be where the story ends, if not for
the lingering questions about exactly
Obama’s Campaign Would Be
how Obama managed to raise so
much cash and whether he broke the Billion-Dollar Marketing Business
law to do it.
This segmentation was
The Generosity of Bart
B
arack Obama’s message
may have been about then brought down to a
hope and change, but his micro level through the use
Simpson and Doodad Pro
campaign was more about of databases. “They were
marketing. down to targeting not just city
Newsmax began its own inves-
Even Karl Rove, the blocks, but human beings,”
tigation of the Obama campaign in
brilliant Republican Allen says.
strategist who helped Obama’s use of different
early September. By that time, the
orchestrate George Bush’s media, particularly the
Democratic presidential candidate
two presidential victories, Internet, wowed marketers
had raised $426.9 million, most expressed admiration for the as well. “He mobilized multi-
from small donors whose names the
Obama marketing effort. infl uential media,” Allen says.
campaign wouldn’t disclose.
“It was planning and “Mass media, direct media:
execution,” Rove wrote in down to text messages and
In addition to concerns that
The Wall Street Journal. “The
TOWER OF TRIUMPH If the
cell phones. They used any
donors were defrauding the system
Obama campaign, led by the
Obama campaign were
possible way to reach people
to donate more than allowed, there two Davids — Plouffe, the
a marketing company it
based on the media they use.”
were indications that millions of dol-
manager, and Axelrod, the
would be valued in excess
Obama’s $250 million
lars also were coming from outside
strategist — built a powerful worth of TV ads represented
army of persuasion aimed
of $1 billion.
a major thrust, “but that’s
the U.S., another violation of cam-
at getting additional people did even better. They took a shotgun blast,” Allen
paign fi nance law.
out to vote and persuading everything Rove did and says. The real coup was the
Federal law does not require cam- people inclined to support brought it to a new level,” segmented marketing. “That’s
paigns to identify donors who give
the other party to cross over. Allen tells Newsmax. more of a rifl e shot.”
less than $200 during the election
What Obama and his team Allen says he was The president-elect’s
achieved was impressive.” particularly impressed with marketing prowess impressed
cycle. However, it does require that
So impressive, in fact, that the Obama campaign’s Allen so much that he’s
campaigns calculate running totals
if Obama’s campaign were a “segmentation,” as marketers using it as a case study in his
for each donor and report them marketing company, it easily put it. introductory marketing course
when they go beyond the $200 mark.
could be valued at more than “First there was this semester.
The fi rst red fl ag was the enormous
$1 billion, says Bruce Allen, a geographical segmentation,” “I will talk about it in class
marketing professor at Central he explains. “Electoral votes with 220 students who have
number of Obama donors who never
Michigan University. were the key to everything been following along. It’s a
broke the $200 threshold.
“Rove did a good job. he was doing. Where are the huge story,” he says.
“Contributions that come under Obama and his campaign biggest opportunities?” — Dan Weil
$200 aggregated per person are not
listed,” said Bob Biersack, a spokes- campaign coffers. “We and seven campaigns,
man for the FEC. “They don’t appear other watchdog groups asked both given their
anywhere, so there’s no way of know- campaigns for more information on sluggish
ing who they are.” small donors,” he says. “The Obama metabo-
By Sept. 29, the FEC breakdown campaign never responded,” whereas lism, results
of the Obama campaign identifi ed a the McCain campaign “makes all its can take
staggering $222.7 million as donor information, includ- three or
coming from contributions ing the small donors, avail- four years,”
of $200 or less. Only $39.6 able online.” says Ken
KEEP THE CHANGE Obama’s Web
million of that amount came The rise of the Internet as a Boehm, the
site fundraising rewrote the
from donors the Obama campaign funding tool raised chairman
record books.
campaign has identified. new questions about the ade- of the conservative National Legal
That made it the largest pool quacy of FEC requirements and Policy Center, a think tank in
of unidentifi ed money that on disclosure. In pre-Internet Washington, D.C.
ever has fl ooded into the U.S.
Massie Ritsch
fundraising, almost all politi- When FEC auditors questioned
election system, before or after the cal donations, even small ones, were the authenticity of Good Will from
WER/© 2008 JUPITERIMAGES CORP.
O
McCain-Feingold campaign fi nance made by bank check, leaving a paper Austin, Texas, they also issued a
reforms of 2002. trail and limiting the amount of fraud. request to the Obama campaign to
ORG / T
Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for But credit cards used to make “re-designate” contributions in excess
CRETS. the Center for Responsive Politics, donations on the Internet have of the fi nance limits.
tells Newsmax that there was skep- allowed far more abuse. Under campaign fi nance laws, an
OPENSE
ticism about all the unreported “While FEC practice is to do a individual can donate $2,300 to a
RITSCH/ money, especially in the Obama post-election review of all presidential candidate for federal offi ce in both
DECEMBER 2008 / NEWSMAX
49
0046-Cover Story SUNDAY.indd 4946-Cover Story SUNDAY.indd 49 111/10/08 5:35:07 PM1/10/08 5:35:07 PM
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