An overview of the potential impact of social media on the 2010 US midterm elections presented to the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, in August 2010.
The Impact of Social Media on the 2010 US Elections
1. The
Impact
of
Social
Media
on
the
2010
US
Elec8ons
Jonathan Kopp
Partner & Global Director,
Ketchum Digital
31 August 2010
2. 2
In the last two cycles,
Dems added 55 House
seats & gained a majority.
The question isn’t whether
GOPs will pick up seats
in 2010, but how many.
Latest
Horserace
Polls
5. PAST
IS
5
Produced by
Roy Disney
PROLOGUE
Ike,
1952.
The
“Living
Room
Candidate”
Eisenhower
Answers America
6. PENDULUM
6
swings
BACK
LBJ,
1964.
“Daisy”
(Change = Risk) Produced by
Doyle, Dane Birnbach
7. 40
years
later,
the
world
awoke
to
SOCIAL
MEDIA
7
In
Q3
2003,
Dean
raised
about
$15
million
(mostly
small
dona8ons),
a
record
for
a
Democra8c
presiden8al
candidate.
By
mid-‐November,
the
Howard
Dean
Meetup
group
boasted
more
than
140,000
members.
8. 8
Were
it
not
for
the
Internet,
Barack
Obama
would
not
be
president.
-‐Arianna
Huffington
The
tools
changed
between
2004
&
2008.
Obama
won…
every
single
caucus
state
that
maFers…
because
he
was
able
to
move
thousands
of
people
to
organize.
-‐Joe
Trippi
11. 11
I am learning to get online
myself, and I will have that down
fairly soon, getting on myself…. I
don’t e-mail. I’ve never felt the
particular need to e-mail.
John McCain, as quoted in the
New York Times, 13 July 2008
12. 12
“MyBO”
“The campaign’s
official stuff they
created for YouTube
was watched for
14.5 million hours.
To buy 14.5 million
hours on broadcast
TV is $47 million.”
Joe Trippi
15. 15
GOPs
now
HILL
TWEETS
Dominate
the
• 60%
of
Couse,
GHill
eslected
lose
to
5users
many
tOPs.
as
Dems.
• In
the
H
apitol
OPs
end
c
Twi3er
X
as
are
G
weets
Major
SoMe
• Senate
GOPS
out
tweet
Dems
by
35%.
Media
Pladorms
HILL
VIDEO
• 89%
of
congressional
GOPs
have
YouTube
channels
(only
74%
of
all
Hill
Dems).
• GOPs
own
8
of
the
top
10
most
viewed
and
subscribed
congressional
YouTube
channels.”
HILL
FACEBOOK
• House
Minority
Leader
John
Boehner
has
75,443
FB
fans;
• Majority
Leader
Pelosi
has
a
mere
20,445.
• The
"Impeach
Pelosi”
page
has
80,000+.
16. 16
The
2010
US
Tool
Kit
Facebook
TwiTer
Hidden
Party
AffiliaUon
Blogs
YouTube
Share
E-‐mail
sign
up
Text
sign
up
Video
The
2010
Flickr
Social
Media
Less
Commonly
Google
Buzz
FourSquare
Toolkit
Used
MulUlingual
Campaign
Site
17. Spanish
Language
17
TwiTer
Obscured
Facebook
Party
YouTube
AffiliaUon
Flickr
RSS
Blog
&
Toolbar
Email
&
SMS
Sign-‐up
Rapid
Response
Donate
Act
2010
Video
Embedded
Social
Media
Toolkit
Share
18. NEVADA
18
Will
WASHINGTON
Harry
Sharron
PaTy
Dino
COLARADO
Ken
Michael
SOCIAL
MEDIA
Reid
Angle
Murray
Rossi
Buck
Bennet
Facebook
x
x
x
x
x
x
be
the
TwiTer
x
x
x
x
x
x
DIFFERENCE
Campaign
Site
x
x
x
x
x
x
Spanish
Site
x
x
MAKER
Blog
x
x
x
x
in
2010
YouTube
x
x
x
x
x
x
Flickr
x
x
x
x
Google
Buzz
x
Share
x
x
x
x
x
x
E-‐mail
sign
up
x
x
x
x
x
x
Text
sign
up
x
x
x
x
x
Video
x
x
x
x
x
x
FourSquare
x
Hidden
Party
x
x
x
x
x
AffiliaUon
19. 19
Scof
Brown
(R-‐MA),
Special
Elec8on
&
Social
Media
BROWN
BEAT
COAKLEY
ACROSS
SOCIAL
MEDIA
10:1
In
Web
traffic 3:1
in
TwiTer
followers
10:1
YouTube
views 4:1
in
Facebook
followers
in
SOCIAL
MEDIA
AS
PREDICTOR?
The
1st
poll
to
correctly
predict
Brown’s
January
19
win
was
a
social
media
poll
on
January
14,
when
tradiUonal
polls
were
sUll
showing
a
close
race.
20. Gordon
David
Nick
20
UK
Conserva8ves
Facebook
Brown
x
Cameron
x
Clegg
x
Dominate
Social
Media
TwiTer
Site
Campaign
x
x
x
x
x
x
Cameron
Bounces
Brown
Blogs
x
x
YouTube
x
x
Flickr
x
Share
x
x
E-‐mail
sign
up
x
x
x
Text
sign
up
x
x
x
Video
x
x
Download
x
Incumbent
ignores
YouTube
&
Flickr
(10
Downing
page
censored
viewer
comments)
21. Juan
Manuel
Santos
Antanas
Mockus
Facebook
x
x
21
Turning
the
Tide
TwiTer
x
x
in
Colombia
Campaign
Site
My
Space
x
x
x
YouTube
x
x
Santos:
Flickr
Share
x
x
x
x
From
12%
down
to
a
win
E-‐mail
sign
up
x
Text
sign
up
X
in
final
50
days
Video
x
x
Mockus:
Loss
afributed
to
social
media
presence
that
lacked
authenHc
engagement
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/080510-social-media-aids-the-election.html
23. the
POWER
of
• Obama
outspent
McCain
10-‐1
online.
digital
+
social
media:
– esUmated
$8
million
MICROTARGETING,
– ≥
50%
of
all
2008
online
poliUcal
ad
EMPOWERMENT
&
spending
MOBILIZATION
24. but
OLD
MEDIA
s8ll
RULES
• Obama
spent
$250MM+
on
general
elecUon
ads,
versus
$130MM
by
McCain.
• Secret
weapon:
Radio
– Obama
outspent
McCain
5-‐1.
25. • 24mm
youth
(18-‐29)
voted
in
2008
• 2.2mm
more
youth
than
in
2004
In
hindsight,
• Highest
youth
turnout
ever
(est.
49-‐55%)
• About
66%
of
them
voted
for
Obama
it
seems
inevitable…
26. • 24mm
youth
(18-‐29)
voted
in
2008
• 2.2mm
more
youth
than
in
2004
In
hindsight,
• Highest
youth
turnout
ever
(est.
49-‐55%)
• About
66%
of
them
voted
for
Obama
it
seems
inevitable…
DIFFERENCE
MAKERS:
VISION
STRATEGY
MESSAGE
DISCIPLINE
AUTHENTIC
ENGAGEMENT
INNOVATION
&
INTEGRATION
27. • Did
one
side’s
consistent
usage
of
27
social
media
have
an
electoral
impact?
• Did
it
increase
youth
turn
out?
• Did
it
maTer
in
the
midterms,
where
the
tradiUonal
turnout
is
small
numbers
of
seniors?
• Did
it
help
less
funded
candidates?
Some
Ques8ons
• Did
it
widen
the
gap
for
well-‐heeled
for
Amer
the
candidates?
Polls
Close
• What’s
next?
28. The
Impact
of
Social
Media
on
the
2010
US
Elec8ons
Jonathan Kopp
Partner & Global Director,
Ketchum Digital
31 August 2010