Obama's 2008 presidential campaign successfully utilized an integrated digital strategy including social media, online advertising, and relationship building through digital dialogues. This allowed Obama to raise record amounts of campaign funds online, engage and organize supporters, and achieve a historic electoral victory. Marketers can learn from Obama's digital success and focus on listening to consumers, directly interacting with them, and building trust through authentic online conversations on social media.

1. Obama‟s Digital Success
An integrated online marketing plan helps achieve a
historic victory
Google Confidential and Proprietary 1

2. Digital was at the center of the 2008 election
“Barack Obama was elected president of the United
States Tuesday night, crowning an improbable two-year
climb that owes much of its success to his command of
the Internet as a fundraising and organizing tool.
- Sarah Lai Stirland, Wired Magazine, November 2008
Source: Wired Magazine, http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/propelled-by-in.html. Google Confidential and Proprietary 2

3. Google was at the center of Obama’s campaign
Obama Campaign Website Raise Measure
Support Barack Obama by donating money
at the official Obama campaign site. success
BarackObama.com
Define Mobilize,
candidate, organize
set record Persuade local
straight undecided voters
voters
Vote for Barack Obama
Visit Obama‟s website to find your
Joe Biden is Obama’s VP Polling place or caucus location.
Join this Historic Campaign for BarackObama.com/Texas
Change Today; Support the Ticket
BarackObama.com
Barack Obama Muslim Myth
Barack Obama is a Christian.
Get the facts at his official site.
BarackObama.com
Google Confidential and Proprietary 3

4. Google drove “ridiculously high” ROI
• 15:1 ROI from search advertising
• Over $7.5M spent on Google, nearly
50% of campaign‟s digital spend
• Over 5M views on YouTube for
campaign‟s most popular video
• Google Docs called the tool that
most enabled community
organization and drove fundraising
Sources 15:1 ROI and title quote, Joe Rospars, New Media Director of the Obama Campaign, as quoted on 2/11/09 in
http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33718/obama_campaign_saw_ridiculously_high_roi_from_google_ads; Google spend: “Google
Grabbed Most of Obama's $16 Million in 2008,” Kate Kaye, ClickZ, 1/6/09, http://www.clickz.com/3632263. YouTube reach: Google Confidential and Proprietary 4
http://www.youtube.com/barackobama. Google Docs: “The 2008 Google Docs Capaign,” Eric Kuhn, The Huffington Post, 2/1/09,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kuhn/the-2008-google-docs-camp_b_162958.html.

5. Obama’s “permanent dialogue” continues online
• More than half of respondents to a post-election study said they expect the
President and his administration to communicate with them "directly."
• Over 1M viewers for Obama‟s first YouTube weekly address
• Database of over 15M supporters can be reached, mobilized online
Sources: “How Obama‟s “Permanent Dialogue” Affects Marketers,” Pete Snyder, Advertising Age, 1/30/09, Google Confidential and Proprietary 5
http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=134221; “Post-Election Voter Engagement,” Pew Internet & American Life Project,
12/30/08; http://www.youtube.com/user/changedotgov?blend=1.

6. Where do marketers go from here?
“Obama used conversation-based marketing and opt-in access
to build lasting, trust-based relationships. Go where [consumers]
are. Be real. Create an actual relationship.
The question is no longer are you online, but rather, are you
listening, directly available and authentically interacting.
Embrace, harness and make social media work for you – or get
left behind. It's a lesson from the very top.”
- Pete Snyder, Advertising Age, “How Obama‟s „Permanent Dialogue‟ Affects Marketers”
Source: “How Obama‟s “Permanent Dialogue” Affects Marketers,” Pete Snyder, Advertising Age, 1/30/09; Google Confidential and Proprietary 6
http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=134221.