Obama campaign iPhone App
Election results behind us, it’s helpful to take note of the absolutely exceptional communications and marketing work the campaign.
From the very start, part of the overarching strategy was to engage supporters to the greatest extent, possible. At every rally, meeting, and miscellaneous opportunity, volunteers and staffers collected phone, email, and address information.
This procedure is the very essence of permission marketing. Now, after receiving that permission, the question becomes: What do they do with that permission?
In this case, the answer was: Almost everything possible!
The usual contact includes: Door knocking and phone calling. That’s fine, but it was the electronic marketing that surpassed all competitors, in the both the primary process and the presidential campaign.
It has been well-publicized, that the Obama campaign received an incredible number of small donations, from many people, via its website. One of the main reasons was periodic, relentless email messages, delivering news and information, and always suggesting a donation… no matter how small.
Campaign volunteers not only received emails, but text messages. If the primary had moved on from one state, the volunteers were kept in-the-loop with results and news from elsewhere. No matter how small a volunteer’s involvement, they were made to feel as though they were an extremely important part of the time.
To me, the most striking element of the campaign’s use of electronic marketing was its iPhone Application. Within just a couple of weeks of the release of the ‘new and improved’ iPhone, an Obama ’08 Application magically appeared in the iTunes Application Store.
The application was free, and immediately gave you a window to the world of the campaign. The screen shot (shown upper right) gives a simple, clear menu to keep people involved in the campaign. My guess is that the application will not go away, but evolve into information about the transition to the presidency, and then an ongoing connection for grassroots support.
My girl friend, Jessica, had been a Precinct Captain. She was emotionally invested in the campaign. Last night, her devoted volunteerism and involvement was rewarded by several things: A win for the candidate, the knowledge that she had played a small part in a historic campaign, a victory celebration with several thousand other Obama supporters at the Rio Hotel Casino, and a personal text message of thanks from the President Elect, himself.
Less than two hours after the Barack Obama was declared the winner, Jessica, and thousands of volunteers across the country received personal text messages, thanking them for the time, contributions and support.
When her cell-phone ‘dinged’ to indicate a text message, she guessed it was a message ‘from the campaign.’ When she read the personal message from Obama, she burst into tears of joy.
THAT is connecting with a supporter, a volunteer, a fan…
Ask yourself this: What are you doing to personally connect with your employees, your customers, your referral base, in a timely, and personal manner?
It’s entirely possible that a concerted effort to use the latest technology for more than social networking, but targeted communications, can boost your business to the top of the stack.
Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for you: Become the best communicator among all your competitors.
You’ll be unbeatable.
Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog
Social Media Connections