Last November, I gave my first $100 to Barack Obama. On March 5, I maxed out for the primaries at $2300. And the thing is, if the limit was $3000, I'd still probably be maxed out by now.
How did this happen? How did a campaign max out someone who's largest political contribution before this was $200 to Kerry?
I'll tell you how. That campaign made the race mine. The email stream and other relationship management components from the campaign have been delightfully intense. Sometimes I don't hear from them for a week, other times I get four messages in a day from different leaders of the campaign -- Barack, Michelle, Plouffe, and several others. The messages are candid. They deliver good news and bad news with context that energizes me. The emails are text only, which gives the whole thing a "From the desk of..." feel.
They've never sent a hate filled message or accuse Hillary of being anything but a formidible opponent. They address charges from Hillary and Bill politely and firmly. They point out counter arguments. They talk to me about Reverend Wright and how taking a couple of highly volatile speeches out of 25 years of sermons misrepresents Wright's worth. At least that's what I think after reading the emails.
They plaster autoplay video of a Barack rally "We are the ones we've been waiting for" on the donation page so I kick in an extra hundred when I am there.
They have encouraged me to develop a MyBarack page and hit up my friends. They have a points system that tracks my level of commitment to the campaign -- 5 points to log in, 10 points for a blog post, etc. I don't do all these things, but I always feel like I should do more. BTW, I am in 142,521st place in points. I only need one more point to go up in the rankings...
They encourage me to make calls to hot primary states. They give me the numbers to call and tell me about Skype. They invite me to potlucks. They offer me tools to connect with people in my neighborhood who also care about the campaign.
And while they underscore the importance of the money, they FOCUS on the number of donors, and how heartfelt $10 gifts from struggling people are just as important -- maybe more important -- than high roller donors.
Oh, hey, I'm not stupid. I know that $2,300 from a rich person buys a lot more than that $10 gift. But they are always more supportive of the little gal or guy. Very Democratic.They have never treated me differently -- when I broke $500, $1000, $1500, then $2300. Oh, they asked me for more money along the way (always about 10% more than my largest previous donation,) but my emails never turned gold, they never called me a "Guardian of Liberty" or a "Golden Eagle" or that sort of crap. They seem to instinctively know that that sort of thing gives me dry heaves.
They give me access to in-depth policy positions when people charge that he is short on specifics. They give me prefab emails to send in response to bile-filled "Hussein" chain emails.
Even though I am maxed out for the Primaries, they aren't hitting me up for money for the General yet. Because I am not going to give for that until this thing is locked up. Duh.
And I thought I'd fill you in on why I gave and when, to show that there are ways to deliver good news, bad news, or just inspirational words to loosen the lock on my wallet.
$100 I heard a speech on CSPAN. 100% insporation.
$250 Iowa Caucus victory. Hey, this guy really has a chance...
$300 The night he lost New Hampshire. Because he was polite, and congratulated Hillary and then moved on to the next fight.
$250 The day he won South Carolina. Because we were back on track.
$100 The same night when the Clinton campaign belittled the SC victory as a black candidate appealing to black people. Bill Clinton: "Well, you know, Jesse Jackson won SC twice." Because veiled racism chaps my ass.
$100 The same night when Hillary attacked the NV caucus rules that allowed workers in casinos to caucus on their dinner break. Because you don't use the courts to disenfranchise people.
(Yes, that's three donations in one night.) I was happy, then mad, then madder.
$500 Super Tuesday night. Because he needed my help to truly take the lead.
$200 Potomac Primary Night Because when your opponent falls overboard, you throw her an anvil.
$500 The night he lost TX and OH Because Hillary played dirty in my opinion, and seems to care about the Clintonican Party rather than the Democratic one. So I registered 500 votes against dirty pool.
AND YES, I AM AWARE THAT ALL THESE EVENTS COULD BE INTERPRETED DIFFERENTLY. BUT THIS IS MY STORY. WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.
In almost all cases, an email spurred a site visit, where I was willingly seduced to plunk down the VISA again. Sometimes the news was good, sometimes bad, but they always make it feel like my fight.
Look, I know people have alternate points of view that are just as valid as mine. I know that Hillary passion runs deep.
But purely from a marketing perspective, you have to respect a campaign that does this kind of CRM. That has a group in every social network I can find. That posts their tv ads seconds after they first air on YouTube, but DOES NOT make them the focus of their website. I do not go to the site to watch ads. But I like to see what I am paying for on YouTube.
It's 3AM, and the Obama campaign is sending me an email to open tomorrow when I get up. It's 3AM, and I am dreaming about MY VICTORY in November.
Now imagine getting 10% of that kind of passion for a brand. Makes your heart all fluttery, eeh?
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