David Plouffe On What Technology Can Do for You

David Plouffe On What Technology Can Do for You

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David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, recently compared the early days of building the support, management and communications platforms that helped his boss become President, to launching a new business or initiative.

The lessons learned along the way, though, can help any business succeed, whether it’s launching a new product, creating a new customer base or battling unthinkable odds.

Delivering the luncheon keynote Wednesday at CEA’s Washington Forum, Plouffe said one of the earliest lessons the campaign learned was the importance of establishing a solid campaign strategy and a rock-solid message. Once those are basics are etched in stone, the team can focus on innovation and the hundreds of smaller elements that eventually add up to success.

"Everything else is easier because the big things don’t change," he said.

Next, the team had to find the right ways to build target audiences, reach them and have them respond positively to a particular message, something many retailers are focusing on as they drive more sales and marketing campaigns online. The key, Plouffe said, was to build a state-of-the-art Internet platform.

That platform eventually allowed the campaign to amass an army of volunteers, collect roughly $500 million in contributions, deliver a variety of messages (from simple text regarding basic voting information to rich media videos) to the right people, and create a sense of trust and bonding among the public.

Plouffe admitted that new technology, and the management of it, had as much to do with winning the election as having a charismatic, smart and visionary leader. Any retailer embarking on a new online venture should keep those points in mind.

The "new media" team, which eventually consisted of about 70 people and reported directly to Plouffe, constantly monitored, managed and tweaked the system. It was also "maniacal" about collected metrics, to the point that it was able to predict with about 97 percent accuracy how a person would vote.

In the end, roughly the same amount of Democrats that voted for John Kerry in the last election voted for Obama, Plouffe said. What pushed Obama into the winner’s circle were new voters, as well as swing voters, most of who were brought on board via those new technologies.

Those elements – creating a sound strategy and solid "marketing" message, developing a flexible and robust technology platform, targeting key audiences, constant monitoring, the incessant collection and proper use of key metrics – worked in helping elect an underdog with a funny name to the country’s highest office. Think what they could do for your company’s next initiative.

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