The elections in Iran are in full-force with only a few days left until Friday. Iranian television is filled with interviews with the candidates, sound bytes, and advertisements about the vote. Movies are interrupted every few minutes by voting reminder messages. In the middle of an intense emotional scene, bells ring, and an animated ballot dances across the screen.

The presidential campaign in Iran is short: about one-month. There are a lot of rumors and discussions before the official start of the campaign season, but it really goes into gear once the supreme council announces the list of approved candidates.

This year there are eight candidates. (For more information read: Who are the candidates .) One of the candidates, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has done more than the others to market his particular presidential brand. In this brief article, I discuss the tools that his campaign has used to create the Hashemi brand.

Guerilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson is often called the father of guerilla marketing. He defines it this way: "It is a body of unconventional ways of pursuing conventional goals. It is a proven method of achieving profits with minimum money."

While I cannot speak for the actual costs of the Rafsanjani campaign, the methods the campaign is using are, indeed, unconventional. They are particularly unconventional for modern day Iran.

The Rafsanjani campaign has employed Iran's hip youth as its army of (un)paid campaign workers. They wrap themselves in Hashemi stickers, tape his poster on their backs, celebrate football success in his name, attend performances at the candidate's Tehran headquarters, and participate in skating events. They wear the Rafsanjani campaign collateral like fashion accessories. This army of hip youth may be politically apathetic, but that does not matter. The Rafsanjani campaign has grabbed the image of youth and energy for itself. You might say that the Rafsanjani generation and the Pepsi generation are one. By this, we mean, that it does not matter whether or not the Pepsi generation drinks Pepsi or not, as long as Pepsi's sales are robust.

The Graphic Image

Rafsanjani is his own brand. Because of his uncommon looks, he is, arguably, the most recognized cleric in the world. Like every other candidate running in Iran's presidential election, walls are covered with his image. The campaign puts forth several images of Rafsanjani: the official site features a photo album that highlights his revolutionary achievements, while the popular photo-sharing site Flickr displays a very different view of the candidate.

The posters with his image are conservative and traditional, while the popular Hashemi sticker is really quite radical. The Iranian flag is reduced to a modern mark. His first name, Akbar Hashemi, is reduced to Hashemi. In a country where wives often call their husbands by formal names like Engineer (Mohandes) or Mister (Agha) and young girls are often called Young Ma'am (Dokhtar Khanum) the first name is more than familiar: it is intimate. By plastering Hashemi stickers on ankles, across foreheads, and on motorcycle windscreens, the Rafsanjani campaign is offering intimacy and friendship.

Will it Work?

Only time will tell how truly effective the Rafsanjani campaign has been. One thing is for certain, political campaigns in Iran have changed. The Rafsanjani campaign is just one of the many signs of this change. (Check out the Flick photo tag Election84 for a sense of the visual election.)

The campaign of former police chief, Qalibaf, also targets the youth. With his casual, stylish clothes, chic glasses, and sponsors such as Efes Zero Alcohol beer, the Qalibaf campaign directly competes with the Rafsanjani campaign for the hearts of Iran's youthful population.

The biggest difference between the two campaign marketing styles is this: Rafsanjani's campaign is fueled by the images of teenagers and 20-somethings wrapped in Hashemi accessories while Qalibaf's marketing team has chosen to make the candidate himself the symbol of youth with his new fashionable outfits and attractive image.

We'll be Watching

It isn't just the presidential candidates who are seeking to brand and re-brand themselves: it's the entire country of Iran. Plans are in the works for a tourism campaign that will target CNN's international audience. Payvand News (reports that the country is ready for foreign tourists and investors.

Well, we'll be watching.