keynote: how email helped obama win
DESCRIPTION
The Obama re-election campaign has been hailed as a paradigm for a breakthrough email program with its advanced targeting, aggressive testing and home-run messaging. With super PACs and outside groups spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the Obama campaign still broke through with its grassroots fundraising and volunteer model - with email as a cornerstone. It was not an overnight success as planning began more than a year before Election Day. A month after Election Day, there are a slew of takeaways that won't just inform campaigns to come, but provide plenty of applications for marketers. Listen to the story and the key learnings from Toby Fallsgraff, Obama for America's email director for the 2012 campaign. Keynote: Toby Fallsgraff, Email Director, Obama for America 2012TRANSCRIPT
How email helped us winToby FallsgraffEmail Director
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Challenges
It wasn't 2008.
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Challenges
Expectations.
“in the bag”
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Challenges
Citizens United
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Objectives – the 3 Ms
•Messaging•Mobilization•Money
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Objectives – the 3 Ms: Messaging
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Objectives – the 3 Ms: Mobilization
•Let the states drive their own programs
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Objectives – the 3 Ms
Juggling priorities:
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Objectives – the 3 Ms: Money
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Objectives – the 3 Ms
•A fourth M?
Metrics10/17: • 166 individual email segments • 84 were tests
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The Team
•Digital = 200•Outbound
18 email7 site / blog4 social media
• The others• The leaders• Emailers
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What we achieved
Organizing.
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What we achieved
Defining
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What we achieved
Fundraising•More than half a billion dollars online• 4.5 million donors• $53 average gift
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Why we test and test and test
The Infamous Email Derby
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June 26, 2012
256%better
Y I E L D S $1.8Mmore money
Test segment % of best segment
v3 - The one thing the polls got right… 15.88%v1 - Last chance: Join Michelle and me 21.94%v2 - Deadline: Join Michelle and me 23.79%v2 - Michelle time 23.80%v3 - The most popular Obama 25.96%v5 - Change 28.00%v4 - Do this for Michelle 28.11%v4 - Would love to meet you 29.73%v1 - Last call: Join Michelle and me 35.21%v5 - If you believe in what we're doing… 35.89%v6 - Some scary numbers 76.41%v6 - I will be outspent [winner]
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Subject Lines Mattered to Us
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Subject Lines Mattered to Us
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What we didn’t test
Honing test groups•No non-donors or prospects•No West Coasters•No Quick Donors
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Quick Donate
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Victory Wallet: Flattery
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Get Ugly
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Dispelling Rumors
We were not Big Brother. …but isn’t that what Big Brother would say?
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Supporter Record
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What we achieved
Authenticity.Honesty.
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Authenticity: Our voices
Ann Marie HabershawTough Love
Rufus GiffordAn Emotional Roller Coaster
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Final Thoughts
•Build your team• Invest in list growth• Test and keep testing• Email = empowerment
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Four more sends
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What else do you want to know?