Nope, you are not dreaming, Donald Trump has been elected as the USA’s President and I don’t know why you seem so surprised? The Simpsons told us this years ago….
TRUMP is all anyone can talk about right now, and whether you are delighted or devastated, one thing that no one can deny is that 2016 has given us one of the most visually enticing campaigns ever to take place. Why? Because we thrive off visual material and it’s never been easier to create and share your own.
I’ve had to stop myself from making a collage of Trump hair gags, because let’s face it, it’s funny, but let’s indulge in the true visual highlights of the build up to the 2016 US Election…
A poll system is always a good way to keep count of the general opinion of others…
Netflix and chill…
Hilary Trump, I mean, Dilary Humpton… I mean, Trumpety dump…oh, I don’t know…
Ok, enough of the funny stuff, seriously, this campaign was everywhere, accessible to everyone and we were all watching, all the time. We can access latest polls, news updates, live debates and the opinions of our fellow humans just by a quick Google search. We not only have easy ways to film, record and create visuals but we have so many mediums and platforms to share this material; Imgur, buzzfeed, facebook, twitter, youtube, snapchat.
Snapchat even created a filter to let you become Hilary Clinton for the day! (Hilary announced her bid for presidential nomination on this very platform)
Forever connected by a web of hastags #ElectionDay, #Election2016 and #ElectionNight, the world took to social media to discuss and debate; In fact, the Hilary camp took to social media dressed in #pantsuit to show their support;
And in the Trump camp? They went for the classic “Make America Great Again” cap;
So the world is clued up on the latest scandals, candidate policies and we are almost over Trump’s taupe…almost…and the results begin flooding in. The media hype impossible to not get drawn into. It has never been so easy to get great coverage. I spoke to a couple of people about how they kept on top of the election results, one replied that he has three TV screens all showing different news channels of live updates, an ipad for Twitter updates, and WhatsApp for family and friends immediate communication. Another said a huge TV screen was put up in the office, which all the staff gathered round whilst tweeting, calling and texting friends and family.
The live election results map gave us immediate insight into the slow outcome of the results. Everybody from everywhere watched everything.
As people continue to share their beliefs after election results, they continue to turn to platforms where they can reach people visually. The latest being the Anti –trump protests in NewYork posted on the Buzzfeed Facebook LIVE platform.
I also look forward to seeing what our comedians have to offer us in the future by means of political visual banter (PVB…I think I just made up that word but I’m going to make it a thing. Everyone should use #PVB). Here is a wonderful example of #PVB done exceptionally well…
Cartoonist Adams on the US election CREDIT: ADAMS / THE TELEGRAPH
You would have to be living under a log to miss out on the hype surrounding the campaign. This ability to view anything anywhere at anytime has changed the way our politicians battle, and it is changing the way our businesses battle too. This campaign saw millions of US dollars being spent on campaign ads. Now, very few of us have that sort of insane budget, but this is just another example of why engaging with your audience is vital to business success. You could go with the animation like The Telegraph, or corporate statistically based information like the live poll, or fun engaging campaigns which we see all over social media. The visual world is your oyster; you can do anything you want to.
I’m not saying that the visual world has magical future telling powers….BUT…just watch this clip of “Back to the Future” and you might just say otherwise…