Obama’s Web Ads May Have Driven Big North Carolina Win

May 23rd, 2008 in Online Marketing- International

By Kate Kaye, The ClickZ Network, May 21, 2008

Obama won big in this month’s North Carolina primary and his online ad strategy in April may have played a role in driving his supporters to the polls. As the primaries chug along, Senator Barack Obama has steamrolled past fellow Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and likely Republican nominee John McCain in the Web ad department. The Illinois Senator’s camp continued using the Web to urge people to register and vote early in North Carolina and Indiana, which held primaries May 8.

Obama for America ran approximately 80 million ad impressions online last month, more than double the amount the campaign placed in March, according to Nielsen Online AdRelevance data. And the bulk of those ads, about 70 million impressions, were targeted to North Carolina voters, the research firm reports.

“You can vote now for Barack Obama even if you are not registered or have never voted before! Find Your One-Stop Early Voting Location,” declared ads aimed at Tar Heel state residents. North Carolina allows citizens to register and vote at the same time days ahead of election day.

While Obama virtually barnstormed North Carolinians, McCain and Clinton ran relatively few display ads in comparison. John McCain 2008 has gradually increased his online ad buys over the past few months, hitting about 6 million in March, around the same number placed by Hillary Clinton for President.

The Clinton camp carried on with its pure fundraising mission, begun in full force the previous month. Ads told viewers to “Support Hillary Clinton Today!” and urged them to contribute either $5 or $50 “Now.” The majority of ads from the New York Senator’s campaign were spotted by Nielsen Online on AOL.com News, CNN and local news aggregator Topix. Around 500,000 impressions also appeared on conservative commentary destination Lucianne.com, a site McCain ads have showed up on in recent months.

McCain’s online ad efforts have not strayed much during the primaries. Most of the candidate’s messages aimed to convince people of the Arizona Senator’s experience, leadership and courage. “One man has the experience, One man has the courage, One man has our trust,” read the most-seen ad. Another heavily served creative linked to McCain’s “Courageous Service Video,” featuring footage of his heralded Vietnam War service.

Many of the campaign’s ads were most likely purchased through ad networks. As in earlier months, the campaign ran a variety of creatives intended to gather contact information from supporters to drive volunteerism and donations. John McCain 2008 also continued hammering away at Clinton in some ads. The majority of McCain’s display ads appeared on conservative sites Lucianne.com and National Review, in addition to Topix, Merriam-Webster Online and the New York Times.

Many of Obama’s campaign ads also were seen on Merriam-Webster Online, in addition to Allrecipes.com and About.com, indicating they were probably bought via ad networks.

In addition to the hefty North Carolina ad push, Obama’s campaign targeted some ads to Indiana voters, though far fewer than were aimed at North Carolinians. “Indiana Early Voting is now open,” some ads prodded. Though most of the Senator’s display ads have been intended to inspire early voting and glean contact information from potential volunteers and donors, the campaign also attempted to persuade Pennsylvania voters ahead of the state’s April primary that Clinton and McCain are in bed with oil company PACs and lobbyists.

“Hillary Clinton has taken more money from PACs and Washington lobbyists, including those for oil and gas, than anyone in the race,” read the ad, which also panned McCain for accepting contributions from oil companies. Despite Obama’s unique online efforts aimed at Indiana and Pennsylvania voters, Clinton won in both states.