That's pretty simple enough to answer. It works. This recent article outlines how the President is dominating with strategic online advertising campaigns and buys.
He's far out pacing Romney. But what's interesting is HOW the Obama campaign is spending its online advertising.
In 2008 Obama changed the game with online ads. They used the Internet and targeted ads to raise money, and recruit supporters. While their 2012 online ads are geared towards acquisition, the bulk of their spend appears to target specific online audiences with targeted messages. The bulk of their spend is thus used to persuade, not acquire.
In contrast, the Romney campaign, flush with cash, is spending its money with online ads to recruit supporters and raise dollars. Time will tell if they make the shift to be more competitive online with their opponent, and if they move to the persuasion model more than the acquisition model.
We found a bunch of good articles about digital strategies and politics, issues and campaigns across the Internet this week. With that, we hope to share these and some quick thoughts about each article. So here you go. And by the way, the team at Cornerstone has been working and running online and digital campaigns since early 2006. We get it. So we want to share it...here you go!
Political Consultants Open to Inevitable Digital Future: by Kate Kaye over at Click-Z
A quick read about the changing dynamics and inevitable acceptance of digital as part of an overall campaign. Our favorite quote of the story:
"It's not a single tool. It's not just digital media. It's a combination of old school, new school, and what we don't know the next school will be."
We could not agree more.
Obama Camp On Pace to Spend $35 Million on Web Ads by Kate Kaye over at Click-Z
All we can say about this is: "gulp". When you have almost a billion to spend, you can do this. But in reality, all campaigns need to step up their efforts in online ads to educate, motivate and mobilize voters. It should be an integral part of your communications strategy.
Top Ten Signs a Social Media Expert Isn’t by Colin Delany over at e.politics.com
A little humor goes a long way in this world. This piece is funny, and true. Thanks Collin Delany for keeping it humorous, and real!
We’ve all heard about the fact that online will play a significant role in the upcoming elections. From websites, micro sites, social media and online applications, online is already playing out in a major way from the presidential level, down to the local level.
Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have strong online campaigns. This article tells the story how Gingrich has ramped up its spending online---since South Carolina. And of course, President Obama continues to build on its massive digital campaign---taking advantage of the moment to capitalize on the primary campaigns in key states.
Perhaps Karl Rove summed up the shift to online best in a WSJ piece last year:
“…in the year ahead, smart campaigns will devote a good deal less money to running 30-second TV ads and a good deal more to using the Internet to organize, persuade, motivate and raise funds.”
What online innovations are you seeing in campaigns across the country?
The power of video is undeniable. There are countless examples of politicians, celebrities, and organizations are using video to educate, share information, entertain, and move others to take action. It’s fast and cheap. 
A year ago, most people viewed videos on their computers. And many still do. However, we are seeing a huge trend towards mobile. That is, the number of people watching videos on their mobile device is growing by leaps and bounds. And it makes perfect sense. We are a society on the move. We value and crave instantaneous information. Our smart phones allow us to get information on the fly.
Just the other day, I was waiting for a friend to arrive for a breakfast meeting. Someone sent me a video clip, and I downloaded it on my phone, watched it, shared on Facebook and Twitter, and showed it my friend when he arrived. It was easy, fast and clear as a bell.
The numbers tell the true story. Look at what the Nielsen recently reported about video and mobile devices:
“The number of U.S. mobile subscribers watching video on their mobile devices rose more than 40 percent year-over-year in both the third and fourth quarters of 2010, ending the year at nearly 25 million people. These mobile video users watched an average of four hours and 20 minutes of mobile video per month in both the third and fourth quarter of 2010---a 33 percent and 20 percent year-over-year increase in each quarter respectively.” (State of the Media Report)
No doubt, video is critical to your sharing your content---and building a base of brand activists, supporters, customers or voters. Reaching people where they are---on the move---is important.
What ways are you using video now---and what are your thoughts about how to integrate video for mobile and smart phone use?
We wanted to say "thanks" to all the good people who signed up for the 'New' Digital Campaign webinar we hosted yesterday. We are sincerely humbled by the great response we received in terms of registration, participation, and follow up.
In case you were not able to attend, you are still in luck. We would gladly provide a copy of the presentation. If you want a copy, please click here, fill out the simple request form, and we'll get you a copy for your review.
Thanks again for all that attended, we hope you learned something, and look forward to a continued dialogue about online campaigns, with you and others.
If you have any questions about the topic or webinar, feel free to email me, or call! And if you want to register for future Cornerstone webinars, just sign up here.
Smartphone sales are set to outpace personal computer sales by 2012. That’s not hard to believe as everywhere you turn someone is downloading an app, updating a Facebook page, or tweeting his or her status---or a new link---from a mobile device. Moreover, it’s not hard to believe as Americans are on the move and obsessed with being constantly connected.
The numbers and statistics on mobile use, and its pervasive nature in our everyday lives, are staggering. Consider these few factoids (compliments of Mashable):
- Of the world’s over 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smartphones
- By 2014 mobile Internet use may surpass PC desktop use
- One half of local searches are done on a smartphone
- Almost 90% of mobile users are surfing the Internet on their device, while watching TV
- On average, Americans spend almost 3 hours per day socializing on their smartphones
- 200 million YouTube views occur on mobile devices per day
- Women between the ages of 35-54 are the most active group in mobile socialization
The bottom line: If your campaign, brand, or organization is not optimized for mobile and smartphone devices---it should be.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you optimize for mobile: Is your website mobile friendly? Will your online ad campaign include a mobile element? What about including a text message component in your communications efforts?
Smart campaigns, organizations and brands will focus more resources on mobile---and those that don’t will be left behind
What are some of the tactics and strategies you are using to reach stakeholders, citizens, voters, or customers on their mobile devices?
