Advertisers fit their brands into festivities at inauguration
NEW YORK -- President-elect Barack Obama decided not to sign corporate sponsors to help pay the projected $40 million cost of the official events around the Jan. 20 swearing in. So many marketers are working other avenues to get their brands before the millions of people who will attend the festivities or watch on TV. Among them are such well-known names as Pepsi, Ikea, T.G.I. Friday's and Dunkin' Donuts. From the airwaves to the streets of Washington, D.C., big-name marketers are trying to find ways to ride Inauguration Day enthusiasm.
"Wherever there is an opportunity to put your brand in a good light, especially at an event as important as this, it's good," says Walt Guarino, professor of advertising at Seton Hall University. "Right now (Obama) is being regarded as the hopeful answer to a lot of problems that we're facing. To be identified with him right now is a good thing."
Marketers, however, must toe a line, he says. "If it's done well and done tastefully and people understand there's a reason, whether it's to complement the event, have fun or add spirit, then it's the right thing. The minute it crosses that line of good taste … people will read into it negatively."
That's why Honest Tea is trying to show restraint. The brand struck marketing gold when Obama was seen drinking its Black Forest Berry tea on the campaign trail. A small number of custom bottles, renamed "Barack Forest Berry" and graced with a picture of Obama on the label, are going out to the media.
The company also will give out samples in Washington at 20 inaugural events and on streets and at transit stations next week. Around the neck of the 20,000 plastic bottles will be promotional placards about America's opportunities, whether running for the "highest office" or "starting a beverage company."
"We appreciate the relationship, and it's a meaningful relationship, and we don't want to cheapen it in any way," says Jesse Merrill, Honest Tea director of marketing. "The main point is to celebrate democracy."
