Home  Business Brand Obama good for the economy
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Brand Obama good for the economy |
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Written by Sonia Morgan
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Sunday, 23 November 2008 |
He has roughly two months left before he takes office and already President-elect Barack Obama is having a positive effect on the economy. His historic election win has sent a flood of Obama paraphernalia on the market and with people wanting to own a piece of history, there is scope for profits from this lucrative business.
In essence, Obama is good for business – especially small businesses. From street and internet vendors to artists and musicians – people are cashing in on the Obama brand. There are countless websites with a variety of T-shirts, mugs, earrings and other paraphernalia, not to mention art and even music. The Obama brand has more than doubled its value since election night – and businesses and entrepreneurs are hoping making a lot more than a little change.
While most of the items are in celebration of Barack Obama’s win, even the ‘haters’ are cashing in! At the anti-obamastore.com website, there are ‘Impeach Obama’ bumper stickers for $5 a piece and ‘Don’t Blame Me I Voted For McCain’ T-shorts for up to $29.99. Of course these tees feature a picture of… you guessed it… Obama! See, he’s even good for their economy!
Books and magazines are also flying off the shelves and several novels others by different authors in the works. Obama’s two novels (Dreams From My Father and The Audacity Of Hope) and anything Obama are hot sellers right now.
With the holidays approaching (ahead of the inauguration) this Christmas you can expect plenty Obama memorabilia as gift items and just general stocking stuffers. Hey, I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up buying an Obama Santa to put near your tree this Christmas. Is that out yet? I have scoured the net and it’s nowhere in sight. If you take this idea and run with it, I want royalties.
And speaking of royalties, the estate of Martin Luther King Jr. is demanding a cut of the proceeds from the sales of any unauthorized King-Obama paraphernalia. Though Obama image and words can because he is a public figure, King’s writings, likeness and voice are considered intellectual property and need approval from by the not-for-profit King Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Head of the center and King’s nephew, Isaac Newton Farris Jr. has said the estate is due hundreds of thousands of dollars for licensing fees from any company or vendors who sell King-Obama memorabilia, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
However, King’s estate may be hard press to receive these royalties especially since many of those selling King-Obama merchandize are street vendors who might be difficult to track.
The Obama paraphernalia craze may be short-lived, especially when the pomp and pageantry of the inauguration is over – so vendors and others who are selling all things Obama are trying to cash in very quickly.
It is difficult to calculate now the total amount of revenue coming from the sale of Obama items, but it is definitely a lot of money.
The day when Print was King
In recent times the print media has been forced to reinvent itself to keep up with the rising technology and there have been arguments about it teetering on extinction; but on November 5, the internet, radio and television took a backseat and print was King.
Consumers finally appreciated that you what you can do with a tangible piece of paper, sometimes cannot be done with broadcast from the radio and television or the internet. They wanted to ‘see it in black and white’… and color too!
Trying to get a copy of major newspapers all across the nation was next to impossible, as forward thinking vendors bought out these newspapers in bulk to later sell on sites like eBay. Newspapers really cashed in on that day, some selling their front pages in poster form – framed or unframed. Others had to triple their numbers to keep up with the market… and it still wasn’t enough.
The National Weekly, did print souvenir copies of our November 6 front page in flyer format as complimentary issues for our advertisers and readers so they too could frame a piece of history.
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