How a Mouse Became an Elephant: The. Obama Campaign

Transcription

1 How a Mouse Became an Elephant: The Obama Campaign Kathleen Conley Keiara Tenant Stephanie Weber December 2009 How a Mouse Became an Elephant: The Obama Campaign The main strategy for the Obama campaign was to create an identity for Barack Obama. This identity would portray him as a young, intelligent, and wise politician; a source of hope, change, and an alternative to the traditional politician. The Obama campaign used a series of communication tactics to create this image, such as a grassroots approach, social networking sites and the use of his personal story. The main focus of the campaign was to communicate the identity of Obama to the American people, with the goal of gaining supporters. The Obama campaign maintained the philosophy that in-person contact would be the most effective way to attract voters. The campaign encouraged American citizens to take a larger role in their civic lives. Volunteers became an extremely powerful force throughout the campaign by making small contributions, organizing their local communities, and delivering the message of the campaign personally to family members, friends, and neighbors. Speeches and Personal Story Before July 27, 2004, many American citizens were unfamiliar with the man we now call our president. It was on this day that Barack Obama began to gain national recognition after delivering a compelling speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. At the time of the convention, Obama apparently had little interest in the presidency and was more focused on fulfilling his six years of duty as an Illinois senator. Surprisingly, it was this speech that unexpectedly shed light on his potential to be a great leader and would ultimately become the foundation for which he based his presidential campaign. Obama may very well be one of the greatest communicators of this century. He has an impeccable ability to share his views, and communicate in such a way that it compels people to believe what he says is plausible without any proof. This he did in the 2004 DNC speech and it would become a skill vital to convincing people to jump on the "Obama wagon" during his 2008 presidential campaign. Barack Obama formally announced that he would be running for president of the United States on February 10, This came as a shock to many and was seen as a far away and illogical dream for this young and virtually unknown black Illinois senator. The Obama campaign quickly took off after his announcement and people began to take notice of him and what he had to say. Obama announced his candidacy through a speech in Springfield, Illinois. That speech is seen as very important; as it reveals how talented he is as a communicator and marks one of the first moments that people began to pay attention to

2 how well he articulated his speeches. His word choice instilled feelings of hope to disadvantaged people who were constantly trampled on by poor health care and a crumbling economy. Whichever Barack Obama proves to be destined for the White House, or a bolt that lights the skies momentarily the image he leaves, lasting or fleeting, will be one of hope, idealism, and faith in the promise of America." The main focus of the book is to show the interest that Obama has generated and the hope that people hold for his future. Like his autobiography, this book also outlines his difficult childhood, which many people can relate to, as it appeals to many different races and backgrounds. In this way, his speeches and personal story helped create an identity for Barack Obama that could be communicated to voters throughout the campaign. Grassroots Approach This speech also marked the beginning of his gradual transition from a mouse into an elephant. One of the characteristics which gained Obama national support was his sheer ability to connect with and appeal to a broad audience through his personal life story. His autobiography Dreams from my Father was published in 1995 before his political career began, and re-released after his keynote address at the 2004 DNC. This heartfelt story was filled with a variety of experiences and contains examples of his life struggles and accomplishment. He has a natural ability to connect with millions of average American citizens because of his diverse background. Hence, people were more likely to listen to and trust him because they felt he understood their situations. The book "Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama" is a biography that was published in 2007 only five days after Obama announced his candidacy. The book tells of how many perceive him as a paramount leader for the next generation. One of the quotes from the book reads, "In Swahili, his father's language, Barack means "blessing". In Hebrew, it means "flash of lightning". The campaign showed that Obama could gain the support of young voters, who provided him with enough votes to win the Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency. This was ultimately achieved by maintaining Obama's message of change and hope for the future under a new form of leadership that would unite the Democratic and Republican parties rather than drive them apart. The core theme of the campaign was that change was more important than experience in the election. One of our group members, Stephanie, had the opportunity to meet Obama during the first few months of his campaign when he made an appearance at the Detroit Economics Club in May of She was able to experience his grassroots approach and charismatic qualities firsthand. Although the main point of his presence in Detroit was to give a speech at the luncheon, he met with a group of about fifteen students beforehand. Obama used this time with the students to talk in a very informal setting where he was not even behind a podium, but simply walking in and out of the rows of students, holding a casual conversation. He answered the questions posed about himself personally and his campaign, which ranged anywhere from, "What was your favorite team to play basketball on?" to "Are you going to be the first black president?". He was not more

3 than five feet away from the group of students and spoke in a way that gave the audience hope for their future as America's youth. It is important to note that he was not condescending in his language, which one may initially expect to hear from an articulate presidential candidate. Afterwards, he shook each of the students' hands and took pictures with them. It was clear that everyone who left that room developed a great deal of faith in Obama and that his personal contact with each of the students was almost a sure guarantee of their future vote. This instance is just one of many in which the campaign's grassroots approach created an innovative, considerate, and youthful identity for Barack Obama. Social Networking Obama made a great effort to reach out to the younger generation of voters and in doing this, he added to his identity the characteristics of zeal and youthfulness. YouTube Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post, said the following of the Obama campaign's use of the Internet: "Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee." The Obama campaign used the Internet medium like never before in politics to connect with mass audiences and a younger generation. One way this was accomplished was by using YouTube for free advertising. The official videos released by the campaign were watched for a total accumulation of 14.5 million hours as of November 7, 2008, which would have cost $47 million to present on broadcast television. By Election Day, 28% of voters surveyed by U.S. News and World Report stated that they had watched speeches that the Obama campaign posted on YouTube. Steve Grove, YouTube's head of news and politics, remarked on Obama's brilliant use of YouTube leading up to the election: "[The Obama campaign] understood that YouTube's not just about short clips, or commercials, or 'gotcha' footage, or a slick ad. It's about making yourself available to people." The videos on YouTube served a variety of purposes, including persuading voters to take action, educating voters on what they would need to do to vote, and presenting voters with facts to clear up misinformation and attacks from opponents. Facebook The Obama campaign found a multitude of innovative ways to expand their reach. It is estimated that he raised 87% of his campaign funds through social networking. It is no coincidence that one member of Obama's campaign team and key strategists was 24-yearold Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes. Facebook enabled Obama to reach his target audience of year old voters. Exit polls revealed that Obama had won nearly 70 percent of the vote among Americans under age 25. Facebook allowed Obama to spread his message and fundraise through various groups, such as "One Million Strong for Barack Obama" and fan pages which explained his campaign in a condensed way that young adults would be more apt to pay attention to. The campaign utilized side advertisement bars that sold Obama t-shirts and directly benefited the campaign, bumper stickers that you could add to your profile supporting Obama, Barack Obama Facebook applications to tell your friends about Obama, and Obama "gifts" that were a source of fun, viral advertising. While John McCain failed to campaign online, Obama actively responded to s and created videos through Facebook exclusively for his online supporters. When it came to the day of the election, the Obama campaign made it an

4 option that users could dedicate their status to Obama so that it would read, "John Smith is the xxx,xxx,xxx person to dedicate his status to the Barack Obama campaign." Obama's personal Facebook page allowed people to develop a personal connection with him, where he listed his favorite music, such as Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan, and his interests, such as basketball. Seventy-two-year-old McCain, on the other hand, listed his interests as fishing and his favorite movie as Letters From Iwo Jima; it is clear that he was not able to connect with young users like Obama could. During the primaries, people used Twitter to stay connected to the political world. After witnessing how people used Twitter during the Obama-Clinton debate in February 2008, one blogger wrote: "As far as I can tell Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate taking advantage of Twitter as a social media tool. Obama s tweets tend to lack the personal commentary that makes for interesting reading, but his campaign has created a powerful social media brand by using social media sites like Twitter." At the time, Obama had more than 6,000 followers on Twitter. That number has since grown to more than 2.6 million. Obama's use of technology allowed him to create an identity that showed he was accessible so that people felt a level of connection and trust within him. This also proved that if he was so connected to voters before his presidency, his care for their opinions would continue into his presidency. The Logo of the Obama Campaign Twitter Like Facebook, Twitter is a social networking site which allows its users to post short, realtime status updates called tweets; hence, Twitter invited Obama supporters to follow his every move. Twitter also allowed Obama to market himself to people who otherwise might not have taken interest in the presidential race. Instead of simply inviting these people into the political world, he brought the political world to them by publicizing his speeches and rallies through links in his tweets and encouraging his followers to explore the plans he proposed. For example, on September 28, 2008 Obama's tweet read: "In Detroit, MI. At a "Change We Need" rally. Watch it live at As a result of Obama's tweeting, he managed to capture the attention of people other politicians might have failed to appeal to, thus adding to his support. Barack Obama's campaign logo was also very important in noting the methods he used to achieve great success. There are many websites dedicated to exploring how "genius" the logo is to those who understand the power of advertising and value of visual appeal. Instead of the traditional square campaign symbols featuring the candidate s last name, Obama used a circular O shaped symbol with "Obama

5 '08" underneath it. His symbol is very appealing and modern compared to the other candidates. One analysis of his logo says that he is attempting to claim the letter "O" as George W. Bush claimed "W". The logo represents the patriotic red, white, and blue colors that Americans value, and the red and white stripes are meant to represent the plains and farmland of America. There is also white space within the O that is interpreted as representing the sun shining over the plains. Since the sun is white, it acts as a sunrise, not sunset. This sunrise is symbolic of change and the endless possibilities that a new day (or new president) bring. It is obvious that Obama incorporates his campaign foundations of hope and change into every aspect of his candidacy so that when people see words or symbols that express these characteristics, they are reminded of Obama and what he is capable of. The Communication Techniques: Obama vs. McCain The way the candidates interpreted and responded to key issues surrounding the election proved to be extremely important. The Obama campaign focused on listening to the people and making it evident that they were listening by offering solutions and repeating the problems; both tactics to show listeners that one is in fact listening. McCain, on the other hand, tended to deny that problems even existed which only angered voters and made him seem untrustworthy. When it came to the issue of economics, McCain shocked the nation by admitting to the Wall Street Journal in 2005 and again to the Boston Globe in December 2007, that he "doesn't really understand economics." On September 17, 2008, McCain denied that there was even an economic problem in the United States. He then tried to clarify this poorly received comment by saying that the American workers will rebound the economy, which led many to question how they would do this if they are not even employed. issue and how detrimental it could be if special attention was not assigned. Obama's approach was better received because he was charismatic and gave people hope for their future instead of telling hardworking people that they needed to try harder. This helped create the identity of a candidate who was a good listener and would work to benefit America s middle class. Part of what made Obama so appealing as a presidential candidate was his authentic, straightforward responses to difficult questions. Obama acted based on his instincts, rather than repeating recycled answers; his character was seen as unique to the public because he acted so nonpolitical. By creating a unique and trusting identity for Obama, the campaign was able to transform him from an unknown mouse into a powerful elephant. The strategies and tactics used to communicate identity were the main reasons for the Obama campaign's unprecedented success, and they can be used to create identities for small organizations in the future, both in and out of politics. This report is available for download and may be used according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 license. Obama, on the other hand, listened to the American people and recognized the economic