the same thing for your business with blogs, social networking sites and other forms of Web 2.0 marketing. Connect with your market by making them come back to see what happens next.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

Woman Goes Viral After Recording Her Disastrous Call With HR After Being Let Go: 'They Tried to Gaslight You'

Brittany Pietsch posted a nine-minute-long clip of her firing from Cloudflare on TikTok, and it went viral. The company's CEO responded on X — and also went viral.

Business Solutions

Upgrade Your Work Laptop or Computer's OS With Windows 11 Pro, Now for Less Than $25

Outfit your office's computers and laptops with Microsoft's latest OS: Windows 11 Pro.

Thought Leaders

How This Family-Run Company Has Thrived for Five Generations

Marty Ozinga, the CEO of Ozinga, explains the legacy and future of the powerhouse construction materials company.

Starting a Business

They Grew Up in a Financially-Challenged Single-Parent Home and Now These Twins Run a Multimillion-Dollar Real Estate Business. Here's How They Turned Hardship Into Inspiration.

How Jeremy and Joshua Mathis overcame adversity and turned their challenging upbringing into a foundation for real estate success.

Marketing

4 Ways AI Is Revolutionizing Targeted Advertising — And How to Balance It's Ethical Implications

AI-powered targeted advertising revolutionizes marketing with hyper-personalized promotions. However, ethical and transparency questions hover over this progress.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.