I recently had lunch with one of my oldest friends-I have known her for nearly a decade. While we were catching up, she brought up that I had made a shift in my career goals.

Back when I was in high school, I was all about politics. I lived, breathed it, I wanted to run for president, I was going to undergrad and then law school so that I could be a Senator, and then run for the White House.

And all of the sudden, I was in marketing. I was living, breathing, loving it. I was busting my butt to learn new skills, changing my major, and running with a different group.

After thinking for a bit about what she said, I replied “Marketing and politics are the same thing-the only difference is the product.”

I am getting firsthand experiance with this right now. As I have said, I am the communication director for Richard Easton, a candidate for school board in Saint Paul, and campaign season is heating up. (At the time of writing this, it is 111 days, 6 hours, 55 minutes until polls close)

I get to tell a story-a story of why Richard is the best for the role. A story of how he can add value.

And it feels like I am marketing any other good or service.

Do we need politics to be more personal? Do we want campaigns to be slick?

As we approach the final 100 days, I can assure you that I will be thinking hard about those questions.

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