9. Text Messaging & Mobile
C U @ THE RALLY
MOBILITY WAS ANOTHER NEW FRONTIER explored by the Obama team. The text messaging program was rolled out by Scott Goodstein, Obama’s Director of External Online Organizing and Mobile, in June of 2007. Both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards also had an SMS component, but neither were as extensively integrated as Obama’s efforts. The Obama mobile platform included supporter-made Obama wallpapers and ringtones that remixed Barack’s quotes on healthcare and the war in Iraq. Text messaging was a new medium with several complicating factors including the fact that many users paid for incoming SMS messages. Texting provided an opportunity to connect with a certain segment of voters, particularly rural areas where people relied on the technology more heavily. This aspect of digital communications seems to have been completely overlooked by John McCain.
In a Washington Post interview, Goldstein described the importance of text messaging. “To me, texting is the most personal form of communication,” he said. “Your phone is with you all the time. You’re texting with your girlfriend. You’re texting with your friends. Now you’re texting with Barack.” The campaign used incentives to kick-off text messaging involvement. Users who signed up to the campaign’s text messaging list received free campaign gear like buttons and bumper stickers. “Millions of Americans relying on cell phones are cutting the cords to their landlines,” Goodstein wrote on his MyBO blog in June. “This new service is essential for us to communicate with a growing number of Americans where they’re at.”
Supporters who signed up for SMS updates from the campaign received a variety of text messages including rally information when Obama was in their home town. The Obama campaign was the only one to segment its text messaging database by region, allowing them to target supporters in specific states. Text messaging strategy also included recruiting to help get out the vote, requests for donations, and announcing that Barack had chosen Joe Biden as his VP.
“Finally a way for politicans to annoy you in restaurants and movies theatres.”
- JON STEWART, DAILY SHOW, ON OBAMA’S RINGTONES.
In this chapter we’ll discuss some of the learnings from the Obama text messaging strategy:
ALWAYS LET USERS OPT IN — All aspects of the campaign’s text messaging program depended on voluntarily offered information. This established the Obama team’s respect for supporters’ personal digital space and ensured that they delivered information to those who genuinely wanted it.
CREATE A CONVERSATION — The Obama team was unique in its use of SMS text messaging because the campaign staff responded to inquiries and feedback.
PORTABLE ENGAGEMENT — The campaign’s innovative iPhone application made supporting Obama easy everywhere you went.
Always Let Users Opt In: Choosing to Engage
The campaign used texting as a platform to grow it’s database. The most important part of the texting strategy was the emphasis on having users opt in to the SMS list. Users had to sign up for the program, and indicate that they were willing to receive updates from the Obama mobile team. Once they had subscribed, supporters could also choose to provide additional personalinformation. Those who opted in with their zip code received geo-centric updates of events happening in their area.
Most text messages involved an ask, a specific call to action. Supporters were asked to watch the debates, to attend a rally, or to send feedback about a particular issue. A subscriber could decide to stop receiving updates at any time and Obama staff regularly scanned incoming text messages for any user who expressed unhappiness at being contacted.
Rallies were an excellent opportunity to increase the SMS database. At one rally during the primary in South Carolina, Jeremy Bird, the state field director, asked the 29,000 people who had come out to see Obama and Oprah Winfrey to each text “SC” to 62262 (which spells Obama) if they wanted to get involved in the campaign. Thousands responded and the SMS list grew. Goodstein used these numbers to follow up encouraging involvement in phonebanking, canvassing and getting out the vote campaigns. The mobile strategy played a role in helping Obama win South Carolina by 28 points. Goodstein spent three weeks in South Carolina overseeing the program and studying how text messaging could be applied to all voters, not just the youth demographic.
In addition to building trust and showing respect to the community, an opt-in system was more effective as it delivered content to those who were interested in the information, increasing the likelihood of response and engagement.
Create a Conversation: It’s a Two-Way Street
The campaign made an effort to connect with voters by conversing with them instead of just broadcasting information. Texting formed a two-way relationship, staffers and volunteers responded to supporters who asked questions via SMS on particular issues or to find out where their voting location was. “We will use text messaging to ask for your opinions and advice and give you the ability to request information from the campaign,” Goodstein wrote. SMS comments were routinely mentioned on the blogs and various social networks.
A college student in Florida who donated $20 sent the following text with his contribution: “When I got the text about the debate tonight, a few friends and I decided to stay in to watch instead of going out,” he wrote. “I’m sure you understand what it means for a college student, such as I, to part with their ‘beer money’ but here is the money I didn’t spend because we watched your debate tonight. I hope it serves you well.”
During the CNN/Youtube debate in July 2007, the campaign received 600 SMS messages of ideas, stories and feedback. Texting was another way that the campaign could take advantage of people’s social networks as it was easy to forward a text to friends and family. The campaign would often text supporters asking for volunteers to help with an upcoming rally or event. Enough time was built into outgoing text messages to ensure that supporters could forward the message to their family and friends quickly and efficiently.
Goodstein also launched Obama Mobile, a website designed for mobile devices where users could easily access campaign information from the convenience of their smart phone.
“People who love their country can change it! Make sure everyone you know votes for Barack today. For voting info call 877-874-6226 or VoteForChange.com.”
— Text message, Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2008, 3:28 p.m. EST
Engagement on the Go: The iPhone Application
Barack Obama was the first political candidate to create an iPhone application that made it simple and easy for supporters to engage in campaign activities anywhere they went. The free downloadable application was coded by Obama volunteers in just under three weeks and helped transform the iPhone into a powerful and portable field office. The application was introduced on October 2, 2008, with only 33 days remaining before the general election. 95,000 supporters installed the application and 11,191 of them made 41,075 calls.
The application had several features that would help supporters organize on behalf of the campaign:
• Call Friends
• Receive Updates
• Local Events [using GPS]
• Get Involved
• News
• Media
• Countdown
• Donate Now
Here we discuss a few of these in more detail.
CALL FRIENDS
Phone calls were one of the most effective ways of connecting with potential voters and volunteers. Engaging people in conversation about campaign issues was a time intensive task that required a lot of man power. Traditionally, scores of volunteers would gather in a field office and tackle a list provided by staff.
The “Call Friends” feature helped facilitate phone calls, but with a twist: it relied on the caller’s own personal network. The application accessed a caller’s address book and organized contacts by key battle ground states. The application kept track of who had been called to prevent supporters from calling the same person twice. After each call a small screen popped up giving the user the option of reporting the results. Was the contact an Obama supporter? Were they interested in volunteering? Did they have any questions? The results were transmitted directly to field organizers who could then quickly follow up and get a real-time snapshot of the political landscape in a particular area.
The application helped mitigate the impersonal nature of phone-banking by letting supporters reach out to their own network of family and friends. It also meant the people being called were likely to be more receptive to a call from a friend than from a stranger. As motivation, supporters could easily see how many calls they had made relative to other application users nationwide.
NEWS
The news function pulled an RSS feed of press releases and official statements from the campaign. A button allowed users to quickly shift between national and local press releases. Each news story contained a short summary, with a link to the full article online and an option to email to the contacts of a user’s address book.
With the avalanche of information and the speed at which new issues emerged, this feature provided a quick and easy way to cut through the clutter and let people know Obama’s stance on various issues. It also consolidated all of the campaign’s statements in an easy to access location that supporters could refer to whenver they needed more information.
MEDIA
This feature allowed the campaign to capitalize on one of their greatest assets, Obama’s charisma and eloquence —two things that could never be captured through an impersonal text-only press release. A button at the top of the screen allowed users to shift between videos and photographs. Each video had a brief text description of the subject matter, and was organized by searchable tags. There was a direct link to the Obama YouTube channel and the option to email any video to the contacts in the iPhone’s address book. If a user decided to email someone a video or image, the application opened a new email message that contained the text:
“As a fellow supporter of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, I thought that the following story might be of interest to you.” The application signed off with a link to the Obama application.
The media clips, speeches, and interviews gave supporters a chance to keep up to date with all the media released by the campaign and in the process get to know Obama. Additionally, it gave supporters a convenient way to share these clips by having them available all the time. I myself have pulled out my iPhone to show a favorite speech video, and I definitely appreciated the convenience of having them all in one place and searchable.
ISSUES
Issues was a feature that provided information about all of Obama’s positions on issues ranging from his tax plan to environmental policies. The material was written in bite-sized chunks that were locally hosted. For example, here is what the application has to say on the issue of ethics:
The Problem
• Lobbyists Write National Policies
• Secrecy Dominates Government Action
• Wasteful Spending is Out of Control
Each headline was accompanied by a short one, or two–sentence explanation. This was followed by an overview of Barack’s approach to addressing the issue, listed in bullet points. Then, a listing of Barack Obama’s voting record on how he had addressed the particular issue in the past was provided, including concrete examples. Users could choose to download a full PDF that delved into the issues on a deeper level, as well as a link to any of Barack’s speeches where he had talked about that particular subject. Users could also choose to fill out a form to submit their information and contribute their ideas and thoughts on any of the issues.
This empowered users to feel confident representing Barack because they knew that they had a wealth of information at their finger tips when they were discussing or defending his policies with others. Additionally, it ensured accuracy because it was a fast and easy way to get the facts—directly from the campaign.
