The Obama Campaign: Social Revolution?

Barack Obama’s landmark victory in the 2008 US Presidential elections came at a price, a very expensive price: $670.1 million to be exact. This enabled Obama’s campaign team to grossly outspend Senator Mc Cain by buying up hundreds of thousands of primetime adverts in battleground states. This humongous spending power was supplied in part by thousands of donations under $200 - arguably made possible by social media. This has lead some to believe that the democratising power of the internet would soon democratise the murky world of party funding.

The web was at the centre of everything the Obama campaign did. Blue State Digital, the digital PR and marketing agency that masterminded the campaign, provided entire environments for volunteers to debate and exchange ideas, offer services, donate money and engage with the campaign like never before.

However, whilst much has been made of the Obama camp’s shrewd use of social media and cutting edge campaigning technologies the product they were promoting: Barack Obama, was exactly what the US public wanted. He genuinely symbolised change after nearly 10 years of Republican rule and his outsider status was perfect for the American public’s scepticism for Washington insiders. It is a lot easier to sell people what they want than what they don’t.

Compliment an in demand asset (Obama himself) with a phenomenal marketing budget and the importance of social media perhaps dwindles. Social media undoubtedly did play an important role in the campaign, but as John Kerry’s 2004 Chief Technical Officer stated “the use of technology was not the end-all and be-all. Technology has been a partner, an enabler for the Obama campaign” (Stritland 2008). Despite the slickness of Obama ’08’s use of social media, what still matters most in politics, even in 2011, is money and charisma.

Resources

Stirland,S.,"Obama's Secret Weapons: Internet, Databases and Psychology", October 29, 2008.

Unknown, “Obama fundraising breaks the money mould” Canada.com http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=82470236-3ab5-4aae-a7ca-71798c68591c