The document summarizes lessons learned from Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. It discusses how the campaign succeeded through grassroots organizing, social media, and user-generated content despite being outspent. Key points included empowering supporters to create and share their own stories online; capitalizing on viral videos, especially those showing authentic supporter experiences; and building a large email list to mobilize donors and volunteers across local communities. The end goal was to build a lasting movement through empowering relationships rather than just raise funds or get votes.

1. THE MOMENT:
LESSONS FROM CHICAGO
Sam Graham-Felsen | New Media Strategist

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SO HOW DID
THIS HAPPEN?
2

3. WHAT MAKES
A MOVEMENT?

4. AND WHAT ROLE
DID THE INTERNET
PLAY?

5. We knew our candidate was extraordinary,
but far from a shoe-in.

6. We also knew he wasn’t…
going to get many
big endorsements.
going to draw
many big donors.
going to be given
a very serious
shot to win by the
establishment.
6

7. BUT WE HAD A
FEELING THAT
THE PEOPLE WOULD
BE THERE
7

9. HOW TO HARNESS
THAT ENERGY?
HOW TO WIN?

10. We knew had to happen from the bottom up.

11. MESSAGE
THE POWER OF
ONLINE CONTENT
11

12. AUTHENTICITY.

13. THIS CAMPAIGN IS
ABOUT YOU.
Joe Rospars
Partner, Blue State Digital
February 28, 2009

14. STORIES
ARE ESSENTIAL

15. Thousands of blog posts, many never
mentioned Obama.
Being an African American Male,
to have that positive role model
in Senator Obama, it’s given me
so much hope. TO be able to look
at my daughter one day and tell
her, ‘You can be anything you
want in the world’… In the past
I might have said’ You can be
anything you want to be. But
President? No’… But now, he’s
given me that light.

16. They Were About Our Supporters.
Josh Stroman Amy Chicos
16

18. YouTube
Over 2,000 videos uploaded
5 times as many videos as
other campaigns
1 billion minutes of web video
content consumed

19. 2,000 years of straight viewing
19

20. Behind the
scenes
provided genuine
transparency
built a sense of access
and community
20

21. Blueprint for
Change
short, simple,
graphics-rich
educational videos
around issues
aesthetically pleasing
and digestible way to
understand policy
21

22. Mini-docs
supporters are hungry
for in-depth content
they will be patient
with longer videos as
long as they were rich
with substance
22

23. 7.5 million people watched Obama’s
37-minute race speech on YouTube

24. Capitalizing on Supporter-Generated content
and Defining “Key Moments”

25. The game is changing
Traditional Media New Media
TV Commercials Online Videos
Direct Mail Email
Press releases Blogs
One way communication Two way conversation
Aimed at the press Aimed at empowering our
supporters
Aimed at winning over undecideds
Getting Votes Building a Movement
25

26. CONTENT IS
THE GLUE
THAT HOLDS THE
CAMPAIGN
TOGETHER
26

27. MONEY
HOW TO RAISE
HALF A BILLION (J/K)

28. OUR LITTLE SECRET:
WE NEVER MADE IT
ABOUT MONEY

29. Dinner with Barack
Breaking down
barriers to access
More than a
gimmick, it was
about collecting
and sharing stories
Videotaped the
dinner and showed
footage online

31. This is our moment: New York
Profiled dozens of
supporters in the lead-up
Phone calling campaigns
into every state on eastern
seaboard
Repeated emails promoting
the event
Everyone had heard about
this by the time the event
happened
“Hey”

32. CREATING
MOMENTS
VERSUS
RIDING MOMENTS

34. I wasn’t planning on
sending you something
tonight. But if you saw
what I saw from the
Republican Convention,
you know it demands a
response.
I saw John McCain’s
attack squad of negative
cynical politicians
politicians.
They lied about Barack
Obama and Joe Biden, and
they attacked you for
being a part of this
campaign

35. Expanding the Universe:
List Building

36. How did we get 13 million email addresses?
Contests (Dinner with Barack, Front Row to History)
Making the most of rallies
“Tell a friend” feature
Social Networks
Effective Online Ads
Intensive Analytics

37. The Match Game
TRADITIONAL
MATCH
One Wealthy Existing
Donor Donors
GRASS ROOTS
MATCH
Non-Donor Non-Donor
Activists Activists

38. $500 MILLION
RAISED ONLINE

39. 2/3 of Total Campaign Contributions
Out of the $750,000,000
raised, $500,000,00 was
raised online
Most donations were made
in allotments of $100 or less.
Our average donor gave
more than twice.

40. MOBILIIZATION
EMPOWERING
GRASSROOTS
ORGANIZERS

42. Grassroots Groups
Essential to our
success in the
General Election
Organized on their
own before we could
reach them,
especially in rural
areas
Without the help of
campaign staff, they
built infrastructure

43. WE BUILT REAL
RELATIONSHIPS
Joe Rospars
Partner, Blue State Digital
February 28, 2009

44. WE PUT PEOPLE
TO WORK

45. HISTORY. Joe Rospars
Partner, Blue State Digital
February 28, 2009

46. SO…
WHAT’S NEXT?

47. SAME PRINCIPLES
NEW TOOLS

48. iPhone & iPad Square
Foursquare Facebook Connect Twitter

49. THE MOST IMPORTANT
TOOL OF THE FUTURE

51. GRACIAS.
contact me:
sam@samgf.org