Targeted marketing and innovation support
for knowledge organizations

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Calibre targets: Canny internet marketing helps Obama win US Presidency

 The recent US presidential election was distinguished by sophisticated interactive digital marketing campaigns. Although the web is used increasingly for political campaigns, Barack Obama's success was underpinned by 18 months of exceptionally intensive internet marketing led by campaign manager David Plouffe and pioneer online director Joe Rospars. Many experts believe the Obama campaign will become the gold standard for peer-to-peer electioneering. Tactics included:

• Creating communities of supporters and volunteers: 35,000 groups of Obama supporters were organized around affilinities like geographical proximity, gender, or shared interests. Volunteers hosted TV debate viewing parties, stuffed envelopes, made telephone calls, created their own web pages to encourage donations, and executed email contact campaigns, among a host of other activities.
• The official Web 2.0 interactive and social networking campaign website, www.myBarackObama.com was built by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. It is clear, accessible, and appealing to users. By the end of the campaign myBarackObama.com had registered over 1.5 million user accounts.
• The supporter database created by account registrations incorporated user profiles and data mining functionality to allow the Obama team to send out immediate, highly personalized responses to large numbers of potential voters. The website was continually improved to take into account user suggestions, like the integration of special donation, networking, and registration options for voters living and working overseas.
• Blogs and responses to emailed requests for input resulted in over 15,000 policy ideas, some of which helped inform the Presidential debates.
• Fundraising activities raised a record-breaking US$600 million in contributions from over 3 million people. Many donated amounts under $25, often repeatedly, through the web, responding to Obama's appeal for grassroots support to avoid reliance on lobby funding with strings attached. Other fundraising tactics included online raffles where winners could attend a dinner with Obama, personal web pages for sponsored marathons, and viral fundraising, among innumerable other creative tactics. 
• The perception of peer-to-peer, highly personalized contact with then-candidate Barrack Obama was created by emailing regular videos of the candidate discussing his policies, talking to voters, motivating his volunteers, and even manning telephones himself to question voters about their concerns and ask for their support. Between 3 to 5 email contacts were made with supporters weekly.
• Viral marketing, where email recipients pass on links, videos, and messages to their own friends and relations, expanded the Obama supporter base dramatically throughout the campaign. One senior Clinton strategist publicly bemoaned the 'buzz' created by the Obama campaign.
• Social networks were used intensively and effectively. Obama had over a million supporters on Facebook, with a presence on MySpace, Twitter, MyBatanga, MiGente, and AsianAve. His profile contrasted sharply with the fewer than 200,000 Facebook supporters for McCain and made clear his appeal to youthful and internet-savvy voters. Two Obama supporters made a You Tube video where they attempted to bake the candidate's favorite pecan pie and to share the recipe in return for a donation. This tactic alone raised $300,000 in a week. 
• Targetted internet banner ads complemented spending on traditional broadcast media advertising.
• Persistence was a key element of the campaign. Volunteers used Obama's website (www.myBarackObama.com) to organize a thousand phone banking events in the last week of the race. Some undecided voters told interviewers that they received calls or SMS messages asking for support as they travelled to the polls.
• Personalized responsiveness, one of the strengths of interactive digital marketing, was used masterfuly. For example, on the evening of 4 November (US EST) supporters who had donated money and/or time to the campaign got a personalized message that concluded with 'All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack' after the election results were final but BEFORE the President Elect arrived at Grant Park in Chicago to make his acceptance speech.
• Experts believe the Obama presidency will continue to invest in and use interactive digital technologies intensively to create transparency and rebuild Washington's crediblity with voters.

 Knowledge organizations can learn a great deal from this campaign about good practice in digital interactive marketing.

However, the campaign also hinted at some innovation investments we can expect from an Obama administration despite its commitment to tight budgetting to manage the growing US debt. Information technology, including health care information systems, alternative fuels and fuel-eficient automobilites are among the probable early R&D investment winners. For more information, review www.myBarrackObama.com for positions on technology and innovation.

For opportunities to workshop applying innovative digital marketing tactics to your own knowledge organization, email us for information on a Calibre's digital interactive marketing workshop near you!