Adam Withrington: What can the pub industry learn from Barack Obama?
What is about Barack Obama that enthuses us all so much? His victory last week has seen an outpouring of optimism many of us can scarcely believe. How the pub industry could do with a drop of the positive right now.
There is actually a lot we as an industry can learn Barack Obama and his campaign. You should always look to learn from winners - and many of the key lessons can be transferred to our trade.
Be pragmatic
I jumped on the Obama bandwagon well over a year ago after reading his book "The Audacity of Hope". I was enthused by his beliefs and agenda - very progressive and liberal. His voting record as a senator since 2004 has been very liberal and anti-war.
But - and this is key - he did not win this election so convincingly on the back of these liberal credentials. Indeed his liberal voting record was used as a stick to beat him with by the Republicans.
He actually this year moved his message and politics much more to the centre and even on occasion to the right. In other words he was incredibly pragmatic. He saw the need to appeal to a much broader base than the one he was most comfortable with.
He played it smart. Look at who many believe he is about to appoint as secretary of defence: Robert Gates, the man who is currently in that role for George W Bush.
Running a pub or group of pubs you must be similarly pragmatic. What do your customers want? Just because you cannot stand the standard lager drinker, doesn't make them bad for business.
Have a singular message
I return to the messages he put over in his book "The Audacity of Hope". It contained many themes ranging from the constitution to moral values. He rarely brought much of what he wrote to the campaign trail. All we heard in his speeches and in his debates with John McCain was the need for change: the essential key point was: "Can we change things, yes we can".
What is the key selling point of your pub? What one message do you want customers to take home from a visit to your outlet? Consumes are faced with a barrage of information from all sources. You need to know what you are about so consumers are in no doubt what to think.
Coolness under fire
If anyone is faced with unfair accusations at the moment it is the pub industry; pubs being blamed for under-age drinking in communities when those responsible aren't even going into the pubs; cheap booze in supermarkets somehow being the fault and responsibility of pubs. But this industry has a tendency to react to these accusations by trying to fight fire with fire.
Barack Obama has had a whole heap of mud thrown at him this year - untruths about his religious beliefs, political views and of course his depiction as a friend of various terrorists. When did he ever lose his cool? So calm was he during one official debate that he seemed to send John McCain into a rage. It is a golden rule, never slag off your opposition.
Reacting angrily or aggressively to challenges thrown at you by police, local authorities or hostile press does not work. As an industry shouting at perceived enemies does not work. Focusing on the issue at hand does.
Embrace the power of the webNo one has harnessed the power of the web more effectively than Obama. By the time he was "called" as the victor of the presidential contest by the many US TV networks, Obama had got over 70m people signed up to his website, all of whom are on his database. The morning after victory, each one of these people receive a personal email from the new President. Is there a more powerful thing than the personal touch?
Much was made of the huge sums he spent on TV and print advertising during his campaign - some $150m. Well over 75 per cent of that was raised online, most of that from small donations made by this new e-army of followers.
Of course the aims are completely different but there is so much that we can do online as an industry. Better collection and then use of data. Your pub should be able to reach out to your local community through mailshots and e-newsletters.
