After Barack Obama swept into the White House on a popular wave of support, not to mention eight years of President Bush, giving the Republican Party a new image might have seemed like the toughest job in Washington D.C.

But after Michael Steele was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee promising a new Republican Party, that is exactly what the Sensis Ad Agency, among others, was charged with.

Danny Allen, managing director of the agency’s Washington offices, said his panel is going to look at the rebranding efforts his agency did and the rollout of the new gop.com.

“We kind of felt like the old look and feel and functionality didn’t really reflect who they were as a party or who republicans were as individuals,” Allen said. “And Michael Steele really wanted to open up the Web site to republicans so they can more make it their own and more interactive, more of a two way street.”

Allen (who, full disclosure, is also this writer’s cousin), said they took inspiration from social media in creating the new GOP.com, as well as utilizing it to spread the brand across several media. The Republican Party now has official Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Twitter pages, among others.

If there’s one thing Allen wants to be taken away from the new site, it’s that it’s interactive.

“(It’s) much more participatory for the other people who are conservatives and republicans,” he said. “It’s a site that much more reflects the republican party now.”

Panelists include,

Todd Van Etten, Republican National Committee
Paris Dennard, Republican National Committee
Darian Rafie, bep Interactive
Danny Allen, Sensis

Hashtag for the event is #digirebrandrepubparty