The Monkey Shack

I'm not a NASCAR expert, but my son has become a fan ever since he first watched "Cars." As I watched the highlights of a recent race with him, I was intrigued by how the drivers remained in a tight pack for such a long stretch. Certainly there had to be some strategy, but I thought it was an awful lot like how so many businesses market themselves and their products.

All too often, we get placed into our position in the "competitive pack." Just as with the race, one company might move up a few slots, another might slide down, but for the most part, very little changes unless someone crashes or really screws up. Everyone seems to settle into their place and stays there. One driver eventually had enough, and came from the middle of the pack and raced to the front in a little less than one full lap. He was aggressive. He set the tone. He led, while others reacted.

Consider the election. Over the course of two months, John McCain's marketing messages were:

• Country first
• Maverick
• Don't listen to those ridiculous, un-American, liberal, intellectual, coastal elites
• Barack Obama is a superficial celebrity
• I'm experienced
  
• Change
• Obama is a dangerous unknown quantity
• Obama is a socialist.

Obama never stopped talking about the economy, health care and education over and over no matter what Hannity or Limbaugh had to say about him on the radio. He set the tone, and was relentless in his consistency. McCain was reactive.