Stepping into the expansive showroom of McWaters on Shop Road, it's quickly apparent that we're not talking about your father's cubicle. Far from being "trapped in their cubes," today's office workers are constantly on the move, both in and out of the office. As a supplier for Steelcase, McWaters designs, sells and installs office environments to encourage mobility and accommodate the kind of collaboration that is vital in the 21st Century economy.

"It's not uncommon today to have 'satellite employees' who are only in the office a few days a month. They need a place to spread out for a few hours, hook up a laptop and recharge their cell phone or PDA," says Ned Little, McWaters general manager.

Lauro Otero of the The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism made a great presentation on creating interactive conversations and began to lead us into an exploration of Web 2.0 and its implications, opportunities and pitfalls for marketers.

I look forward to becoming more involved with this group, and if you have an interest in marketing (and why else would you be here if you didn't?), I hope you'll join us at the next meeting.

From his office window overlooking Devine Street, Christian Goodall has a perfect view of "the prettiest spring in Columbia."

Goodall, chairman and CEO of Continental American Insurance Company, also has his eye on the many changes in the business world. While many employers have reduced their own spending on employee benefits, they've also greatly expanded the choices for insurance coverage and other financial planning available to their employees through payroll deduction.

"Every child is born an engineer," says Deepal Eliatamby. "Before most of us can even walk, our parents are buying us blocks and tinker toys that we're using to build things."

Eliatamby, president of Alliance Consulting Engineers, has never lost that fascination with or passion for building. But beyond the infrastructure such as water systems, wastewater systems, stormwater systems, solid waste management systems and roads, his company works on, Eliatamby believes his work is really about building something bigger: a brighter, more prosperous future for the Palmetto State.

Click thumbnail for full-size imageRudy Giuliani

Giuliani is likable,  interesting and inspiring.  While he lacks experience in national affairs, the reputation he earned while dealing with 9/11 leaves him in good stead with Republican voters.

If Giuliani were a car, we think of him as a Toyota RAV4 – a crossover vehicle with a different kind of appeal in a Republican field.

As an insurance company, Giuliani is a bit like Allstate – “You’re in good hands.”

If he were a pair of jeans, we see Giuliani as a new pair of Levi’s – it’s an All-American brand, but you still need some time to make them real comfortable.

McCain Brand AttributesJohn McCain 

John McCain has the experience and preparation to lead America in dangerous times – and because of this, his perceived lack of warmth and personal charm could actually be a strength, or brand builder.

As an automobile, what else could McCain be other than a pickup truck that’s “Built Ford Tough.”

In the same way, McCain is Wrangler when it comes to jeans – rugged and durable.

Finally, McCain is a Timex – he takes a licking, but keeps on ticking.

Romney Brand AttributesMitt Romney

Mitt Romney looks and talks like a president – even though voters don’t know a whole lot about him yet.

Romney is a Dodge Viper – it looks like it’s built for speed, but is too unfamiliar to the average driver to know for sure.

No jeans for this guy. He’s high thread-count, plain-front, no-pleats chinos from Brooks Brothers.

Romney is Starbucks, where the atmosphere is nearly as important as the coffee.

MidlandsBiz

In addition to profiles included in the print issue, the website features:

• Breaking business news
• A regular email newsletter
• Insightful conversations with local business leaders
• Coverage of business events
• Business advice
• A career center 

MidlandsBiz is the brainchild of Alan Cooper, a local publisher and entrepreneur.

Today I ran across an interesting article that doesn't look specifically at the candidate brands, but at the market behavior of consumers assessing those candidates.

From Dullard Mush: 

"...an online behavioral marketing firm has tracked what web surfers are looking at before and after visiting a pair of candidate sites.

Thanks to the wonders (or evils) of tracking cookies, the experts at Tacoda, with an assist from ComScore, ran the data for the two most popular candidate sites -- HillaryClinton.com and BarackObama.com."

The Clickz Network notes:

"Hillary's supporters dig horror flicks and are in the market for full size vans and Miami vacations. Obama fans love indie films, luxury vehicles, and are addicted to their Blackberrys.

 "Luxury, two-door and compact cars are popular with Obama visitors, as are motorcycles; sports cars, minivans and midsize SUVs, on the other hand, attract Clinton visitors. Both campaigns draw users interested in full size vans, although Clinton visitors are 10 times as likely to visit van related content compared to 2.8 for Obama visitors.

"Other content categories popular with Obama's site visitors include academic, travel, opinion, men's health and financial investing. Clinton's frequent content related to travel, auctions, investing and food and wine.

"When visualized, the numbers are also telling. While Obama attracts a multitude of small, disparate groups, Clinton draws fewer, larger groups. This makes sense to Morgan, who produces similar reports for commercial brand advertisers. Clinton's chart, he said, 'is not unlike what we would see with more mature brands…. There are fewer groups of people but in bigger chunks.'"

• John Edwards is compassionate and likeable.
  
• Edwards is a Prius – comfortable headroom and good for the world.
• While Edwards embodies a bit of the personal connection Apple afficianados have with their machines, Edwards is more like a Blackberry or a trusty wireless phone: always there, always keeping you in touch.
• If we have to pick a baseball team for Edwards, it would probably be the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox – a bit of hard luck story with a lot of nostalgic appeal.

Edwards' brand strength is Connectivity, or Brand Relevance:

• 28% say he is the most compassionate of the Democratic candidates, where he has a very small lead over Clinton at 27%.
• Edwards (18%) does trail both Clinton (31%) and Obama (30%) as being most sensitive to the needs of the poor.
• His biggest strength in the area is due to hs South Carolina roots: 42% say he is most in-tune with the state's voters.

While Edwardis trails Obama in Personality, he does best Clinton in this brand element:

• He ties Clinton for second behind Obama (31%) as most likeable with 24%, but has far fewer negatives (3% call him least likeable) than Clinton (17% say she is least likeable).
• 25% say Edwards has the most warmth and personal charm, with Obama leading this category with 33%.

Edwards' biggest weakness is in the area of Performance:

• Just 7% call him most intelligent.
• 13% say he'll have the most respect from other countries.
• Just 9% say he is most prepared to be president, with only 7% say he has the most relevant experience for the job.

Edwards must certainly strengthen his brand if he's to repeat his 2004 primary victory in his native state:

• In a multi-candidate field Edwards is third (17%), far behind Clinton's 38% and traling Obama by four points.
• If the field is reduced to Clinton, Edwards and Obama, the latter two split the anti-Clinton vote - Clinton leads with 43%, with the other two tied at 25%.

• Barack Obama is Mr. Personality.  Voters find him interesting, likable and, well, exciting.
• If Clinton is a station wagon, Obama is probably a BMW Z4 convertible: sporty, flashy and fun.
• Obama is Apple to Hillary’s Microsoft.
• As a baseball team, Obama is like the Chicago Cubs – intriguing and beloved by the casual fan, but with few championships to show for it.

Obama's strength is obvious: Personality or Brand Appeal.

• 31% call him most likable.
• 33% say he has the most warmth and personal charm.
• 44% say he is the most interesting of the Democratic candidates.

Obama's relative inexperience on the national stage shows up in his Performance scores:

• Just 7% say he is most prepared to be president.
• Only 3% say he has the most relevant experience.
• Only 11% believe he has the best plan for dealing with Iraq.

Still, Obama's appeal is making him a factor in the race, though Clinton has a significant lead:

• In a multi-candidate field, Obama comes in second with 21%, behind Clinton at38%, but ahead of Edwards at 17%.
• If the race is narrowed to the top three, Obama and Edwards are tied at 25%, with Clinton out front with 43%.

• Hillary Clinton is an intelligent, well-prepared and experienced candidate.
• In a single word, Clinton embodies competence.
• If Clinton were a car, she’d probably be a Volvo stationwagon: solid, reliable and there to get the job done, not make you fall in love.
• If Clinton were a technology company, she’d be Microsoft – dominant and all business.
• Finally, Clinton may very well be the New York Yankees of the political world – great pitching, hits for power and has an excellent pedigree.

Clinton's brand strengths are in the realms of Reputation and Performance:  

• Forty-seven percent of South Carolina Democrats rank her as the most intelligent of the candidates.
• By nearly 2-1 over her nearest rival, Obama, Democrats say she is most likely to have the respect of countries around the world (34% for Clinton, 19.5% for Obama, 13.5% for Edwards).
• She's called "most prepared to be president" by 50%, and 55% say she has the most relevant experience for the job.

Clinton's brand weakness is Personality:

• About 24 percent (versus 31 for Obama) say she is most likeable - but 17% say she is least likeable, with Joe Biden next at 9%.
• Almost 19% say Clinton has the least warmth and personal charm.

So far, the brand is paying off for Clinton:

• In a multi-candidate field she leads the S.C. Democratic Primary with 38 percent, giving her a 17-point lead over Barack Obama.
• If the field is reduced to Clinton, Edwards and Obama, Clinton is preferred by 43%, with the other two tied at 25%.