Mamdani’s mayoral campaign: A masterclass in marketing done right

How social media strategies and effective branding turned Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani into New York City’s mayor-elect. 

Photo by Vernon Demir/The Barnard Bulletin

By Pavlina Solomou

December 4, 2025

You have seen his face, you have definitely heard his name, and you have even mastered the spelling: M-A-M-D-A-N-I, to the beat of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.” In the span of one year, Zohran Mamdani has gone from a humble Assembly Member to New York City’s mayor-elect. Many attribute his recent election to his “chronically online” campaign, which turned the young politician into an overnight internet sensation and captured people’s hearts nationwide. From the color scheme and messaging to the hints of Obama-esque “Hope,” cameos on TikTok shows, and an unwavering commitment to memorizing speeches in six different languages, Mamdani’s campaign was, if anything, a masterclass in marketing done right.  

Since 2008, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, titled “Hope,” set a precedent for successful, human-centered, inspiring messaging that can garner support for the Democratic Party. Many have tried to emulate that sentiment in their campaigns, and while some have succeeded — most notably United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — others’ attempts have fallen flat against the backdrop of empty promises. Mamdani’s campaign has been compared to Obama’s and is accredited with capturing that grounded, aspirational essence with a different approach.

As American politics have undergone vast changes in character — and characters — the political stage has grown increasingly unserious. Gone are the days of appealing to voters’ pathos through inspirational short films. With social media stunts like AI-generated videos posted on the official accounts of The White House and the president, campaign strategists on both ends of the political spectrum have had to rethink their methods.

The Democratic Party has long failed to unlock the support of younger voters because it failed to speak their language. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani constitutes the end of that era. At 34 years old, married to a Gen-Z illustrator, he achieved the impact of Obama’s “Hope” campaign by harnessing the internet. 

One of the first things to stand out in Mamdani’s campaign were the signature colors of Zohran’s brand, which New Yorkers have come to recognise on MetroCards and street vendor carts. Beyond the obvious Democrat blue found in Mamdani’s insignia, with an electric and almost neon hue, his visual design incorporated a rich, warm yellow, as well as a deep orange color. This palette deviated from the all-American red, white, and blue, and gave a subtle nod to the mayor-elect’s Indian heritage and the city’s diverse cultural identity. Moreover, the hand-drawn signage, reminiscent of bodega signs, humanized the branding and came as a refreshing change from the corporate style that political campaigns usually lean toward. All of these elements combined created an algorithm-proof, aesthetically intact campaign predisposed for virality. 

However, engaging visuals alone did not make an internet sensation, and they certainly did not make a mayor. But an army of loyal influencers may have. By repeatedly collaborating with local creators, Zohran’s campaign concocted a large-scale internet endorsement. 

From TikTok show appearances, such as “SubwayTakes” and “Are You Okay?” to a full-fledged pre-election influencer briefing, Zohran’s campaign not only recognized the political pull of winning over New York’s favorites, but engaged with creators’ already-popular brands. The fact that the majority of the content of these influencers was not directly political, but rather comedic, displayed Zohran’s ability to communicate with a variety of audiences and painted him as someone who was in on the joke, as someone who was “one of us.” Expertly dodging “un-mayorly” bullets, knowing when to silently grin or actively advance his agenda, Mamdani stepped onto the world stage with a clear message and the ease of a media-trained millennial. 

Call it a personality cult or a publicity stunt, the fact remains that this campaign took New York, and the broader nation, by storm. One only has to refer to the various movements that emerged from it, such as Creators for Zohran or Hot Girls for Zohran, which are mostly run by younger supporters, to understand the scale of the campaign’s impact and its contribution to the largest New York City voter turnout in over 50 years. These movements were also present on campuses across the city, including Barnard and Columbia, where student groups emerged in support of Zohran and canvassed voters in the weeks leading up to the election. 

As Mamdani prepares for his mayoral term, many New Yorkers are holding their breaths, hoping that the campaign that inspired them to dream alongside this young politician will deliver what it promised. Until then, we can all take notes from this whirlwind of a campaign which undoubtedly challenged the rules of political canvassing, proving once and for all that the internet is no longer just a tool but the means of incentivizing the masses and winning elections.