 Earlier this year, we took some time to examine Barack Obama's integrated marketing campaign and see how he was pulling together various elements to create one cohesive and compelling message. This time, on the eve of the election, we're going to take a look at how the Obama camp have successfully employed (and benefited from) online and offline viral marketing tactics, and how they may be in the process of creating a stellar example of the new rules of political campaign success.
Online fundraising
Back during the primaries, Time Magazine reported that "No campaign has been more aggressive in tapping into social networks and leveraging the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors. Nor has any other campaign found such innovative ways to extend its reach by using the Internet--more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less."
Combine this with the fact that the Obama campaign raised a whopping $150 million dollars in September 2008, adding over 632,000 new donors to its rolls, and you've got to believe that this whole social networking thing is really working out for them.
Text messaging or SMS campaigns
When it came time to announce his vice-presidential running mate, the mainstream media didn’t get the info from a press conference or even a news release - they got it the same way thousands of Obama supporters did: via an SMS text message on their cell phones. What a brilliant way to spur potential supporters off of the proverbial fence and onto your contact list!
Creating personal connections
Even tried-and-true fundraising tactics took on a cutting-edge feel. Oftentimes, fundraisers will entice donors with the offer of 'matching funds'. The Obama campaign took this a step further and added an opportunity to personally connect with a fellow supporter. In other words, if I opted-in to their matching funds program, I would be given the name (and if the other donor allowed it, the e-mail address) of the individual who had matched my donation. This kind of personal connection takes an online transaction and turns it into an online interaction - and creates warm fuzzy feelings in the process, at least in some donors.
Supporter online video
From the well-intentioned yet certainly sassy Obama Girl through the buzz that the Wassup? 2008 video has been creating, the Obama campaign has no shortage of fans willing to commit the time (and in some cases the production money) to help spread Obama’s message.
These videos not only draw the attention of online viewers. The Wassup 2008 video, a parody of the famous 'Wassup?' ads that sold Budweiser back in the late 90s, has not only captured over 3 million views online - it also caught the attention of reporters from (among others) the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek, whose stories took news of the video to millions more.
Social networking
Barack Obama hasn’t been ignoring the power of social networking. His Twitter stream is updated regularly and he has a presence on Facebook (with more than 2 million people linked as supporters), YouTube and MySpace (complete with an updated blog that receives an average of 150 comments per post). The metrics show the success of this particular tactic.
Transcending television
Obama’s self-described 30-minute ‘infomercial’ received a ton of media coverage, both before and after it aired. And ratings show that more than 33 million people tuned in for the program. If you watched and listened closely, you recognized how Obama himself was transcending the medium and asking viewers to engage in something even more powerful than $4 million dollars worth of network airtime; he was asking them to effectively engage in word-of-mouth marketing.
"America, in this last week, if you will knock on some doors for me, if you’ll make some calls for me, if you’ll go to barackobama.com and find out where to vote, if you’ll stand with me and fight by my side and cast your ballot for me, then I promise you we will not just win Florida, we will win this election and together we will change this country and change the world." [emphasis ours]
Creating personal connections - whether by allowing donors to personally connect with each other or by asking people to talk to other people on your behalf - is the essence of viral marketing. And the Obama campaign is highly relatable and highly relevant - it’s about the people of America, what’s happening to families across the country and what the future looks like for them over the next 4 years. While everyone else is talking about how much money his campaign cost, or about the fact that he is a "skilled and attractive TV candidate", there’s also something to be said about how effectively he has employed viral techniques to get his message out.
Barack Obama’s 2008 election campaign could quite possibly be the most successful viral campaign to date - we’ll know the final results for sure tomorrow.
Exercise your right to vote.
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About the Author
Lori Gariepy is a marketing communications manager at Lyris. She is the editor-in-chief of http://LyrisHQ.Lyris.com and of the company's Inside Lyris HQ newsletter, and manages social media and online communications. Connect and converse with Lyris on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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