Political campaigns are known for being the birthplace of many a pioneering communication strategy. The campaign for the US presidential elections 2012 is a somewhat different affair from the past.
Both candidates also make full use of social media and are aware of the power it can hold – although Obama has 19 million Twitter followers whereas Romney is yet to hit a million. However, it can be argued that it’s about quality and not quantity as Zac Moffett digital director at Mitt Romney for President says “It doesn’t matter how many people you have following you if you don’t have people engaging with you”. Live debates are streamed online and Twitter erupted with 6.4 million tweets talking about one presidential debate. A lot of time and money has gone into training up these future leaders to prepare them for the most challenging of questions. If you need a help handling media – even if the spotlight isn’t quite as intense as the media glare on Obama, then get in touch with Bluewood media training.
There are a lot more tools available for them to get in touch with voters, for example Obama has embraced new technology and hosted his own Google plus hangout at the beginning of the year which provided a much a more personal touch. Five members of the public were selected out of 130,000 questions and it was also streamed live. It proved to be a great success and he answered the questions personally but with the skill of a well trained speaker “It was the kind of unscripted social media moment that warms the hearts of campaign managers everywhere. And you won’t get that in a presidential press conference”.
This year’s campaign has seen a whole host of celeb endorsements for Obama as Tinsel town has rushed to back him, and it appears he is using it to his advantage. Katy Perry encouraged young voters as she performed at a Barack Obama campaign rally in Vegas wearing a ballot paper dress. Obama thanked her for her “unbelievable performance” and then went on to deliver his speech hoping to win more votes. Bill Clinton has been visible throughout the campaign in support for Barack, even after his wife was previously defeated by him. And it’s not just the official support that’s full of celeb backing.
Samuel L Jackson was the face of a pro Obama advertising campaign funded by the Jewish Council for Research and Education and became the most viewed video on youtube that week.
Everyone is voicing their opinion and some in unusual ways – politics has got fashionable. Sharon Stone was pictured wearing an Obama bag, Beyoncé donned Obama earrings and Sarah Jessica Parker pinned on a pink “Viva Obama” badge. Republican Romney also has his share of celebrity supporters with Clint Eastwood and Donald Trump publicly backing him. Even Nicki Minaj has rapped about the elections.
Obama appears to be winning the celebrity popularity contest hands down – but will the American public take political advice from celebs? Are his policies as popular as his pals and is his manifesto any good? It’s a close call in the opinion polls at the moment and only time will tell.
If you aren’t lucky enough to be able to call on famous friends to help get you support and need help polishing your skills, public speaking and winning over votes why not think about taking a presentation training course with us? We can train you up to sweet talk anybody and beat the most difficult of opposition.