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Obama Campaign Exploits New Media to Win White House

By: Lisa Moscarelli
Principal C&M MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

During the fall presidential debates of 2008, President-elect Barack Obama was criticized for once holding the menial position of community organizer in Chicago upon graduating from Harvard Law School. Yet, those organizational skills delivered a deathblow to his opponents in the end. Political preferences aside, Obama deserves credit for assembling a grass roots, media dream team. Veteran Washington Post journalist, David Axelrod, brilliantly headed his team along with thousands of community volunteers.

They utilized new personal media to reach first-time voters between the ages of 18 and 28. This previously apathetic, self-absorbed demographic was quickly mobilized through text messaging, Twitter, personal emails, Facebook and a host of other social networking Web sites. For the first time, a presidential candidate inundated their world through personal messages and text ads, slick merchandise (artsy Obama t-shirts were a major money maker for the campaign), and even traditional media.

The messages were brief. Some may argue his 2008 election ads were light on substance and high on hope. In any case, the reality is an entire generation became politically active through savvy media strategy that created a personal relationship between the candidate and the voter on their own turf.

Following decades of low voter turnout, the Obama campaign spawned a new form of emotion-based political activism. The advent of alternative media strategies riveted young voters in these social networking arenas where opinions and self-image rule.

Obama's new media campaign spending transpired from buying in bulk into a buy one get two free sale: for every online ad Obama paid to create two Obama attack ads were created by users to promote the same message. The online community put forth their own criticisms and attack ads on opponent John McCain's shortcomings such as his inability to use a computer and calling his health plan a prescription for disaster. Independent social network users who weren't commissioned or asked to create them produced the majority of these controversial ads to express their opinion in the most creative and far-reaching method possible.  Obama's heavy campaign focus on new media showed the online media dollar could be the dollar that keeps on spending.

Don't be too quick to write the epitaph for television, radio and traditional media. Obama's team made the most of those as well. Of course, having loads of cash gave them a huge margin for error. Some critics would say the media buying was not well-planned or executed.  They outspent their opponents five to one in broadcast and print, yet failed to pull off a win until the very end of the primary. They purchased large blocks of prime time television and enormous amounts of spot time because America is not all 18-28 year olds. This is a prime example of why traditional media is not going away anytime soon. Even in this revolution of alternative media, traditional media still undergirds the new media and has the widest reach across socioeconomic groups. 

Besides, this is America; where anybody can make great looking t-shirts, "Twitter" with millions and become president. So, just what are the implications for an America where the leader of the free world has over a million Facebook and Myspace friends? Has the speed of media truly hijacked the message? Only time will tell.