Digital Political PR Campaigns: The U.S. Election

The changing media environment, including new technologies, media platforms, and ways of communicating has led to a high unpredictability in media audiences. The audience is no longer confined to the regulation of broadcast media and media is no longer confined to consumption in domestic environments. In this post-broadcast era, politicians have had to adapt their methods of campaigning in order to reach their audience on different media platforms. 

The 2012 US election was also known as one of the first “digital campaigns”, as Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney used social media as a campaign tool. Both used digital media in a way that enhanced broadcast and print media, rather than completely replacing it for the online platform. The election became one of the most expensive in American history due to the saturation of advertising on broadcast television. One of the greatest benefits of using social media for advertising and public relations was that it came at no great cost to the candidates.

Digital media also opened the doors to public relations tactics that had not previously been used before. For example, Barrack Obama used the video sharing website, YouTube to broadcast a mini-documentary outlining what he did in his previous term of government and what he would do if elected for a second term. Candidates also used YouTube as a place where people could replay the advertisements that were already being broadcasted on television.

Online media has many advantages for candidates which wouldn't have been possible in the age of traditional media. It provides candidates with an instantaneous attack on issues and gaffes as soon as they arise. It doesn't rely on the mainstream media to portray a certain image of the candidate or produce stories in their favour. Instead, candidates are able to cut out the middle man and communicate directly with the audience (Jericho, 2012) . Digital media provides an effective outlet for candidates to rally volunteers, get donations, and seek out more supporters. Throughout the campaign, both candidates would often encourage followers to “like”, “share” or “retweet” their posts.

One of the main benefits of traditional media is that it can be tailored in order to reach the target audience. For example, broadcast media is able to target specific demographics based on time slots and television programs. The 2012 presidential election was one of the first campaigns which looked at specifically targeting audiences based on algorithms and user information. Mitt Romney invested money to have his advertisements promoted on Twitter, so that if users were to search for key words to do with the election, his name would appear at the top of the list. Romney also promoted his hashtags so that they would automatically appear in the “trending” section on Twitter.

The post-broadcast era has seen many changes and developments for public relations campaigns in politics. Audiences are consuming media in different ways and tactics need to evolve in order to suit the new online platform. Digital media provides a relatively cost-free method of advertising in comparison to traditional media, however lacks the ability to target specific demographics. New developments in social media will allow for algorithms to target specific audiences in order for politicians to directly target the demographics they need. Political campaigning on social media is a relatively new concept but seems to be one with growing potential.

References

Jericho, G. (2012). Journalists all a Twitter. In The Rise of the Fifth Estate: social media and blogging in Australian politics (pp.222-267). Retrieved from http://reader.eblib.com.au.ezproxy1.canberra.edu.au/(S(xpacnpme5sv3hazhooar1sk4))/Reader.aspxp=981484&o=103&u=3c0BatEnVb3UB3x2a81Jrw%3d%3d&t=1384514787&h=005BCB03D521EABB31C2E5A62FF305905A4E428C&s=10744504&ut=281&pg=222&r=img&c=-1&pat=n