This year’s presidential election is significant in more ways than one: It marks the year that text messaging and the mobile Web became political battlegrounds, and serves as a benchmark in the amount of money spent on wireless efforts.
Not surprisingly, the juggernaut that is Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has broken much of the new ground, likely due to the operation’s record-breaking fund-raising. Obama’s campaign has used text messaging and a mobile Web site in its new-media platform to reach potential voters. Sen. John McCain’s camp didn’t use text messaging or other wireless technologies to reach the electorate.
“Will text messaging win Obama the election? Absolutely not,” said Evan Tracey, COO of Campaign Media Analysis Group, which has been tracking political spending since 1996. “If nothing else it is a symbolic gesture to young voters that he gets them. It gives him street cred.”
In the future, though, politicians will not be able to ignore wireless technology during election season, Tracey said. The Obama campaign has laid the foundation for wireless technology to be part of political campaigns.
“Wireless will be part of political campaign plans,” he said. “After this election, there will be studies of how it was won, and I am sure the text messaging aspect will be examined.”
Indeed, according to a report from J.D. Powers and Associates, 27% of wireless customers have replaced their traditional telephone with wireless service. Of this group, 61% report they have completely disconnected their landline service. And a large portion of those users are text-savvy; according to mid-year figures by industry association CTIA, 75 billion text messages are sent every month.
Further, reaching Baby Boomers and their children is an important demographic of the voting populace that will be key in this and future elections, Tracey noted. “Those two generations consume media in different ways,” he said.
The older generation is much more inclined to get their information from newspapers and television, while their kids can be reached through the Internet and through wireless technology.
Such thinking is borne out by numbers from J.D. Powers, which found 29% of wireless users 18 and 24 years old solely rely on wireless service for communications, compared with just 9% of customers 65 and older.
Tracey said Obama also could afford to venture into wireless technology.
“He has the money to do these things,” he said. “He has the money to try just about anything.”
Indeed, Obama is on pace to spend the most money ever in a presidential campaign. As of Oct 15, Obama had spent $573 million, with $65 million still left in his war chest, according to campaign finance reports. McCain has spent $260 million, with $25 million left on hand. The amounts are expected to increase as both campaigns have yet to report the full amount of cash raised and spent up until Election Day.
Mobile marketing costs
As for Obama’s mobile marketing efforts, his campaign hired Distributive Networks to handle the text-message campaign. The Beltway startup has been paid $230,000 since the company was hired last July, according to campaign finance reports. The company has declined to say how many text messages have been sent since the company was hired last year.
The Obama campaign’s use of text messaging has been well documented. Numerous messages have been sent to those who signed up online or by sending a text message to Obama’s shortcode, 62262. The campaign created a buzz when it announced Obama’s vice presidential choice would be unveiled via a text message in August. However, Obama’s choice of Sen. Joe Biden was first reported by the Associated Press.
Text messages have been sent from Obama, his wife, Michelle Obama, Biden and various campaign staffers. In the messages, the campaign has tried to add a personal touch using the recipients name and the words “we” and “you” in describing the campaign’s efforts.
Recipients have also received text messages about where Obama stands on certain issues and to gather volunteers and supporters at scheduled events. The campaign also sent out text messages after each of the presidential debates and to respond to McCain attack ads. The campaign has also used the platform to raise money by asking for donations.
As for the mobile Web, in August the Obama campaign hired iLoop Mobile to launch a mobile Web site, m.barackobama.com, and the California firm has been paid $7,000, according to finance reports.
But even with Obama’s nod to wireless as a marketing medium, the campaign spent most of its ad dollars on TV, Tracey said. When all is said and done, Tracey expects for the amount of money spent on TV ads by the Obama campaign to climb to $250 million, which would exceed the record set by President George W. Bush in 2004, when his campaign spent $188 million.
Obama has also had a strong online advertising presence. The campaign has paid Google Inc. $4.5 million and Microsoft Corp. $393,000, according to campaign finance reports. McCain has paid Microsoft $45,000.
Communications costs
In total, Obama’s and McCain’s campaigns doled out $3.3 million to Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, U. S. Cellular Corp. and AT&T Inc., according to campaign finance reports filed by both candidates with the Federal Election Commission. Although neither campaign provided details on exactly what the expenses were for, the money likely went to communications.
