In the pre-digital days, relationship marketing was a rather crude ‘one-size-fits-all’ tool, driven from simple databases with only very simple segmentation. It gave an improvement on the mass marketing of broadcast television and newspapers, but did little to build real relationships with customers. When email went mainstream it changed the landscape for relationship marketing because it provided a seamless link between a broadcast media tool and much smarter database driven segmentation.
At the Austrian Digital Congress, we’ll hear from one of the world’s leading relationship marketers: the campaign manager behind the Obama election programme. While this might not seem like relationship marketing on the surface, if you were on the receiving end of the dialogue, then you’d be hearing from the presidential campaign team every day; relevant, powerful and engaging messages that were part of a movement for social change.
The Obama election campaign
This was a step change in the way politics works. At the heart of the campaign was an engine that took policy ideas and succeeded in turning them into a movement for social change. The technology took policy ideas and made them accessible and engaging, reaching a new generation on their own terms. The campaign team segmented their audiences tightly so people received messages that were truly tailored: different messages for supporters of different parties, for those that donated and those that did not, and for those that were interested in different aspects of policy.
The Obama campaign brought politics to the web on a grand scale for the first time. By synchronising the messaging in traditional media with the clips released through YouTube and social media, they were able to achieve a seismic shift in the delivery of political messaging. And then they went a step further: they encouraged citizens to share their voice. From the discussion parties in houses, to the campaign meetings run by local supporters, to the mass rallies, the campaign became a genuine movement for social change.
Digital channels were the catalyst for igniting this, but the ideas were clearly independent of the technology. What the technology allowed was to make this real for US citizens, and then to involve them in the process. Messenger, Mobile marketing, Twitter and all the new relationship tools simply extend the channels further.
The campaign continues
After the election it didn’t stop. The campaign team continue the movement for change by retaining the channels that give The White House a direct route into the inbox of millions of people around the world. From healthcare to welfare reform, international relations to economic crisis, citizens are involved and connected. The campaign has changed the culture of politics in the US and changed the nature of the electorate. Social media has achieved an education process that has reengaged people in democracy and politics, raising the quality of debate and raising the level of participation. That’s not simple a victory for one presidential candidate in one country at one time, it’s a step change for society.
At the Digital Congress in Austria, we’ll hear from the man behind the campaign strategy, the approach and the role of social media in electing a president.
Register for the Digital Congress in Austria: www.digitalcongress.at
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