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Archived in Being able to tell compelling stories that your customers invest in emotionally and want to be a part of can be powerful indeed.
Barack Obama’s story has gripped the world since he arrived on the political scene in 2007, and defeated the Democrat’s strongest brand in Hilary Clinton. His political machine then rolled on to win the Presidency in a landslide, with millions flocking to Washington to worship their hero.
Whilst Barack Obama is indeed an impressive, inspirational and charismatic individual, his savvy use of the internet to engage with voters played a major role in his triumph at the polls, and is now the benchmark for how campaigns will be fought digitally in the future.
Obama Branded Digital Media
Whilst some said his relative young age was a disadvantage, it was Obama’s youthful understanding of people’s desire to connect and engage, rather than be dictated to, that drove the success of his online campaign.
Barack understood how many voters were disenchanted with the name calling political diatribe served on TV, so he embarked on a web campaign to enable people to engage with his brand, to raise donations and to rally his troops into offline action.
Here are some of the tools he used:
Rather than merely a digital imitation of a campaign leaflet, Obama’s website served as a multifunctional, interactive and data capturing digital headquarters.
Upon arrival visitors were (and still are) politely asked whether they’d like to donate to his campaign, which helps to explain where a large chunk of his $600 million war chest (the largest in history) came from. Rather than rely on armies of volunteers rattling collection tins, Obama used the reach of the web to pluck small donations from millions of people’s pockets.
Almost as valuable as the donation was the email address captured along with it. Every digital marketer knows how powerful email can be for maintaining contact and building relationships with website visitors. And Obama’s team were no slouches, using their massive database to request further donations, to send updates on the campaign and (most importantly) remind supporters to vote.
The website also featured a blog, video clips and Flickr photos from the frontlines to keep every visitor engaged with the Obama brand for as long as possible.
Arguably the cleverest tool of Obama’s entire digital campaign was the creation of a social networking section on the website. my.brackobama.com (or my.bo for short) enabled Obama’s supporters to create a profile, join local groups and (now this is the clever part) create offline fundraising activities of their own.
After entering their address, participants would be given a hit list of people to contact, maps of where they lived and a fundraising target to aim for before being sent on their merry way.
Obama’s campaign has been hailed for its success in rallying people to the booths, and with over 1 million members there can be little doubt that my.barackobama.com played a leading role.
Social Media Marketing
Obama wasn’t just reliant on people visiting his website to engage with and invest time in his brand. Profiles were created on all the popular social networking sites so that people could connect with his campaign wherever they digitally went.
At the time of writing Obama’s Facebook group has 3.9 million friends and 554k wall posts, whilst his MySpace page has an additional 1.1 million friends to add to the pile.
Whenever people join the groups or write messages they’re investing time and emotion in the Obama brand, offering a level of engagement impossible to achieve through TV ads and fundraising events alone.
Why rely on people catching your speech on TV when they can replay it at anytime on YouTube?
Videos on Obama’s YouTube channel have now been watched over 20 million times, and repeating the power of his speeches to persuade people to believe in his cause.
Online video has proven to be so successful that one political strategist has suggested it could be used for regular half hour addresses, eliminating the need to spend millions buying slots on TV.
[A clip of Sarah Palin being ridiculed on Saturday Night Live attracted over 8 million views on YouTube, adding another digital boost to the Obama campaign.]
What next for the Web 2.0 President?
The signs are that Obama’s love affair with the web is set to continue.
Whilst decorators were repainting the White House, Obama’s marketing team were updating the Whitehouse.gov website. Gone is the static brochureware of George Bush, and in comes an interactive, vibrant blog driven website designed to keep people updated on what’s occurring and engaged with the Obama brand.
Obama has already stated that he intends to run his presidency based on communication, transparency and participation. And there will plenty of people watching to see he does both digitally and in the real world.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
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