CALL it a day of reckoning if you will, but March 2 was the defining moment in the recent history of Marketing magazine. As top-notch professionals packed the
PJ Hilton Kristal Ballroom to listen to Obama’s man talk about his journey through 32 states over two years to Inauguration Day in one of the most powerful marketing campaigns in
US history.
National Director of Special Events, Roger Fisk, regaled the crowd with tales of inspiration, candour and at times sheer magic in a journey now firmly etched in the annals of American political history.
From being labelled an ‘improbable’ and ‘long-shot’ candidate, Roger traced the journey as they traversed the country with a constant message of Hope and Change. Using new media tools, empowerment participation, from grassroot events and community meetings to large-scale spectaculars and mall halls, the talk showcased how little details made the big picture all the more grand. Speaking with relish about ‘photographic’ angles and strategically positioned messages, Roger seemed to revel in the much needed attention the news media eventually gave the campaign.
While traditional political campaigns in the US focused primarily on 50% of the population considered ‘likely voters’, Obama’s campaign decided to ‘compete everywhere’. “We would engage new voters, the young, the disenchanted and it didn’t matter if they were not ‘likely voters’,” added Roger.
Empowering volunteers to hit the phone lines with databases relevant to their peer group, Obama volunteers burned the phone lines reaching out to the electorate and talking in a language the recipients could relate to.
With mybarackobama.com and social networking sites, the Obama campaign was able to drum up the funding needed to work the ground. Their low-dollar donor events had people buying tickets for US$10-US$20 online to attend the rallies. Which eventually tallied to US$100 million in 11 months!
By interacting with the people, they also managed to expand the experience of the rally to stretch beyond one or two days. Via follow-up emails and reminders, ‘stake-holders’ were invited to ‘be the campaign’. It was ‘their show’.
Roger also reiterated throughout his talk, “We knew who we were. We didn’t define ourselves as what the competition wasn’t. Either people agreed with us or they didn’t.” And finally, “A good campaign can be stronger with new media, new media cannot make a strong campaign. Nothing replaces human interaction.”
During the tea breaks and lunch, corporate leaders rubbed shoulders with political leaders, as the event’s mass-appeal theme had reached out to many opinion shapers in our society. There were a sprinkling of easily-recognisable Members of Parliament, top corporate figures and media luminaries in the crowd.
Attendees were delighted with the two panel discussions with Roger which framed the event. The first panel discussion was moderated by Greg Paull (R3 Asia Pacific) and the panelists were Henry Tan (COO, Astro), Roy Tan (MD, Carat Media) and firebrand newsman R Nadeswaran (theSun). The topic was The Power of New Media.
The late afternoon panel discussion was chaired by Premesh Chandran (CEO, MalaysiaKini) with Datuk Vincent Lee (President, 4As), Datuk Zaid Ibrahim (ex-de facto Law Minister), Datuk Kadir Jasin (blogger) and Nadeswaran. Their topic: Is the Hope for Change?
It was a lively, provocative and revealing discussion and the crowd had their fair share of excitement for the day. Marketing magazine would at this juncture like to thank all supporters, partners and friends who came together to make this a phenomenal event (in alphabetical order). This was a true multimedia effort and a great exercise in utilising new media tools in the promotion of this event. We proudly present Team Obama-Magic:
AMPHIBIA DIGITAL
ASTRO AWANI
BERNAMA TV
CGY HOSTING NETWORK
DEMOCRATS ABROAD
DIRECT ACCESS
EXCHANGE4MEDIA.COM
FOCUS MEDIA
GO COMMUNICATIONS
LITE FM
LONDON SPEAKER BUREAU
MALAY MAIL
MALAYSIAKINI.COM
NUFFNANG
OUTSOURCING MAGAZINE
PJ HILTON
PULSE GROUP
R3 ASIA PACIFIC
REDBERRY
SME MAGAZINE
THE EDGE
THE YOUTH INTELLIGENCE
TRAPPER MEDIA SERVICES
VENUSBUZZ.COM
VOIZE.MY
ZESQA MEDIA
SOME LATEST VIDEOS YOU CAN VIEW ON THIS EVENT:
http://www.mycen.com.my/video/obama_magic.htm
www.obamamagickl.com
http://www.emmagem.com/tag/roger-fisk/
http://www.shaolintiger.com/2009/02/17/earth-hour-malaysia-and-obama-magic-in-kl/#comments
http://www.kimberlycun.com/tag/roger-fisk-kl/
http://www.klue.com.my/articles/1265-ObamaMagic-comes-to-KL
http://kyspeaks.com/2009/02/17/obama-magic-in-kl/#comments
http://www.suanie.net/
http://www.nuffnang.com.my/blog/2009/02/06/change-comes-to-malaysia-march-2/
http://theyouthintelligence.com/content/marketing-2obama-uncommon-marketing-lessons-most-successfulwebcampaign-history
http://mavericknetwork.biz/tag/roger-fisk/
http://www.detikshop.com/detailticket/210/change-come-to-jakarta
http://www.casttv.com/search/fisk/1
http://desaingrafisindonesia.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/change-comes-to-jakarta/
WHAT MALAYSIANS THINK ABOUT OBAMA AND POLITICS:
Powered by the PULSE Group, a recent online survey commissioned by Marketing magazine reveals some interesting insights about what Malaysians think with regards to the Obama fever sweeping the globe and its ramifications locally. Five questions were posed in the online survey across 1,000 respondents in market centres.
Do see any hope for change in the Malaysian political landscape as seen happening in the
US recently?
66% of Malaysians were upbeat that there was hope for change in the Malaysian political landscape in line with events that were happening around the globe, especially in the US.
Do you believe the power of digital media (Web 2.0 tools, blogs, Twitter, websites, sms, Facebook) is effective in changing people’s perceptions of national issues?
A thumping 95% said that Digital Media had a key role in changing people’s perceptions on national issues, and beyond.
Will the power of Youth play a big role in the next National Elections in 2012?
Once again, a unanimous 96% agreed that youth will play a decisive role in the 2012 general elections!
Are the key political players of the day in touch with what the masses want?
Call it brutal honesty, but 71% of respondents say our political players are detached from the realities of the day and what the electorate really wants.
Is ‘Change’ an empty promise used by politicians?
Yes, 83% of Malaysians are still not convinced that Change when articulated by politicians actually means the real thing. Rhetoric seems to be the order of the day.
When asked further what were their main sources of daily news, respondents cited Newspapers (20%), Television (20%), Online newspapers (19%), Blogs (14%), Radio (13%), Word of Mouth (10%), RSS updates (3%) and Twitter 2%.
Facebook
STARTLING STATS:
Obama: 2,379,102 supporters
McCain: 620,359 supporters
MySpace
Obama: 833,161 friends
McCain: 217,811 friends
YouTube
Obama: Subscribers: 114,559; Channel Views: 18,413,110
McCain: Subscribers: 28,419; Channel Views: 2,032,993
Twitter:
@barackobama has 112,474 followers
@JohnMcCain 4,603 followers
By Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, Jeremiah Owyang, compiled one day before the election