Social Media Killed the Bumper Sticker
There’s one constant in presidential politics: every four years, a newer, bigger, better election strategy is unleashed on the voting public. In the 90s we saw a youngish, hip, saxophone-wielding Democrat hit the late-night talk show circuit to acquaint himself with America’s budding new crop of 18-to-24 year olds. And it worked. In 2008, we’re witnessing a new first. The use of social media to galvanize support for presidential candidates.
In the past few years, sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube have changed the way people communicate with each other. So it’s no surprise that they are also changing the face of the 2008 presidential race. With instant and easy access to millions of potential voters, each of the major players in this election has quickly jumped on the social networking bandwagon. With the click of a button you can see McCain’s official campaign on his YouTube channel ‘Country First.’ Or read about Obama’s background and positions on his MySpace page. There’s no more digging around, or riffling through (gasp!) newspapers to find out about each candidate’s position on key issues. Because they’ve already done the work for you.
In fact, two of the country’s leading news organizations, CNN and ABC News, saw the value that social media brought forth. They respectively partnered with YouTube and Facebook to bring two rounds of election debates to us. And in the process redefined America’s town meeting.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the social media phenomenon in this election year – especially to those of us in the business of marketing to today’s youth – is that the voters themselves are doing much of the legwork on their own. And today’s “legwork” is much more effective than yesterday’s pamphlet-distributing, sign-toting, bumper sticker-sticking, protesting kind of legwork. It’s the viral kind. The kind that can infiltrate hundreds of mailboxes in a minute and influence thousands of “friends” with the click of a button.
Take for instance the soldier who posted ‘Dear Mr. Obama’ in support of McCain. At 9.8 million views as of 9/29/08, this amateur 1 minute 55 second video has reached more people than CBS’s broadcast of ‘Two and a Half Men’ the week of 9/15/08. What it’s worth in media dollars is something that anyone with a calculator can quickly figure out. What it’s worth qualitatively, well, that’s what we’ll all be waiting to see. Because this is just one guy in a military uniform with a simple message. Multiply that by all the Gen Y-ers looking to make a difference this election year, and we’re talking something else entirely.
So, will social media define the 2008 election as Florida did in 2000? That remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the rules of communication have changed in this brave new world. Messaging, whether it’s about a candidate or a brand, isn’t just coming from the top these days. The millions of web-savvy youth that make up Generation Y are armed with a digital bullhorn, and they’re using it each and every day to express themselves and influence their peers. While it may not decide the election this time around, its obvious that brands (and candidates) ignore social medias power at their own peril.
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