'Obama stuck to core message, stayed true to his brand'

Barack Obama's campaign has been hailed by the UK PR fraternity as groundbreaking.

Election night saw many UK PR professionals follow the results from the London HQ of Ketchum, whose chief executive David Gallagher has been a fundraiser for Obama.

Gallagher said: 'He resisted the temptation to adjust. He stayed true to his brand. Obama had a more compelling message (than McCain).'

He praised the campaign's outstanding event management, impeccable message discipline and mastery of the media environment.

Procter & Gamble external relations director Damon Jones took six months leave to work on Obama's campaign. He said he was taking three lessons back to his day job: 'The importance of rapid response - to get focused quickly, craft a statement and get it out; to be aware of the degree of transparency in the 24/7 news cycle; and the issue of guilt by association, which highlights the impact of negative PR.'

Westminster comms director Alex Aiken said: 'Obama stuck to his core message, while McCain travelled across the range.'

The CIPR found 85 per cent of senior PROs thought Obama's campaign best communicated a vision of potential global leadership, compared with eight per cent for McCain.