All of the wonderful predictions we have been hearing for years about how the Internet will democratize society seems to have finally hit a Tipping Point with the election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States and the masterful web marketing strategy that made it possible.
In Marin County in California, where I live, 91% of all eligible voters turned out to vote in the election, many galvanized by innovative Internet marketing outreach from grass roots supporters who frequently used tools provided by the campaigns.
Internet Marketing 2.0 and beyond represented a major force in the campaign. Participatory media, multiple media choices (particularly video) and a sea-change in how people communicate, learn and make decisions were at work here. The candidate who best understood these forces leveraged it to fuel success. In fact, at times it was riveting.
John McCain was so far removed from understanding these massive changes that he could not effectively direct his campaign. He famously did not even use email! A Case Study: The Barack Obama (Web Marketing) Strategy made publicly available (courtesy of Paul van Veenendaal & Igor Beuker) on SlideShare, with YouTube video inserts, is a real eye-opener.
According to the PEW Research Center:
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46% of Americans used Web, email, or text messaging for news about the presidential campaign
35% watched online political videos
10% said that they logged onto social networking sites like Facebook & MySpace to get engaged in the election
2008 Presidential Campaign Internet Highlights:
Fair disclosure: I did support and vote for Barack Obama. I also have in the past supported and voted for John McCain. This is not about who I voted for, though, it is about who “got it” in terms of a successful web marketing strategy.
There’s so much more to dissect here – another time. For now, just sink into this election and the transformations at work. You’ve got to ask yourself… can this only be about politics and entertainment? Can I continue to think that our customers are not using Interactive Web 2.0 in their buying consideration process? More to come…
