New Technology
Although having a massive force of boots-on-the ground canvassers is important, the 2008 campaign used the power of the internet and web-based technology to move its messaging to the farthest corners of not only the United States, but the entire globe. Every laptop, desk monitor and inbox were targets for this web-based political campaign. This was important because according to Carol Vernallis from the University of Texas, at the time “more media content was online than on television, and that during the 2008 election, 88 percent of all voters went online for political information.” (24)
During Obama’s campaign, strategists were able to organize more than 140,000 volunteers and raise $6.4 million in small donations. What many people think of as spam or junk mail could also be referred to as “micro-targeting.” (25) In an article published by the Utrecht Law Review, the author explains that micro-targeting is when campaigns are able to assemble data based on a person’s interest and tailor a personal campaign to win them over. The article states that the move from voter management databases to integrated voter management platforms made the shift from mass-messaging to micro-targeting employing personal data from commercial data
brokerage firms; the analysis of social media and the social graph; and the decentralization of data to local campaigns through mobile applications.’” (26) This same concept can be applied to political campaigns, “With online micro-targeting, political communications can be targeted at individuals or niche audiences, and the messages can be adapted to the recipients. A company gives an example of the possibilities for targeting niche audiences: “targeting fathers aged 35-44 in Texas who frequent gun enthusiast websites.” (27) Once they understand what the person is interested in, they are able to create a campaign message that is consistent, cost efficient and relevant to that person. If your political interest revolves around new energy, crime, healthcare or the military, campaigns will know and they will be able to construct a campaign using the data taken from cookies, searches and micro-data to create something that is specific to your interest when you’re sleeping and when you’re awake.
Micro-targeting goes hand-in-hand with social networking. In 2008, three in four 18- to 24-year-old young adults had some type of profile on a social media platform, such as Facebook or myspace, and over half of 25-to-30-year-olds had a social media profile (28). What’s important to remember about these groups is that this was considered to be an untapped area of potential growth in terms of voter turnout. For some time, this groups of voters seemed to be disenchanted with the voting process. Understanding this growth opportunity, Obama and his team seized the moment and pushed ahead of this inescapable trend to gain new voters.
Facebook was a key player in the 2008 election and Obama had an ally in Chris Hughes. one of Facebook’s co-founders who decided to provide his social media experience and acumen to help spread the message of hope and change. With Hughes’ help, Obama and his team were steps ahead of others. For instance, in May of 2007, Facebook launched the “Platform” which allowed users to customize their Facebook pages in a way that was easier on the eye and more user friendly. Obama’s team had user friendly pages up in the first week while it took Hillary Clinton’s team until February of 2008 to have a similar page up and running.
In addition to having an online profile earlier than his competitors, Hughes instructed Obama, staff and volunteers to push everyone to visit Obama’s official website. Mark Jamison PhD. explains that supporters were encouraged “to log into My.BarackObama.com— ‘a website where supporters could join local groups, create events, get updates, and engage in fundraising—using their Facebook accounts. This gave the campaign access to their Facebook data, which the campaign then used for microtargeting.” (29)
The concept of going viral was also used to attract younger voters, too. For instance, Will.i.am's, pop sensation and member of the pop group The Black-Eyed Peas, wrote and produced the song and video, "Yes We Can." It has been seen as the most influential political video of the 2008 presidential election, won an Emmy and a Webby award, and had been viewed by the time of election day 26 million times. This video came after the New Hampshire primary. In the video, you see clips of Obama. His message of “Yes We Can” served as the hook and the title of the ballad. It was played throughout the rest of the campaign on the internet and at campaign rallies. (30) There were also less popular videos that were still circulated widely, such as “I got a Crush on Obama” had 10 million views and “Dear Obama” had 12 million views (31).
Obama was the pop stars’ president, getting endorsements from Oprah, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Usher, Kerry Washington, Brendan Routh, Kate Walsh, Kal Penn, Tate Donovan, Tracee Ellis Ross, Journee Smollett, Vicki Kennedy, Kelly Hu, John Legend, Adam Rodriquez, Amber Valetta, Nick Cannon, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. (32) While each of these celebrities only had one vote themselves, they had a cult-like following in the millions of mostly young, impressionable followers who could organize, provide financial support and most of all, vote. While a song or a view is not a vote, from a marketing perspective, it’s supportive. While this continued messaging and audio video stimulation may not by itself win people’s votes, it helped to give an added bit of motivation for younger voters to get to the poles. In contrast from the 2004 primaries to the 2008 election, there was a bump of 5% in the Iowa Caucus, 7% in Georgia, 4%, in New Hampshire, 5% in California, 7% in New York, 5% percent in Massachusetts, 5 % in Missouri, 5% in South Carolina, 6% in Tennessee, 5% in Connecticut, and 1% in Arizona. While these are only small surges in overall gain, they are significant increases in youth voting in the primaries paid dividends in battle ground states in the general election. (33)
Comments: