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YouTube videos. MySpace photos. Facebook communities.
Orkut messages. LinkedIn references. Twitter talks.
Email lists. Banner ads. Blogs. Websites. Forums.
Podcasts. Barack Obama did what no other Presidential
candidate had done before. He opened his heart, spread
his arms and reached out to thousands and millions;
young and old, men, women and children, rich and poor,
of skin tones he hardly noticed. In one giant sweep, he
won them over.His great conquest has already been
inscribed in the record books of history so the world
can remember, for centuries to come how the most
unlikely Presidential candidate drew upon the genius of
the Internet, grew into a phenomenon and surged ahead to
become the most influential person in the United States
of America.
How did Barack Obama achieve the impossible?
Simply, he understood the significant role that the
passionate youth of America
played in deciding the future of his country and since
he was Presidential Elect, the verdict of his campaign.
He understood that if he were to make a positive
difference to their opinion, he would have to talk to
them, in their language. He understood that he would
have to go to them. And so he became a regular at the
one hangout most frequented by the youth of America: THE
INTERNET.
Through communities, blogs, websites, videos,
podcasts and more, Barack Obama personally
engaged individuals residing
inas many as 50 vast states. He used the medium to share
his policies and promises, to genuinely
connected with a nation.
For the first time ever, a Presidential candidate put
the VOTER in the centre of his
campaign. He met each one
online, listened to them, and
responded to every last one of their posts, emails and
comments. He empowered each man, woman and child gave
each a voice, an opportunity:
to express his and her thoughts and exchange ideas.
Obama has been at it since 2005 the year his official
website came into being. To cite an example, the first
official Obama video was posted on YouTube on September
14, 2006. Come November 2008, there are more than
1800 official videos on YouTube
spanning:
- Ads in his election campaign
- Canvassing coverage
- Obama on “Blueprint of Change”
- Mobilization videos
- Celebrity endorsements
- Public support coverage
- Personal videos
- Press coverage
- And more
These videos resulted in close to 80 Million
views. And all of this on just one website.
But that’s not all. Each video prominently featured a
“Contribute to Obama Fund” button. Obama raised
$300 million all with a few clicks of the humble, but
mighty, mouse. 90% of these online donations were $100
or less (Average contribution per contributor in Feb
March was $51) and more than 75% of the donors were
first time donors. More than a third of these new online
donors went on to engage in volunteer activity on
My.BarackObama.com; planning their offline events,
making phone calls from home and joining local
grassroots volunteer groups. If we use the
February March average contribution as a pointer, this
would translate to 5.88 Million contributors of which
1.54 Million also decided to be Obama campaign
volunteers!
Today, he is undoubtedly America’s most popular
President. And to think his campaign was born in a tiny
space on the Internet.
Most would call it miraculous. But at
Ignitee, we know there’s a method to
the miracle. We’ve invested the last eight years in
understanding the digital behaviour of individuals. We
specialise in Website Building, Ad, Email and Search
Marketing, Social Media Optimisation and Mobile
Advertising. With highly-targeted plans, we are poised
to deliver high-impact political messages to even the
remotest areas of this country.
Already, the Congress (I)
has placed their faith in us for the
next elections scheduled to be held in May 2009
for the digital campaign. It goes without saying that we will
leave no stone unturned in reaching their messages to
millions across India.
And who knows, history just might repeat itself.
" One out of every seven Netizens is from rural India
"
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